SHADOW OF THE MOON

by Zoe Marriott

I must admit the beautiful cover is what drew me into picking up this book and deciding to read it.This was a very unusual book and completely different to what I had expected, but I loved it.

This story was like a Japanese Cinderella story. On her 14th birthday, Suzanne is in her garden with her friend, when soldiers come to kill her father, accusing him of treason. She had never seen soldiers before and didn't know how to be frightened, but when they search her and her friend out to kill them they hide. This is when she discovers she is a shadow-weaver and can create a mantle of darkness and light to change her appearance and be anything she wants to be.

CHASING RAINBOWS

by Kathleen Long

So much is going on in Bernie's life! 


From her father's sudden death, her husband leaving her for a younger women, to being out of work and being banned from the local shopping mall, it's all happening to this 41yr old and much much more.


I felt sorry for this poor girl and all she was going through but there was lots of humour in the book as well... it wasn't all doom and gloom. And there is a hunk living in her apartment block that mysteriously befriends her dog!


Helping her mum finalise things after her father's death is agonising but they discover a book of cryptograms which he has left for Bernie to solve, and this will help her on her way. When her best friend, who already has a 13yr old daughter, tells her she's having a baby, Bernie is forced to revisit the death of her only child who had died soon after birth, and realises she has gone through the past few years without dealing with the grief properly.


Don't worry there is a lot of good things that come out of the misfortune and as her father used to say "In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't". This is a great easy to read novel that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

by Jonathan Safron Foer


I must admit I knew nothing about this book and found it rather deep and very unusual. At the time of reading (or letting my Kindle read it to me) I wasn't well so maybe I didn't bond with the story as I usually do. I now know the movie will be released soon so I will watch that to see if it gives me a greater love for the characters, from what I've seen on the trailer I think it will be good.


Oskar is a nine year old boy, who suffers from Autism, and who's father is killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was let out of school early that day and has a secret he hasn't told anyone. He was the first to come home and hear his father leave 5 phone messages to his family as he was trapped in one of the towers, still alive. They were the last words he said.


Oskar, while going through his father's things, discovers a key in an envelope with the word 'Black' written on it. He believes this is a clue and he decides to look up and track down every person named 'Black' in the phone book. This seems like an unbelievable and unrealistic task but he is determined to do it. Without giving it away too much, he meets several people along the way and he connects with. As I said... I think I'll enjoy the movie more!

LAMENT

by Maggie Stiefvater

I have to admit right from the getgo that I'm not a fan of faeries, magic, vampires, or those types of books, however, I was intrigued after reading the first few chapters. Deirdre was a very gifted musician along with her best friend James. It was at a competition that a mysterious boy, Luke, enters her life and encourages her to even new heights with her music and she also discovers she is a 'cloverhand' someone who can see faeries.

After discovering that Luke is actually a faerie assassin, and she is in fact his next target, she must decide whether to trust what Luke says, that he is in love with her, or follow what her mind and family are telling her, stay away.

I'll admit I kind of liked it up until about half way through and then I got completely bored with it and it was taking me off into an area I don't really like reading so I actually skimmed through to the end (which is something I never usually do). The story was apparently a depiction of Celtic faerie lore and a lot of people do like that genre, but it wasn't for me. It did keep me guessing for a while though and I did like a couple of the characters. The sequel is called "Balled".

THE HAPPIEST REFUGEE

by Anh Do

This was a fantastic read. Anh Do, a well known comedian, tells of his life coming to Australia from a war-torn Vietnam, on a boat, along with his family. The journey was filled with danger from drifting at sea with a broken motor, to being raided by pirates, this book is sure to thrill you and at times amaze you. 


Anh has a real commitment to his family and this story tells what is was like for him and his family to arrive as refugees with nothing, to completing school, then working hard to make a new life in Australia. 


I really loved having a glimpse into his life story, through his hardships and triumphs. The photos were wonderful - I'm glad he included so many. I would recommend this great book to anyone. It just shows what you can accomplish with a lot of hard work. I loved how his mum would always say to give back to this country because it had given them so much. This book has won many awards and rightly so.

Wonder

by P.J. Palacio


This is a very touching book about a little boy named Auggie who was born with a terribly deformed face. His mum has home schooled him up until now but this year he is going to school, into fifth grade. The book is very easy to read as it has very short chapters and the whole story is divided into eight parts, each told by a different character. As Auggie reluctantly starts school he has many challenges to face including coping with bullies. Finding 'true' friends isn't easy when you are deformed so much that you make others stare, scream, and run away in fright.


Auggie's sister Via is a tower of strength to him but at times she feels she is brushed over by her parents who are always spending time with Auggie and tending to his needs. She is also going through lots of changes and at times feels left out. As each character tells of their experience and their feelings towards Auggie you are taken on a insightful journey. The overall theme of the story is that we should all try to be kinder to each other. I really enjoyed this book.

The Wrong Boy

by Suzy Zail


What a fantastic read. Although the story is fiction, some of names, places and events the author has written about are based on fact. The concentration camps were indeed real.


This story tells of Hanna Mendel who wanted more than anything else to be a concert pianist, but she wasn't to know that within days her life would be turned upside down. Forced to live in a ghetto, being rounded up into a cattle train and taken to a concentration camp, then falling in love with a German boy who had saved her life.


At times it was heart wrenching to read what Hanna and her sister went through to survive. This story was written so we will never forget what happened during WWII and how the Jews and others were treated. Everyone should read a story like this to keep their stories alive.


The author Suzy Zail's own father was an Auschwitz camp survivor and she has written another book titled "The Tattooed Flower: A Memoir" which tells of his time in the concentration camps and the Nazi occupation.

THE HOUSE OF SILK

by Anthony Horowitz

The game is afoot! How much fun was this book to step back into the life of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. I grew up reading Encyclopaedia Brown and then onto Sherlock Holmes and that started my love of  'mystery murders'. Whether it's Agatha Christie, Poirot, or one of the thousands of detective stories I love them all. Little did I realise that Anthony Horowitz had been the screenwriter for Midsomer Murders, Foyles War and Poirot, featured on ABC television, all of which I adore.


This book, however, was a first Holmes novel for Anthony, who took 8 years to write it. His research and description of the characters and places were excellent and I could picture each scene. It was hard to put down and as always I wanted to find the clues at the same time as Holmes.


Unlike other Holmes novels I have read, this story is written after the death of Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson is elderly, and he is recounting a story, which is most sinister and shocking. After he had written it it was held at his solicitor's vaults until 100 yrs had passed. It is one last portrait of the great Sherlock Holmes. I think he pulled it off very well. 

PLAIN TRUTH

by Jodi Picoult


This was a #1 best seller and it was very gripping and full of suspense. It reminded me of a movie with Harrison Ford which I can't remember the name of but it was similar in that he had to live with the Amish for a period of time. Jodie Picoult really does give you a fantastic insight into the Amish life, both from within and outside the faith. They have their own way to deal with sin, grievances, love and discipline, and it is not what the outside world can understand easily.


In this book a young Amish girl, Katie, is accused of murdering her newborn baby however she refuses to admit she was even pregnant or gave birth. Ellie Hathaway is a lawyer from the city that volunteers to defend this girl and is forced to live with the family when the judge makes her custodian. The two women form a bond as Ellie tries to get the truth from this confused Amish girl.


There are twists and turns right to the end as the truth is finally unravelled bit by bit. Will the jury give Katie life in prison for murdering her baby? You will have to read this psychological drama to find out. But be warned... it's hard to put this book down once you've started.

TO CALM MY DREAMS: Surviving Auschwitz

by Kazimierz Tyminski


I know... the cover looks scary and I must admit I picked this book up a couple of times before I actually decided to read it. However, it was a very easy book to read, although a slightly larger book and print, I was able to read it in one day and really enjoyed it. 


It's the story of Kazimierz, a young Polish Uni student, living in Krakow, recently married, had studied engineering, and had a love for music. Unfortunately for him he was arrested and sent to prison and then onto a concentration camp.


Kazimierz's children translated this book to fulfil his wishes of telling his story of his time in the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, along with other camps, and how he survived the Holocaust, at all odds. He wanted to make sure the events that happened in these camps during WWII will never be forgotten and that the next generation will learn from the past. 


At times it was his ability to play music that saved him from being killed or tortured and he often wondered how he survived when so many of his friends weren't as fortunate. This is a powerful true story written from camp notes he had made at the time, which Kazimierz hoped would help to rid himself of some of the memories that still haunted him many years later.