Thunder Road by Ted Dawe

It seems I've been reading 'boys books' these holidays - first Exposure and now Thunder Road, and I have to say they've been great. Thunder Road is set in New Zealand and is about the very topical and controversial theme of street racing. The main characters are Trace, a country boy who finds himself in the Big Smoke, and Devon, a confident street-smart guy obsessed with fast cars. Trace is impressionable, and under the influence of his new mate Devon, gets sucked into the street racing world and its darker side of drugs and crime. The excitement of the strip turns dangerous and the story builds to a final, dramatic climax.

This is a very well-written realistic story with lots of street racing and criminal underworld details; an exciting and thought-provoking read for teens, especially boys. I think it could turn young people who find reading 'boring' onto reading with its fast-paced, current themes. I will definitely recommend it to students at my school.

Private Peaceful

World War I is a time in history which fascinates me. I've often looked at this book in the school library and mentally put it on my 'Must Read' list. I never got around to it until now. What a treat! 'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo tells the story of Thomas Peaceful, a private in the British Army. His story is written in flashbacks as he seeks to relive his life through one sleepless night. It isn't action packed or a riveting page turner, but it's so beautifully written it doesn't need to be. I finished with tears in my eyes, and that to me is the sign of a great book. I loved it!

Exposure by Mal Peet

I have often been told that Mal Peet is an excellent author but have not got around to reading any of his books. After reading Exposure I am a new fan. It is his third Paul Faustino novel with soccer as a main theme but the storyline does not relate to his previous novels Keeper or The Penalty. Set in South America. Otello is black and South America's top footballer, and Desmerelda is the beautiful, white pop-star daughter of a right-wing politician (note the Shakespeare's Othello reference). This story is full of excitement and drama; the celebrity couple lead an enviable life but struggle with the avaricious media. There is the politics of premier league football and the corruption within government and the police force, with the plight of homeless street children thrown in. This book reads like a quality TV drama. It is fast-paced and edgy, and has a very contemporary feel. Suitable for senior high school readers, Exposure will give teens an insight into the power of the media to create and destroy people, and the not-so-glamorous reality of celebrity. I loved it and I don't even like soccer. I am now keen to read Mal Peet's other work.

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen

I picked up this book and cringed at both the title and cover. To be honest, I wasn't holding out much hope for this one, but you can't always judge a book by its cover, so I decided I would give it a fair try. 'Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen' is about a young girl, Sammy Keyes, and her friend Holly who discover several dead cats and have some encounters in a nearby wrestling school. I am assuming that they discover who is killing the cats and why, but I don't know for sure because I just couldn't finish it. I gave the book 100 + pages, but could not face the remaining 200 or so. This is very unlike me. Normally I would finish reading even the most inane of books, just to see how it turned out, and in the hope that somewhere along the line it improves. Perhaps the new year has brought around newer demands ...
Sammy Keyes is a feisty protagonist, and the book has been written in a very easy to read style, but it just isn't for me.

'Escape From Shadow Island' by Paul Adam

I started reading 'Escape From Shadow Island' by Paul Adam a couple of weeks ago, but other commitments stopped me from really getting into it until yesterday. The blurb reads extremely well. Very short, but you want to start reading straight away. The first chapter is equally addictive. It is basically about a young escapologist, Max Cassidy, whose father has been murdered and his mother has been imprisoned for it. When a mysterious visitor arrives in his dressing room after a show and hints that his father is still alive, Max does the inevitable - he looks for his father. Travelling back to South America with his guardian and on stage assistant, Max endeavours to discover the whereabouts of his father and what really happened.
Adam has constructed the novel extremely well and created a real page turner. He keeps a steady pace and some of the action is truly riveting, if a bit far fetched. It comes across though, as the first in a series of books and, after finishing it, I felt a little short changed and didn't have that sense of finality. There were just not enough of the loose ends tied up to make me rave about the book. Beginning great. Middle a real page turner. End frustrating.

On to the next one ...

reading @ the beach

Actually the last time I went to the beach it was to ride ponies not read.... any blogging I do will have to be about reading on the deck.... a nice place to sit on a bean bag and read - or maybe reading in the bush as we have some lovely mature bush and it's lovely to sit among the ferns and trees, read and listen to the stream on a hot day.

I have begun dipping into the box of books. My 10 year old son read Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis and enjoyed it initially though lost interest as he said the plot got hard to follow and understand.

My 7 year old daughter and I loved reading Sunday Chutney by Aaron Blabey. Simple text and really appealing distinctive illustrations.

Happy Reading everyone,
Kate