Have you read the book…or seen the movie… or both?

I’d be really interested to hear what you thought of either, whether the movie is true to the book, whether you can see a glimmer of hope in either or they were just too dark for words…

Do you like reading about dystopic futures? Do you think McCarthty’s vision is realistic? What would you do in the father’s or son’s situation?

Mrs Sweeney

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Established in 1995, the Aurealis Awards recognise excellence by Australian writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. The 2009 winning books would be a great way to start off your years’ reading!

Read more about the Aurealis Awards

Mrs Sweeney

This is a delightful book about a boy with a plethora of worries - some faintly ridiculous and others bad enough to get me worrying about him worrying! Above all, though, Frankie Parsons had me laughing. His mother is afraid to leave the house, his new friend’s mother could arguably be labelled a prostitute and his aunts are downright eccentric. De Goldi’s writing is engaging, her characters loveable and believable. The10pm Question is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Mrs Sweeney

Books for Keeps

This is a site worth looking at for all current news and reviews about books for teens and children, especially those published in the UK. The reviews are well written, can be searched by age group and include a large archive of books back to the 1980s. As one example, see this review of Randah Abdul Fattah’s Where the Streets had a Name.

Mrs Sweeney

This  looks at what it takes to excel in this new world. The era of left brain dominance, and the information age it engendered, has given way to a new world in which right brain qualities – inventiveness, empathy, meaning, design – predominate. Very good read.

John Murphy

I thoroughly enjoyed this rambling, ambitious, very Australian masterpiece. Terry Dean, the brother of Martin is a Ned Kelly style man, brutal and at least partly mad but loved by the Australian public for his murderous escapades - all aimed at purging sacred Aussie sports of the criminals who rort the systems. His brother’s notoriety contributes to Martin’s slow, inexorable descent into madness, a curse to which his own son Jasper is in danger of succumbing. These are well-fleshed out, quirky, intelligent characters supported by equally interesting women. Anouk, a nubile, smart, slightly kooky left-wing radical who enters the Deans’ lives when she runs her keys along the body of Martin’s new red MG convertible, and the beautiful Caroline, apex to a love triangle both tragic and believable. If you like Peter Carey, try Tolz. You’ll find the same visceral love of Australian landscapes, vivid portraits of the people with their loveable, fatal flaws, and the same exciting, imaginative scope. And to top it off, Tolz is delightfully, irreverently funny.

 Michelle Sweeney

At age eleven Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home in a desperately poor village in northeast China and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet.  In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America — and with an American woman.  Two years later, though a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world.  This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice.

The best thing about this book is that Li Cunxin fulfilled his dream with the drive of pure determination and mind-boggling commitment.

What I didn’t like about the book was the fact that in the end he disobeyed everyone and ruined a lot of people’s dreams over a young girl, whom he left ultimately.  This was quite disappointing in an exceptionally brilliant book.

All in all, Mao’s Last Dencer is a great book about a child’s courage and perseverance to achieve a goal.  I believe we can all take a leaf out of this book and learn that the sky is the limit if you have the desire and burning passion to achieve the supposedly unachievable.

Shane A

Casey, Ed and Tommo are three mates who have always been united by their love of footy and girls. Unfortunately, Year 11 has brought with it some unforeseen complications and their previously cruisey routine has suddenly disintegrated. Ed is hoping to be recruited to the Bombers’ Youth Squad and his new footy mates are all about drinking and acting tough. Tommo can’t seem to decide whether he hates the hottest girl in school, or is actually in love with her. Casey’s brother has “come out” and his family has splintered as a result.  Not knowing how to deal with his angry father and absent mother, he’s started avoiding Tommo and doesn’t seem to care that Ed is in hospital after things at Saturday night’s party went way too far. Amidst all the drama in these boy’s lives, there’s still plenty of humour in this extremely readable and enjoyable novel.

Angela Morris

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Kafka on the Shore is quirky and astoundingly original. Kafka is a 15 year old boy who leaves home to escape the fate foretold by his father, (whom he hates), that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother and sister. If that’s ringing Oedipal bells don’t worry - this is no Greek myth. It’s more an amalgam of magical realism - Japanese style, and mystery with a philosophical bent.

Kafka is offered a job in a private library run by an enigmatic, beautiful but sad 50 year old woman and a kind, handsome and erudite transsexual. They each play their part in Kafka’s search for the truth about his past and how he wishes to go on living. Is the woman the mother who abandoned Kafka when he was only four? Who did kill Kafka’s father? Will Kafka lose his virginity to the spirit who visits his bedroom each night…and just what place do Colonel Sanders, Johnny Walker and the man who talks to cats fill in this surreal jigsaw? As I said, it’s different, but very readable and at times quite funny.

Michelle Sweeney

The slap of the title takes place at a family BBQ in Melbourne: spoiled brat toddler Hugo is about to swipe 8-year old Rocco with a cricket bat. Rocco’s father slaps Hugo to prevent this. The result? Friends and relatives divided. However, the book is about more than this, and the focus moves from the slap itself to explore the difficulty of marriage, work-life balance and mid-life crisis in a modern world. I agree with Emily Atchison’s comments in her earlier review of the same book that the structure Tsiolkas employs – of telling the story from a different character’s point of view in each section – makes the book engaging. However, I found it hard to keep reading at times due to the sheer dislikeability of many of the characters. Yes, the book tapped into conundrums faced by many 30 and 40-somethings in first world countries. But at times you wanted to shake them and say ‘stop being so selfish! You have a kind wife and healthy children, so stop worrying about your grey hair and the fact that the kids are hindering your music or recreational drug habits!’ A thought-provoking read, but I hope I don’t get stuck next to any of these characters at a dinner party.

Ailsa Macfie