Feasting the wolf

Feasting the Wolf

By Susan Price

A poignant story of best friends, set in the violent battles of the Viking world.

Ottar and Ketil are farm boys, who have listened to many exciting tales of brave and heroic warriors who form The Great Army. One day a Viking ship comes to their village, and the two friends decide to join the crew and make their dreams of battles and adventures come true.

Susan Price is a wonderful author - her knowledge and understanding of Viking times, and the myths and legends that were so interwoven with ordinary lives during that time, really gives a strong backbone to this story. Ottar and Ketil’s friendship is challenged in many ways, by both internal struggles as well as threats from the violent adventure they have chosen. Their journey together, and as individuals, is carefully written, evoking a real connection with these characters.

An excellent story - themed around courage and bravery, and the bond of friendship and family.

The Castle Corona

The Castle Corona

By Sharon Creech

A gentle slow-moving fairytale, told with warm humour.

Living in the Castle Corona are the very spoiled, and very rich, royal family. Pia and Enzio live in the village below the castle, and are two very poor, orphaned peasants. Eventually, everyone’s lives cross, with Pia and Enzio moving into the castle to become the royal food testers. There’s a mystery to solve, and a thief about, and lots of odd and quirky characters to meet.

It’s all very low-key though, all the traditional rough edges of fairytales have been smoothed over, so for example, there are no great moments of danger, and no wickedly evil characters. Everyone grows and learns something about themselves, and all go on to live ‘mostly happily, most of the time’. In this way, it was mostly a good book.

Geography Club

Geography Club

By Brent Hartinger

Russel thinks he’s ‘the only gay in the village’ – well, in his school, at least – until he discover that he’s not alone. Together with his newfound gay, straight and bisexual friends, he forms the Geography Club – a club that sounds so boring that no-one else will join and thus learn the secret of the true purpose of the club.

Russel is such a likeable protagonist, his first person narrative revealing him to be a fun-loving teen, with lots of heart, on a big journey learning about friendship, love and loyalty. He travels the path with some interesting friends, including Min and her lesbian lover, and the gorgeous jock Kevin who Russel falls for.

While lots of the issues in the story reflect the main themes of gay YA fiction – such as safe sex, homophobia and coming out – Hartinger has a way of making it all seem fresh and new and interesting. And this is because one of the main themes of the book is the feeling of wanting to hide away, or to keep secret, one’s true self – a theme so many can identify with. Even if it is like calling your gay, straight and lesbian alliance group a Geography Club.

A fast-paced book filled with fun, humour, sadness and friendship.

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

By Sarah Beth Durst

The Wild is the world of fairytales, where every tale must play itself out to its predetermined conclusion, over and over again. The fairytale characters are caught in their roles, forever reliving the same story, over and over again. Until Repunzel makes a daring escape, and imprisons the Wild. In doing so, she brings freedom to her fairytale friends, giving them the chance to make their own decisions and choose freely their own futures.

But the Wild breaks free and works to reclaim all that it lost. Julie, Repunzel’s daughter, must journey deep into the Wild to rescue her mother, her brother (Puss-in-Boots) and all her mother’s friends. Julie soon realizes how much danger she is in, especially when she is threatened with becoming entrapped within a never-ending fairytale loop.

Julie’s journey, and her meetings with many fairytale characters provides for a fun, entertaining and thoughtful story - a pleasure to read.

The Last of the High Kings

The Last of the High Kings

By Kate Thompson

Although this book is a sequel to Thompson’s award winning novel The New Policeman, it can just as easily be read as a stand-alone story. It’s a fabulous mix of Irish folklore, Celtic mythology, and faerie tales, as well as more contemporary issues such as environmentalism and the importance of family and social connections.

Jenny is eleven years old, and would rather wander the Irish hillsides, talking with a ghost and a puca, than attend her classes at school. She seems out-of-place with her family, feels disconnected from the everyday humdrum, and must work hard to understand her connection to the legendary world of Tir na n’Og.

Though the themes and characters are complex, the story unfolds with ease, helped along by lovely language, witty dialogue, and lots of humour. Highly recommended!

Scrapped Princess

Scrapped Princess
Volume 1 – A Tale of destiny

Scrapped Princess
Volume 2 – Song of the forgiven

By Ichiro Sakaki

These are the novels that inspired the Scrapped Princess anime series. There are 14 Volumes planned.

Fourteen years ago, in the kingdom of Linevan, the queen gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl. However, a prophecy foretold that the girl would, on her 16th birthday, destroy the world, and therefore should be executed immediately. Heartbroken, the queen could not kill her daughter, but instead arranged for her to be adopted by local friends.

Pacifica grows up with her new siblings, Shannon and Raquel, unaware of her true fate. However, when it is revealed that she is the Scrapped Princess, the trio decide to avenge the murder of their father and to test the truth of the prophecy. Fast-paced adventure and action ensues, as the three journey across the kingdom, hunted by fierce warriors intent on killing the Princess before she destroys their world.

An fun series, though a bit slow in some spots, and clearly missing the visual details of the manga and anime. An interesting blend of a manga and a novel – it’s more an illustrated novel really - with several manga-style illustrations.

Eggs

Eggs

By Jerry Spinelli

David’s mum dies in a freak accident, and he is sent to stay with his grandmother. He acts out his grief in anger, and makes life very hard for his grandmother, punishing her for not being the mother he loves. Primrose’s mother is a fortune-teller who marches to the beat of a different drum. Her dad is nothing more than a framed picture. Primrose’s anger comes from her mum being ‘different’ and for not loving her as Primrose thinks a mother should.

These two angry children meet up, become angry at each other, themselves, the people around them, and finally forge between them a strong friendship where they each find within the other a little of the something that’s missing in their own lives.

While the plot is deep and the characters are complicated and themes of loss and recovery are confronting – the prose is inviting and Spinelli writes with confidence and clarity. A thought-provoking and challenging book.

Viking warrior

Viking Warrior

By Judson Roberts

A strong, violent, bloody story set in 9th century Denmark marks the first book in a new series titled The Strongbow Saga.

Young Halfdan, the main character and narrator, is a slave in his father’s house due to his illegitimacy. When his father is mortally wounded in battle, his mother makes a tragic sacrifice which frees Halfdan to be fully recognized by his half-brother and half-sister. Characters important to Halfdan, and his journey from slave to warrior, are richly drawn and are the key revealers of the minutiae of Viking life. Historical detail is so intimately interwoven into the story, making the time and place of the story believable and real.

The language of the story is beautifully done – Halfdan’s voice is a perfect mix of high fantasy, heroic sagas, Viking legends and enough contemporary to make for an ease of reading.

This is an incredibly violent tale though, set in cruel and violent times. Halfdan faces many trials and tragedies, some quite heartbreaking. The strength of his character is revealed in the way he copes and adapts and changes during his journey. This story is so much more than an historical adventure. So looking forward to the next in the series!

The straight road to Kylie

The straight road to Kylie

Author: Nico Medina

Hip and savvy, fast paced and partied out, this story is absolutely dripping with pop-culture references.

Jonathan is gay, and out and proud, until the most popular girl in the school offers him a deal. If he will go back in the closet, and be her boyfriend for their final school year, she will pay for him to go to London to attend a Kylie Minogue concert. Accepting the deal is easy, but when a cute boy enters the scene, Jonathan must weigh the cost of denying his true self.

This novel is full of fun, parties, fabulous humour, rich kids, drinking, and swearing. And it’s a really interesting and clever twist on the theme of acceptance/denial of gay identity. Jonathan is a very strong character, confident and happy with how he is living his life. It is the reaction of his friends to his new found ‘straight-ness’, and his interest in a possible boyfriend, that cause him to reexamine his sense of self.

I have to say that I feel Jonathan’s life as a young gay student - totally out, totally accepted, totally confident and proud - might seem more like a fantasy story for many gay kids. That being acknowledged though, it is a fun, fabulous read.

The ghost's child

The ghost's child

Author: Sonya Hartnett

Oh, this is a special treat – a fairytale feel, with a darkness that is awash in sorrow and longing. There’s a nice sense of unease right from the start of the story, and it is sustained all the way to the final chapters.

Matilda is an elderly lady who is visited by a strange young boy. While we are wondering if he is the ‘ghost’ of the book’s title, Matilda tells her life story – of her search for beauty, for love, for belonging, and for her own sense of self. The theme of journeying is reflected in all parts of the story, as Matilda journeys through her life, as well as across the world. Love in all its many forms is another strong theme of the story – Matilda’s love for her father, for her husband, for her ‘fey’, and for herself.

The language of this story is just lovely – though lyrical and full of gorgeous metaphors, it is not a burden to read; it’s a pleasure to be lost in the fable-like elements and the fantastical sea voyage.

Such a beautiful story! I got to the end and marvelled at Sonya’s storytelling craft, and at the beauty of her writing.