PRISONERS IN THE PALACE

By Michaela MacColl

[Blurb] London 1838. Elizabeth Hastings knows about suffering. At seventeen, she has lost her family, her home and her future. In desperation, she takes a position at Kensington Palace working for the sixteen year old Princess Victoria. But nothing is as it seems at the palace. The heir to the throne is practically a prisoner. A mother schemes against her daughter. Sir John Conroy, a man with no power or connections, is playing for the ultimate prize. And the servants - they know everything of course!

Liza's journey will take her through the bowels of the Palace and to the deepest slums of London. She'll learn about the power of the press and the attractions of one particular newspaperman. How far will Liza have to go to restore her fortune and put the Princess Victoria on the throne? Will she find independence and romance or find herself a prisoner in the palace, too?

This was a fabulous YA fiction novel, but don't be fooled, it was entriguing and exciting and I really enjoyed it. The author Micaela MacColl has read the diaries of Queen Elizabeth and established the base of her story around her journalling. The historical facts are well researched and it makes for a fabulous read. I loved the character of Liza and her courage, to stand up for her friend, the queen in waiting, and her struggle to survive on her own in this harsh city of London, in the early 1800's. This is a great read of 'faction' (half fiction, half fact).

DEAD TO YOU

by Lisa McMann


[Blurb] Some memories are better left untouched.
Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

This was a gripping book. Ethan, kidnapped as a young boy and now 9 years later finding his family and reacquainting themselves with each other. Not as easy as you may think! Time has passed, they have a 'replacement child' as Ethan puts it, his brother doesn't like him, there are only 4 hooks on the wall for coats instead of 5, and there are a family of 4 snowmen out the front of their home instead of 5. The realisation that his family has had to 'move on' as the police have told them that after all this time Ethan would be dead and there was little hope of him ever returning. We tend to think of the wonderful joy and excitement of stolen children blending back into the family as if nothing ever happened, but this book tells of just some of the frustrations and readjusting that goes on for all members of the family. A really good book but I thought it ended very abruptly. Bit of a twist too!

BY ANY OTHER NAME

by Laura Jarrett

This new YA fiction was a great read and something a little different. The story opens with Louisa trying to pick a new name for herself. Bit by bit the author releases titbits of information about why this teenage girl and her family are now in witness protection and must take on new identities and relocate.  Like peeling an onion, we gradually here the story from 'Holly' and the trauma she and her family are going through. She must start a new school and try to make friends, without ever letting slip her real past and the truth about their move. She struggles at first and longs for her former girlfriends support during this difficult time but she knows if she lets out any information she will be putting herself and her family in danger. 

It's a great story about new identities and learning who you really are and what really matters. Her sister Katie is autistic and that brings it's own problems but also new understanding. Holly's relationship with a boy, who she thought at first meeting was an Emo, turns out to be just the person to set her on the road to recovery. It gets very exciting at the end so I wont give too much away. I'm sure the teenage girls will love it!

SOCIAL SUICIDE

by Gemma Halliday

Blurb:

Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went . . . a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen–hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.

FACE TO FACE (Book 5)

by Caroline B. Cooney

An interesting concept that has been made into a film. This book is the fifth in the series and even though I haven't read the others first it didn't matter as it was easy to pick up the story to date.

Blurb: 'Janie Face to Face' is the fifth book that Caroline B. Cooney has written about the girl who discovered her face on a milk carton, leading to revelations about who she is and who her real family are. When she finally finds out she was kidnapped as a child and the people you have called Mum and Dad all your life, aren't her real parents it is devastating, and she must choose which family to spend her weekends and special occasions with. This story is about Janie finally coming to terms with what happened to her and learning to put herself first for once, instead of worrying about her parents from both sets of families. After so many years of questioning her own identity, she has now grown into a mature and responsible young woman who wants to put the past behind her and focus on her future. 

SEA HEARTS

by Margo Lanagan

[Blurb: A HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL NOVEL FROM THE WINNER OF FOUR WORLD FANTASY AWARDS.
'Why would I? People are uneasy enough with me - if I start bringing up sea-wives, they'll take against me good and proper.' 
'It could be secret.'
'Could it?'
On remote Rollrock Island, the sea-witch Misskaella discovers she can draw a girl from the heart of a seal. So, for a price, any man might buy himself a bride; an irresistibly enchanting sea-wife. But what cost will be borne by the people of Rollrock - the men, the women, the children - once Misskaella sets her heart on doing such a thing?Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire and revenge, of loyalty, heartache and human weakness, and of the unforeseen consequences of all-consuming love.]

A CBCA short listed novel for older readers, which I was anticipating would be great, but I was thoroughly disappointed. From the start it was difficult to get into, and I thought, even the older readers, would find hard to understand and may not persevere past the first chapter. I thought this a strange book to be short listed and there weren't that many redeeming features, be it a very different kind of story, seals becoming human form. Although I was a little intrigued by it, as it promised to capture a Scottish style of oral history, it was not enjoyable at all and I was glad to finish it, which is very disappointing. Some say it's poetic and a wonderfully woven story but it wasn't for me.

FRIDAY BROWN

by Vikki Wakefield

[Blurb: ‘I am Friday Brown. I buried my mother. My grandfather buried a swimming pool. A boy who can’t speak has adopted me. A girl kissed me. I broke and entered. Now I’m fantasising about a guy who’s a victim of crime and I am the criminal. I’m going nowhere and every minute I’m not moving, I’m being tail-gated by a curse that may or may not be real. They call me Friday. It has been foretold that on a Saturday I will drown…’]

This is a short listed book for older readers for CBCA awards this year so was eager to read it. I was blown away by it. The first chapter drew me in as I took in each word that was so craftily written. The descriptions were beautiful yet haunting, with each character  reeling me in.

I so loved the relationship and special kind of love she formed with Silence, her new friend, which was so special since her whole life she had only really known her mother, and travelled from town to town as a loner. When she meets Silence her world changes dramatically but life in the 'gang' doesn't sit well with her from the start. She is running from life, from herself, from memories, but along this new journey she eventually finds her inner self. She must make some hard decisions.

I have to admit that I cried through most of the last few chapters, which made me feel silly, as this was just a YA fiction, but I was totally hooked by then, and the story didn't quite turn out how I had expected. 

WHEN WE WAKE

by Karen Healey

[Blurb: My name is Tegan Oglietti, and on the last day of my first lifetime, I was so, so happy. Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027--she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice. But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies--and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened. Tegan is the first government guinea pig to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity--even though all she wants to do is try to rebuild some semblance of a normal life. But the future isn't all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?] 

This was a fabulous, page turner of a book. Great subject and plenty of ethical questions to consider. It was fast paced and intriguing, just couldn't put it down. Set in 2027 in Melbourne Tegan is happy one minute and dead the next. She awakes 100 years on and is thrown into a very different world. You've got to read this!

BACK TO BLACKBRICK

by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

[Blurb: Cosmo's brother Brian died when he was ten years old. His mum hides her grief by working all the hours God sends and Cosmo lives with his grandparents. They've been carefree days as Granddad buys him a horse called John and teaches him all he knows about horses. But the good times have to come to an end and although he doesn't want to admit it, Cosmo knows his Granddad is losing his mind. So on one of the rare occasions when Granddad seems to recognise him, Cosmo is bemused that he gives him a key to Blackbrick Abbey and urges him to go there. Cosmo shrugs it off, but gradually Blackbrick draws him in...

Cosmo arrives there, scared and lonely, and is dropped off at the crumbling gates of a huge house. As he goes in, the gates close, and when he turns to look, they're rusty and padlocked as if they haven't been opened in years. Cosmo finds himself face to face with his grandfather as a young man, and questions begin to form in his mind: can Cosmo change the course of his family's future?]

What an interesting concept for a story. When Cosmo receives a key from his grandfather, whose memory is failing, he follows his wishes and goes to Blackberry Abbey. Here he discovers his grandfather at age 16. An interesting time travelling story. Very easy to read but a little odd in some parts. I must say I was expecting a little more from the blurb on the back. It was touching, however, that Cosmo loved his grandfather so much he was trying to mend his memory, so he wouldn't be put in a home.

THE ROSIE BLACK CHRONICLES: BK 3 DARK STAR

by Lara Morgan   (Australian author)

[Blurb: Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the 'Centrals'; the have-nots, the 'Bankers'; and the fringe dwellers, the 'Ferals'. Rosie thought exposing the evil Helios corporation would be the end of all her problems. But it was just the beginning.
Bent on revenge, Rosie is still working in sceret to try to take down Helios. but her dad is locked away, Pip has abandoned her, and Riley isn't telling her the full story. Where can she turn for help? And how many more sacrifices is she prepared to make to destroy Helios?]

This was the third book in the series and as usual it was very fast paced, right to the end, I couldn't put it down. Rosie is caught, escapes, gets caught again and so the drama continues. Although this wasn't quite as exciting as the first book I still loved this series and would recommend it to everyone.

ALICE BLISS

by Laura Harrington

[Blurb: When Alice Bliss learns that her father, Matt, is being deployed to Iraq, she's heartbroken. Alice idolizes her father, loves working beside him in their garden, accompanying him on the occasional roofing job, playing baseball. When he ships out, Alice is faced with finding a way to fill the emptiness he has left behind.

Matt will miss seeing his daughter blossom from a tomboy into a full-blown teenager. Alice will learn to drive, join the track team, go to her first dance, and fall in love, all while trying to be strong for her mother, Angie, and take care of her precocious little sister, Ellie. But the smell of Matt is starting to fade from his blue shirt that Alice wears everyday, and the phone calls are never long enough.

Alice Bliss is a profoundly moving coming-of-age novel about love and its many variations--the support of a small town looking after its own; love between an absent father and his daughter; the complicated love between an adolescent girl and her mother; and an exploration of new love with the boy-next-door. These characters' struggles amidst uncertain times echo our own, lending the novel an immediacy and poignancy that is both relevant and real. At once universal and very personal, Alice Bliss is a transforming story about those who are left at home during wartime, and a teenage girl bravely facing the future.]

Unfortunately I only got half way through this book. It started of well, and I was at first interested in Alice and her relationship with her father, who had been sent to fight in Iraq, however it didn't hold my attention after half way through, and I decided to move onto the next book in my huge pile to read.

ARENA ONE (The Survival Trilogy)

by Morgan Rice

Talk about fast paced book. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games then you'll love this great new series. Another Dystopia type YA fiction which I mostly enjoyed reading. Morgan Rice is a #1 best selling author who also wrote The Vampire Journals.

Seventeen year old Brook and her younger sister, Bree, are living in the wilderness trying to survive after a civil war has broken out in New York and everyone is living in a post-apocalyptic world, with few survivors. Those who still live in the city are Slaverunners, who roam the countryside trying to find survivors on the run, or crazies who are like zombies attacking those who venture out of the city walls. There are also the bio-chem guys who have been terribly burnt and disfigured from bombs during the war.

When Bree is kidnapped, Brook must risk her life to try to find  and rescue her sister from certain death. There are plenty of chases, shooting and danger, including a battle to the death in Arena One, much like Hunger Games.

I mostly liked this book however I did find a few annoying factors. Firstly I felt it was trying to be a little too much like Hunger Games and it fell terribly short. The writing was no where near as good, and at times Brook was doing things that were quite unrealistic, and in fact completely unbelievable. I didn't think it was necessary to include very young girls becoming sex slaves in a YA fiction. The ending didn't really excite me which was disappointing, however I would probably still read the next two in the trilogy.

THE ACCUSED

By John Grisham

This is the third book in the great new YA fiction 'Theodore Boone' series, by John Grisham. The series is aimed at 8-13 yr olds so its not a super complicated read or plot for those wanting to get into crime thriller novels. Although this book follows on from the other two in the series you can certainly read it as a stand alone novel. 

Theo is a bit of a whiz with law, both his parents being lawyers, and he often helps out friends when called upon. However the tables are turned when Theo is accused of a crime  of theft and all the evidence leads to him being guilty. He is being set up and must try to find evidence to show the Police he is innocent. Someone is slashing his tyres and breaking into his locker but he has no idea who could be doing this to him or why. There is also another story woven through the book, continued from the previous books, about a man who is on a murder trial but suddenly goes missing. There is lots going on to take your attention. I'm sure teens will love this series and will be greatly anticipating the next book to come.

GIRL STOLEN

by April Henry

(I know ... the cover is similar to Extremely loud and incredibly close)

This was a really exciting read. Cheyenne is a young 16 yr old girl who is suffering from pneumonia and waiting in the back seat of her step mother's car, when it is stolen. Situation bad enough.... worse when you are blind!

Cheyenne must try to stay calm and use all her senses to help her gain valuable information and clues to aid her escape. Although Griffin, the man who stole the car, didn't know she was there when he broke into the car and drove off, he did have opportunity to return her to where he found her, but his fear of his father's ridicule of not being able to even steal a car properly, causes Griffin to panic. Once they find out Cheyenne's father is a wealthy business man they decide to blackmail him for a ransom for his daughter's safe return.

This is a book that will have you on edge of your seat. You feel for Cheyenne and wonder how she will break free of their grip. She is very clever and extremely brave throughout the story. A great read.

PARVANA'S PROMISE

by Deborah Ellis

This story is a sequel to Parvana and Parvana's Journey, where we find 15 yr old Parvana in a bombed out school, and taken by American troops who think she is a terrorist. When questioned she refuses to talk and this annoys the American's. They interrogate her and keep her in a cell until she tells them why she was there, but she is determined above all else to stand her ground.

Little by little we find the story unfolding as to why she was in the school. Obviously it has been bombed but each time I thought I knew the answer the story revealed something else happened. This school was a place for girls to learn to read and write along with many other useful skills, and is the passion of Parvana and her mother. It is difficult being a women in Afghanistan and there are many forces suppressing their independence and safety. 

I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed it very much. Although fiction, this story could be that of any number of girls living in this war torn country. Deborah Ellis has a beautiful way of allowing you to feel the emotion and frustration in the story. I felt I was walking in the shoes of Parvana and felt helpless to help her and her friends. A great YA novel.

IN THAT FOREST

By Louis Nowra

This is a book with a difference. When I started reading the first page or two I thought I wasn't going to like it, but I was wrong. The story starts with a 76 year old named Hannah, who is retelling her devastating story of an incident when young, that changed her life forever. It is told in a broken English which was annoying me at first, but as I read on I realised why she spoke this way and I did eventually get used to it. 

Hannah and her family lived in the bush of Tasmania, during colonial times, when Tasmanian Tigers freely prowled the forests. It was a rugged life and she was an only child. When her neighbour and friend, Becky, comes to stay overnight because her father is away,Hannah was very excited. Her family, along with Becky, go on a nice little picnic, however, on their return a storm came in harsh and fast and capsized their little row boat, leaving Hannah and Becky to be stranded along in the wild and untamed Tasmanian forest. Not knowing if her parents where alive or dead, Hannah was petrified, being only six years of age, and Becky only a year older. Without giving too much away, they are startled as two Tasmanian Tigers approach. They are sure they will be killed until something startling happens. 

This story is heartbreaking, raw, and unforgettable story. The decisions they must make are unthinkable but what would I do to survive, lost, with no sign of help. This is a first YA novel for Louis Nowra, who was born in Melb, and is an author of many plays, non-fiction works, telemovies and film scripts.

A STRAIGHT LINE TO MY HEART

by Bill Condon

This is just a nice little story about a girl named Tiff who has finally finished school and is about to move into the next phase of her life, in her small town of Gungee. We find her in the local library reading Wuthering Heights. I love her motto "If you can't get a boy, get a book". She is interrupted by a nice boy, a footballer, who also has a love of books but offends her when all he seems to be interested in is how many raffle tickets she will buy. She later gets to know him a whole lot better!

Tiff's life hasn't been easy with her mother not long after she was born and being abandoned by others however she now lives with her surrogate grandfather Reggie and his son Bull. She has a real connection with these two and they have been her comfort over the years, unfortunately Reggie's health is declining. Tiff is given some work experience at a local newspaper as she thinks she may want to be a journalist. Tiff is a lovely down to earth girl and finds she can get through whatever challenges are thrown at her. Her best friend Kayla is a great support and they have plans to travel to Surfer's Paradise together. 

Dramas happen throughout her story and you will have a few tears towards the end. This book is about the love of reading, resilience and relationships with a touch of humour thrown in.

THE BELOVED

by Annah Faulkner

I really, really loved this beautiful book. From the first page it had me and it only took a day or so to finish it... that's how much I loved it! Roberta, a young girl contracts polio and is confined to hospital for months, then forced to wear a calliper and boot. This is devastating to Roberta and her family but when she is given a set of paints she realises how much she loves art and how talented she is. She is 'special' for sure as she can see colours hovering over people she meets. Some are angry colours others are full of love and she of course paints them, but her style is very different from the 'norm' and through a set of circumstances her mother forbids her to pain any more. This is who Roberta is.... she must paint... it's what she was born to do. 

In Australia she is bullied at school, because of her gympy leg, but her life changes when her family move to New Guinea. There is so much colour there she must continue her passion.  Because I love to draw and paint I really felt the frustration Roberta felt from being banned to paint. When she discovers secrets in her mother's life her whole world is turned upside down and I wanted the story to go on and on.I won't give you any more of the story because there many highs and lows that come her way.

This story is so beautifully written. I felt like I was with little Roberta as she grew up, peering into her life, feeling her pain. It felt so real that I thought it must have been an autobiography but this was Annah Faulkner's first novel. I can't believe it!

SLATED

by Teri Terry

What a gripping book. I sooo enjoyed this fabulous story.

Kyla is only 16 but has done wrong! A criminal! She's been 'slated'... her memory wiped... she has a new personality and a Levo on her wrist that monitors her emotions. If it gets too low (similar to a diabetic) she will pass out and die. This means a new start and very last chance or else. It should be OK  now and Kyla should fit into a new family and start a new life... but things are triggering Kyla's memory and she is experiencing a patchwork of nightmares. What does it all mean? Who can she trust and why do many of her friends and go missing? She confides in her friend... close friend Ben...

I loved this book from the very first page and hated having to put it down for a minute. I got to the very end and waited for all to be revealed and nooooo...! There is more to follow in the next book to be released in 2013. I will just have to wait... but I have my suspicians.

THE MESSENGER BIRD

by Ruth Eastham

I love a good spy read and this book beckoned me to read it after seeing the cover, reading the blurb and having previously read The Memory Cage, Ruth's first novel.

Nathan's father is arrested for breaking the Official Secrets Act and he must prove his father's innocent. To save his father he must follow the secret clues his father has left for him and follow the trail of Lilly, someone from the past who was also accused like his father. This book takes you on an interesting and dangerous ride as Nathan and his friends must solve the puzzles and codes before his father's enemies do. His father has warned him to trust no one and not to tell his mother or sister what he is doing. Time is running out for Nathan to solve the Enigma code.

This book is quick and easy to read, covering historical events. I think boys would love it.