Young Adult Fiction

Frostblood – Elly Blake

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Generally this was a pretty good story, set to be the first of a trilogy. I enjoyed the setting and the frost and fire wielding, Our main character Ruby is easy to understand and feel along with, but my only complaint is that the story was extremely predictable. It’s a good read if you’ve not heard this story over and over before, but as a seasoned reader I was really hoping for more. If I decide to pick up the next book, Fireblood, I’m really hoping that Elly Blake pushes her characters and her stories into that more realm. I’d like to see something new, and her writing style is very easy to go along with and you want to know more, it just wasn’t quite there with the story telling. I would recommend this for a tween reader, someone who is new to the fantasy/romance genre as the story might still be fresh and new.

Once (Once #1) – Morris Gleitzman

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I enjoyed this first installment of the Once series and I’m just about to start the second book (Then).  For those unfamiliar with this series of quick reads it’s set in 1942 in German occupied Poland during WWII.  It’s the story of Felix, a maybe orphan on a journey to find his parents after 3 years and 8 months of waiting around in an orphanage for his parents to come and get him.  The innocence of Felix and his love of telling stories make this book enchanting despite its grim nature.  Looking at the Holocaust through the eyes of a young Jewish orphan boy is pretty eye opening especially as Felix is growing up on his journey to find his parents. This is a really good way to introduce a pretty horrific time period in recent past to a younger audience, Felix is charming and likable and forever innocent in this first tale.  Really looking forward to seeing what become of him in the second installment.

Losing It – Julia Lawrinson

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This book was pretty meh. It’s about four high school senior girls, Zoe, Abby, Mala and Bree, who challenge each other to lose their virginity before ‘schoolies week’. From what I can gather that’s like the Australian version of spring break, a huge party at the end of the school year, intended for high school leavers.  I got roped into reading it for ‘appropriateness’ by one of the teachers at my school, and even though the entire book is about young women trying to ‘lose it’ I don’t think it’s that inappropriate for older teens. I liked the format of the book though, It started out omnipresent, stating the intention and the rules of the challenge, then splits into four sections, one told by each girl, with a remaining bit at the end where they go over who won the challenge.  The book is pretty formulaic, and there were almost no twists, though it might give a younger reader a few eyebrow raises.  Abby probably had the best character development, the only one of the girls who is raised in a Christian family. Bree, the last entry , though quite different from the others was probably the most boring, despite all the build up from the other girls’ entries. I wouldn’t recommend this one as it wasn’t anything special.

Lumberjanes – Beware the kitten holy – Written by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Elli; Illustrated by Brooke Allen; Colours by Maarta Laiho; Letters by Aubrey Aiese

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What a great comic. Each girl in the girl-scout-like troupe is unique and wonderful.  They each have their own distinct traits, making each one likeable and relatable; you’re either like one of these girls or you ‘ve known someone like them. I also really like the behaviours they are modelling: camaraderie, compassion, helpfulness, friendship and fierce loyalty.  Each girl is a bad ass in her own way and the group encourage each other to use their individual strengths, trusting that the girl knows what she is doing.  It’s refreshing to see and it made me feel goodas an ex-scout to read it.I really enjoyed how they used heroic and notable women’s names as exclamations, I had to look up a few and really liked learning about some really amazing women. The art is also dynamic and does a great job of telling the story, the colours are rich and vibrant and convey real feeling and impact as the girls go on their adventures. I loved this comic and I’m looking forward to grabbing another volume.  Well done Lumberjanes team!

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) – Cassandra Clare

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Technically I didn’t read this one, but listened to it in audio book format. I think that may have tainted my view on it a little as the narrator’s voice just wasn’t incredibly pleasant and at times made the characters sound rather whiny. But that just proves how good the writing was because despite that I really enjoyed the story. I love period dramas, and this was one with a magical YA twist. We follow Tessa Grey who has arrived in London to find her brother missing. She is kidnapped by some magical hags but escapes them only to be caught up in Shadowhunter business, for those who don’t know Shadowhunters are like the  police of this magical world and Tessa helps them in turn for their help finding her brother. This book was long, but was well paced and worth a read, I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.

The girl who owned a city – by O.T. Nelson; Adapted by Dan Jolley; Illustrated by Joelle Jones; Colours by Jenn Manley Lee

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This is a book by O.T. Nelson, but I haven’t read it so can’t compare this graphic novel to the original 1975 novel.  Back story here is everyone over the age of 12 was killed off by a virus, leaving behind a bunch of kids who are starving and often useless. Our main character Lisa is just trying to keep herself and her little brother Todd safe.  There are gangs roaming around, and as in usual kid fashion are completely cruel.  Lisa then enlists the kids on her street to form their own community in which they share resources and knowledge, different from the menacing gangs, these kids actually look after each other. The story really begins once Lisa has built a virtual empire and rival factions get jealous and then come the internal problems Lisa faces with her co-leaders.  I enjoyed this story, even if it seemed a little far fetched in places as I’m not sure a 12 year old could be quite that mature, but I liked where the story went and the overall themes and storytelling, some good examples here of growing up and people management.

Shooting stars – Brian Falkner

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I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book, but I actually loved it.  I wasn’t sure if I would be able to connect with Egan, especially after the last book I read taking place in modern day Auckland with a male lead was Into the River. But Egan was very likeable, the prime example of innocence and wonder, something with is usually reserved only for young kids, not older teenagers.  It was refreshing to see my city from the eyes of someone new to it, and someone who really doesn’t understand it. Some background, Egan has grown up in hiding in the bush with only his mother for company.  His story is about his journey to find his mother who has suddenly disappeared, while trying to avoid his famous father who was very abusive.  He travels to Auckland in search of her and experiences a first love among many firsts. The way cursing is approached in this book was adorable, as it’s quite clear Egan doesn’t actually know any, and his interpretations are great.  I would recommend this book, it is an excellent story told in journal entries which makes it an easy book to read little and often.

Blankets – Craig Thompson

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This graphic novel was beautiful.  The story was touching and very well crafted. It’s a story of growing up, your first love and the challenges that come with being in a very religious family. We follow the author Craig as he’s growing up, this is semi-autobiographical, realistic-fiction, some parts actually happened and some are made up as they make for a better story. The art work is great, a little rough, which makes it compelling.  The book is thick, but the story was so good I couldn’t put it down and read the entire thing in an evening.  Craig’s feelings for Raina come through amazingly, you can practically feel what he feels.  This story is heart breaking, painful, beautiful and definitely worth the read. You’ll finish it in no time, it’s that good, I promise.

Into the river – Ted Dawe

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For those who don’t know, this book was up for consideration to be banned in New Zealand.  I can see why some would have thought this, but glad New Zealand was mature enough to decide not to ban it.  In fact I recently read that it’s getting a movie deal. If you read the abstract for this book it actually tells you nothing about the story. In fact I think the abstract for this book is pretty awful and useless. This story is about Te Arepa, who is called Devon for most of the book, Te Arepa is an identity he sheds pretty quickly into the book. He is incredibly smart and gets into a private boarding school where he finds a new identity amongst the city and white European New Zealand culture, where he names himself Devon, and sheds his Maori identity. That in itself speaks volumes as he now doesn’t fit in with his own people anymore and doesn’t really fit in with the rich white crowd at his school either. I’m not really sure how reflective this actually is as to what is happening with New Zealand’s Maori youth, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Most of the book happens during Devon’s high school years, the friends he makes, the girls he hooks up with and the shameful and naughty things he gets up to at his boarding school in Auckland so far away from his family in the rural North.  I read this book to completion, but found it a little challenging as I can’t really identify with Devon and his completely male boarding school, I have no actual real life experience with the things he was meant to handle and that made it difficult to keep my attention.  I can see why it was considered for ban though, it alludes to paedophilia (Student-teacher relationships), sex scenes and a rape scene, so if you’re looking at reading this or suggesting someone read it I would rate this as senior read with an age restriction of 16+.

Mortal Fire – Elizabeth Knox

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If you like magic and mysterious circumstances you’ll like Mortal Fire. This is the story of Canny Mochrie and how she finds her magic.  Set in Southland (a fictional New Zealand) in 1959, Canny is a Pasifika girl and a mathematical genius who can see something Extra.  That’s how she describes the magic she can see in and on things, they are runes she can’t understand, and no one else can see them.

Canny ends up being shipped off on a trip with her step-brother Sholto over the summer, forcing her to leave the bedside of her best friend Marli who is struck in an iron lung due to Polio. She is anxious and a bit surly until she stumbles upon the magical Zarene Valley and manipulates the situation so she and Sholto must stay at the Zarene family guesthouse.  She then uses her time there to figure out the magic runes that the Zarene’s teach their children.

The plot thickens when she stumbles upon a be-spelled house which imprisons an attractive young man, Ghislain.  As she gets to know him, they fall in love, though if you ask me it is a little bit quick and forced. And as she is discovering more and more about the secrets of magic and the valley, she discovers even more about herself.

This book as some great themes: tragedy, first love, friend and family relationships, all mixed together with magic and mystery told by a pasifika-esque voice which is a rarity in itself.  I enjoyed unravelling this thread and reckon many others might too.