Title: On the Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult; Contemporary
Synopsis: “I’m dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.”
Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs – the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.
And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor’s only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother – who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road. (Goodreads)
Rating:
4 stars
Review 34: Howl’s Moving Castle series (Diana Wynne Jones)
Title: Howl’s Moving Castle; Castle in the Air; House of Many Ways
Series: Howl’s Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy
Synopsis: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 32: The Last Continent (Terry Pratchett)
This book is technically part of a “series” but can also be read as a standalone.
Title: The Last Continent
Series: Discworld #22
Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: This is the Discworld’s last continent, a completely separate creation. It’s hot. It’s dry… Very dry. There was this thing once called The Wet, which no one now believes in. Practically everything that’s not poisonous is venomous. But it’s the best bloody place in the world, all right?
And it’ll die in a few days, except…
Who is this hero striding across the red desert? Champion sheep shearer, horse rider, road warrior, beer drinker, bush ranger and someone who’ll even eat a Meat Pie Floater when he’s sober? A man in a hat, whose Luggage follows him on little legs, who’s about to change history by preventing a swagman stealing a jumbuck by a billabong?
Yes… All this place has between itself and wind-blown doom is Rincewind, the inept wizard who can’t even spell wizard. He’s the only hero left.
Still… no worries, eh?
The Last Continent is the twenty-second in Terry Pratchett’s phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Terry Pratchett would like it to be known that The Last Continent is not a book about Australia. It’s just vaguely Australian. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 31: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 30: Fractured (Dani Atkins)
Title: Fractured
Author: Dani Atkins
Genre: Romance; New Adult
Synopsis: Rachel’s life is perfect. A handsome boyfriend, great friends and the prospect of starting at university in a few weeks means she’s never been happier. But in a single heartbeat her world falls apart forever.
Five years later, Rachel is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that changed everything. Returning to her hometown for the first time in years, she finds herself consumed by thoughts of the life that could have been. But when a sudden fall lands her in hospital, Rachel awakes to discover that the life she had dreamed about just might be real after all.
Unable to trust her own memories, Rachel begins to be drawn further into this new world where the man she lost is alive and well but where she is engaged to be married to someone else…
FRACTURED is a heart-warming tale of love and second chances which will leave you wondering whether two very different storylines can ever lead to the same happy ending. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 29: Quintana of Charyn (Melina Marchetta)
SPOILER WARNING: The synopsis and review will contain spoilers for the first two books in The Lumatere Chronicles, Finnkin of the Rock (review here) and Froi of the Exiles (review here). However, my review will not contain spoilers for this last book..
Title: Quintana of Charyn
Series: The Lumatere Chronicles #3
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy
Synopsis: There’s a babe in my belly that whispers the valley, Froi. I follow the whispers and come to the road . . .
Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi must travel through Charyn to search for Quintana, the mother of Charyn’s unborn king, and protect her against those who will do anything to gain power. But what happens when loyalty to family and country conflict? When the forces marshalled in Charyn’s war gather and threaten to involve the whole of the land, including Lumatere, only Froi can set things right, with the help of those he loves.(Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 28: Froi of the Exiles (Melina Marchetta)
SPOILER WARNING: The synopsis and review will contain spoilers for the first book in The Lumatere Chronicles, Finnkin of the Rock. My review for the first book can be found here, but my review will not contain spoilers for Froi of the Exiles.
Title: Froi of the Exiles
Series: The Lumatere Chronicles #2
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy
Synopsis: Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior’s discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 27: Fear Week (Andrew McBurnie)
Title: Fear Week
Author: Andrew McBurnie
Genre: Young Adult; Historical Fiction
Synopsis: Adrian Thorby is about to experience a week of embarrassing and comic incidents. But he’s scared. It’s 1962, the week of the Cuban missile crisis, and the world is threatened by nuclear war. He’s a science-fiction fan who fears he will never live to see a futuristic world of high-technology, including space travel and robots, and will never have a girlfriend. He knows he has been born into a shoddy and primitive world.
Adrian lives in Hull, a north-eastern English city still half-flattened by WW2 bombing. He assumes that with his country’s experience of intense bombing during the last war, there will be a swift introduction of emergency preparedness measures. But everyone continues with their lives as normal. Nobody prepares; Adrian begins to think the grownups must all be mad.
He is also secretly in love with a girl from another school, is troubled by sexual thoughts, and through some awkward moments begins to wonder if he really has the brains to participate in a technological future. The seven days of “Fear Week” narrate his exploits, blunders and embarrassments during the nuclear crisis, and his yearnings for the girl of his dreams. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 26: A Tale Dark & Grimm (Adam Gidwitz)
Title: A Tale Dark & Grimm
Series: A Tale Dark & Grimm #1
Author: Adam Gidwitz
Genre: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Synopsis: In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.
Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after. (Goodreads)
Rating:
Review 25: Broken Bargain (Clare Davidson)
SPOILER WARNING: The synopsis and review will contain spoilers for the first book in the Hidden series, Broken Bargain. My review for the first book can be found here.
Title: Broken Bargain
Series: Hidden #2
Author: Clare Davidson
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy
Synopsis: When you know magic is real, complacency is not an option.
It’s a new school year and ten months since Kim’s sister died. She wants to forget about magic, rebuild her life and start fresh. But it’s not easy when she has to lie to everyone: her family, best friend, Sophie, and secretive new guy, AJ.
But when Sophie’s grandmother falls ill, Kim can’t help but notice the parallels to Charley’s death. Convinced she’s the only one who can help, Kim sets out to discover what’s really wrong with Sophie’s grandmother. (Goodreads)
Rating:
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