A brilliant breath of fresh air: ‘The Lost Sapphire’

Family. History. A girl-meets-boy story with <all out cheering> no romantic angle… (yes, that’s right, boys and girls can actually be teenagers and be good friends)…

I’m calling it!

If you’re looking for some truly sweet kid lit, then The Lost Sapphire is for you. I’d hazard a guess the entire of Belinda Murrell’s time slip series would be too. It was a relief for me to read something interesting, exciting and fascinating, that wasn’t peppered with swearing or murdering or shooting or shagging.

A breath of fresh air.

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Editing: 3 reasons why talking to yourself is NOT a sign of madness

Made by me using pablo. Not my window. My window is far less salubrious. And has no flowers.

My office window has one metre and a rickety old fence between it and a public access side lane. On beautiful spring days like yesterday, when my window is wide open, I often worry that people walking the lane might come to the conclusion I’m mad.

Because I’m talking to myself. A lot.

Yes, it’s full-on editing time for me and my YA South American Road-trip manuscript. This is about the fourth edit I’ve given it, which means I’m reading it out aloud to myself. And occasionally then telling myself, aloud, what I need to do to fix a spot. Okay, the second bit sounds crazy. But the first is true-blue proven editing gold.

I read aloud for three main reasons:

1. Dialogue

2. Awkward phasing/repetition

3. Consistent voice

Helping preschool kids appreciate the biodiversity at their doorstep – a mini-library to connect to nature

For people to want to change something, they’ve got to care. And to care, they have to understand. And what better time to start raising that understanding than when they are kids? Cue my mini-library to connect kids with local biodiversity issues.

Who dug that burrow? My hubby and daughter in Dryandra.

I’ve just returned from a weekend camping in the wonderful Dryandra Woodland, one of the few places where Western Australia’s mammal emblem, the numbat, still exists in the wild. Dryandra also boasts two predator-free fenced enclosures at a site called Barna Mia. Barna Mia houses six nocturnal species, many now extinct on the mainland, and only one of which I’ve ever seen outside of fenced sanctuaries. All we needed to make the weekend perfect were books.

Fist-pump book quote – ‘And I Darken’

Made by me using pablo

The book promised a ‘toxic triangle’ and mate, did it deliver.

This quote marks the point where uber-tough deposed princess Lada freaks the bojangles out of the Ottoman court and the ‘foul man’ chosen to be her husband. And Mehmed, son of the Sultan, is so amused by her antics he makes her and her beautiful brother Radu his companions.

Thus starts the ‘toxic triangle’. It’s a pivotal moment, and you’ve got to hand it to Lada for pure attitude. I’m not a huge fan of toxicity, but if you are, jump on in! Because this is a brilliantly written book with a captivating level of world-building that absorbs you into 15th Century Transylvania.

Check it out – ‘And I Darken‘ by Kiersten White.

 

 

 

Breaking free from the circling wolves – ‘Jenna’s Truth’

Picture the scene. It’s 2.47pm on a Wednesday. I have to leave to pick my daughter up from kindy in three minutes, except I’m awash with hot silent tears. I’ve been reading a great book again…

Sometimes there are stories that talk to me, change me, teach me. ‘Jenna’s Truth’ by Nadia L King is one of them. It takes the tough issues of bullying and teen suicide, and fights for a positive outcome.

Never relax around the popular kids; they lure you in like wolves circling their prey – I just hadn’t realised yet that I was the prey. (p30)

King was inspired to write this book by the moving story of Amanda Todd. Straight after I finished reading ‘Jenna’s Truth’ I googled Amanda’s You Tube video. Cue more tears on a Wednesday afternoon. Because Amanda didn’t deserve the treatment she got. Jenna doesn’t either. The difference between these two is that Jenna is saved.

‘Jenna’s Truth’ aims to save many more.

Why I’m taking my pants off this November

You know the deal. Writers are supposed to either be Plotters or Pantsers. I started with my pants firmly on. They’ve been dropping by stages, and I think it’s time to take them off completely and run around in my brightie whities. Because frankly, when they’re round my ankles they trip me up.

Alcohol and social media and the desire to conform: ‘Saving Jazz’

Mate, after reading this I’m glad I’ve finished High School. Compelling and chest-huggingly confronting. Sickening actions with terrible repercussions. This book isn’t shy. It’s on a mission. But fear not – it also has the poise to end positively without a whiff of cheddar or colby. And it absorbed me.

‘Saving Jazz’ by Kate McCaffrey tells the tale of a drunken party gone wrong and its painful aftermath. It has a level of clarity that only comes from a combo of great writing and clever and careful editing – bravo Fremantle Press. The part of me that’s a mum was rocking in the corner muttering, ‘Home-schooling, home-schooling.’ The part of me that’s planning to be a Science teacher was setting her jaw, more determined to take the path already chosen, but also a little terrified.

Fist-pump book quote – ‘How to train your Dragon’

Made by me using pablo :o)

I love it when a character with a name like Thuggory the Meathead turns out to be a nice guy. Here he stands up for Hiccup against Snotface Snotlout (who sadly is as nasty as his name suggests) in ‘How to train your Dragon’ by Cressida Cowell.

Fist-pump!!!

Ten things I fist-pumpingly love about ‘Ten things I hate about me’

‘Ten things I hate about me’ by Randa Abdel-Fattah is a fab and supremely recommended read. I couldn’t resist making a list of ten things I loved about it!

So here goes…

1. This book is all about believing in yourself and being true to who you are.

2. It’s dealing with race relations in the wake of the Cronulla riots in 2005, but the message is (sadly) still very relevant today. The Main Character, Jamilah or Jamie, is a Lebanese Muslim. That’s a fist-pump for diversity!

3. The email chat between Jamilah and ‘John’ is funny and caring and a great way to show the other side of Jamilah just bursting to come out.