The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

In this humorous and heartfelt debut about a split cultural identity, nothing goes according to plan for sixth-grader Lucy Wu.

Lucy Wu, aspiring basketball star and interior designer, is on the verge of having the best year of her life. She's ready to rule the school as a sixth grader and take over the bedroom she has always shared with her sister. In an instant, though, her plans are shattered when she finds out that Yi Po, her beloved grandmother's sister, is coming to visit for several months -- and is staying in Lucy's room. Lucy's vision of a perfect year begins to crumble, and in its place come an unwelcome roommate, foiled birthday plans, and Chinese school with the awful Talent Chang.

This is an interesting topic, and a theme that is also being explored in recent Australian children’s fiction.   The book explores what it feels like to be an American born Chinese girl.  Lucy is American, she loves basketball and would rather eat lasagne than authentic Chinese food.  She’s looking forward to her sister going away to college because it means she finally gets her own room…but nothing goes to plan.

Her Great Aunt, Yi Po comes to stay and Lucy has to share a room, not happy, she builds a wall of bookcases and dressers to keep Yi Po out.  When her parents tell her she has to give up basketball to go to Chinese school (on a Saturday), Lucy has had enough. If this isn't enough to deal with Lucy also had to deal with Sloane, a girl at school whose bullying is making life difficult for Lucy.

I found myself identifying with Lucy’s best friend Madison in this book.  Madison is an All American, family came over on the Mayflower, kind of American and I am your 'average family came over from Europe Australian', with no strong cultural heritage to speak of, so for me having the opportunity to be immersed in another language and having a connection with such an amazing culture and history is quite appealing.  That is me as an adult speaking though, and Lucy is 11, and like most 11 year olds all she wants is to be just like everyone else…

I did find myself becoming frustrated with Lucy, but I think that’s the point, she became quite obnoxious in her stubbornness, but as the story  progressed, Lucy began to gain some perspective, and to me she became more likeable again. 

Last Thirteen by James Phelan

Kidnapped from school and finding out his parents aren't who he thinks they are, Sam is suddenly running from danger at every turn. Nothing will ever be the same again. With his life and identity shattered, Sam's salvation is tied to an ancient prophecy. He is in the final battle to save the world, up against an enemy plotting to destroy us all. He alone can find the last 13. 13 books. 13 nightmares. 1 destiny.

This is the first book is what is going to be the NEXT BIG THING from Scholastic.  Like Conspiracy 365 which has come before the Last Thirteen series will see a book being released every month from September 2013 through to December 2014.

The book opens with a dream sequence, Sam (the main character in this first instalment) comes face to face with a repulsive monster and he is witness to the world being destroyed.  Just a dream you say…well here’s the kicker, Sam is one of the Last Thirteen…and his dreams come true.

When helicopters land at school and soldiers take Sam away, the adventure really begins.  The choppers are forced to crash land and a different group of dart gun wielding adults take Sam and his two new friends with them…to Switzerland.  There is of course a secret academy hidden in the Swiss mountain ranges, where everything is explained, and Sam learns what his part will be in the future of humanity!

Sound like your kind of book?  Well there’s a lot of online add-ons for this series and if you go to the link below, you can read an excerpt, meet the author, and maybe even win a prize!

 http://www.thelast13.com/ 

The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

The blurb:

A haunting dystopian novel in the vein of John Marsden from a brand new voice in Australian YA literature

For Fin, it’s just like any other day – racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe. Only it’s not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.

When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold and snow is falling. There’s no Internet, no phone, no TV, no power and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learnt in school could have prepared him for this.

With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother, Max, must find a way to survive in a nuclear winter … all on their own.

When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?

Anyone who watches the news, knows that there are stories about countries with nulcear weapons and the possibility of any of these bombs being detonated.  Well, in this book it happens.

Fin and brother Max are alone when disaster strikes.  In a small town in the Blue Mountains the brothers have to survive the freezing cold and the dwindling food supplies.  They live in hope that the army (or someone) will come and help them, but after one visit from a supply truck...no one comes.  When the food runs out and people are starting to get sick and turn on each other,  the brothers decide to head for the city in search of their parents.

If I were to compare it to Tomorrow When the War Began (and people will compare the two) I would say there's less action but more suspense and anticipation.  More than half of the book takes place in the Blue Mountains where everyone is waiting for help.  That might sound like it might be a bit boring and dull, but it's anything but.  As a reader you are compelled to keep reading because you need to know what happens and find out how they manage to survive.

I really enjoyed this book, and it is the sort of book that you will read in one sitting...so be warned.  I did however have a few niggles in the back of my mind as I was reading with regard to the choices some characters made.  I understand that the characters are facing extreme conditions and therefore there is no right or wrong response when faced with tough choices, but there were still things that didn't ring true with me.

As well as being a really good read, there are a number of themes in this book which makes it a great choice for a class text. Themes include: family, friendship, war, courage, belonging, death, survival, ethics and spirituality.

UQP has produced Teachers' Notes if you want to take a closer look at the themes in this book.



 

That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

Every time a new Mo Willems book comes out I think, ‘This one is my favourite’.  When the next one comes out I think ‘No, this one is my favourite’, so it no surprise to me that THIS one is my new favourite.

It’s design is like that of a silent movie, where the reader can see the danger in the meeting of the wolf and duck.  Just in case you weren’t quite picking up on the ‘danger’ element, we have a little duckling poking it’s head to say ‘This is not a good idea’.

There have been other books quite similar to this one, where you know that things might not be what they seem.  It just might be that it’s not the duck that’s in trouble at all! It reminded me of two Wolf’s Sunday Dinner by Tania Cox being one, and My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza.

While there is that tiny element of danger…that the duck is going to end up as dinner, it’s not too scary for younger readers, I think the presence of the duckling popping in and out of the story lightens the mood somewhat.

First Third by Will Kostakis

One of the first things I saw when looking at the cover of this book was the quote from Melina Marchetta.

‘The relationships in this novel are gems.  Funny dialogue, wonderful characters, a story told with so much heart.’ Melina Marchetta

At the same moment Billy has his first kiss (with an older woman who runs away when she realises how young he is), his Yiayia (Grandmother) collapses in church.  This results in a stay in hospital waiting to have her gall stones removed. It’s at the beginning of her hospital stay that Bill’s Yiaya gives him two notes.  The first takes him to Melbourne , where he comes face to face with a past he isn’t ready to deal with.  The second is a list of three things his Yiayia wants him to do…a bucket list.  Bill is convinced it can’t be a bucket list because no one dies from gall stones do they?

Here’s the list (in Yiaya's own words)

1. Find your mummy husband
2. Have Simon girlfriend in Sydney
3. Fix Peter

This book is a real mix of comedy and tragedy.  The Tupperware laden family celebrating  Easter at Yiayia’s bedside in hospital is pretty funny, as are the Facebook updates which pop up throughout the novel, like this one for example:

There comes a time in every boy’s life when his mother asks him to proof read her sexts?  No?  Just me?  OK then.

The more tragic moments come in degrees, like the moment where the guy Lucas was chatting up throws his number away when he sees’s his crutches, and Bill sees it.  It’s only a small thing, but it gives us a feeling about Lucas’ life, and the boys friendship.  There are bigger issues too, family issues, dealing with loss, anger, rejection.

I can’t NOT compare it to Looking For Alibrandi, mainly because of the quote on the front of the book, but there are obvious similarities.  This is a story that has definite ethnic roots, a Greek Australian family whose culture is kept alive by the older generation.  At the same time it is also a book about a teenage boy dealing with moving to that next stage of his life…the second third. 

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Newbery honor winner, New York Times bestseller, Edgar Award Finalist, and E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor book.

A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime

Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Full of wisdom, humour, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee.

I chose this book for two reasons, one, I felt I had been lacking in the primary reading department, and two, it was a Newbery honor book.  I had read and love the Newbery winner The One and Only Ivan, so when I saw this book at my library I happily took it home.

The book is set in Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, population 148 minus 1 (murder) , a town full of eccentric characters. 

Moses, so named because she was found at the river’s edge during a hurricane 11 years earlier, is the centre of it all, and is front and centre when a local man is found murdered.  Moses may not have any luck finding her Upstream Mother, but she’s sure that she and best friend Dale can find the murderer before Detective Starr and his associates.

This book has a little of everything, the exchanges between Dale and Mo are laugh out loud funny, the dynamic between Mo, Miss Lana and the Colonel will tug on your heart strings, there’s a little romance with Mo’s crush on Lavender… and then there’s the murder mystery.

I am not sure if 'the south' of today still use such niceties as are displayed in this book, the children refer to their elders as Miss Lana, Miss Rose and Grandmother Miss Lacy Thornton, but to this Aussie reader, that all adds to the charm of the story.

Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

Rebecca James had an amazing debut novel, Beautiful Malice in 2010 and she’s back with another book full of psychological suspense with Sweet Damage. From memory, Beautiful Malice pushed the boundary as to whether is was a book for teenagers or adults, and this one, I think, goes over the edge. Because of the ages of the characters (in their 20s) and the content (sex, drinking, swearing), this would probably be considered to fit into the new genre of ‘new adult’ fiction. It’s probably even marketed as an adult title, but we have ended up with it on our shelves, so I will include it in this blog.

The main character is Tim, trying to sort his life out. He has returned to Australia after travelling, and has been sharing a flat with his ex-girlfriend. When he sees a add for a cheap room, in a huge house, with great views and is walking distance to work, Tim jumps at the chance. The only condition is that he has to look out for his new housemate Anna, who suffers from agoraphobia. Anna is odd and the house is spooky, and when Anna’s tragic story comes to light all of the pieces fall into place.

The story is told through two characters, Tim and Anna. Through Anna’s chapters we learn of the events that have lead her to where she is today. It has elements of a thriller with a bit of mystery thrown in and the suspense slowly builds until we finally see the big picture at the end of the book and go….aaahhh, of course. To me the book reads a lot like a movie, and for that reason I think it will appeal to older teenagers who are not real readers.

For Adelaide readers, Rebecca James will be appearing at The Body in the Garden, South Australian Garden and Crime Writers' Festival being held in October.