Aye, it's set in Scotland!

Stonemouth – Iain Banks

Hachette – Available April 2012

Our story begins with the dubious return of Stewart Gilmour to his costal home town of Stonemouth, Scotland after being unceremoniously run out of the Toun five years previous. Waiting for him are his Family, Friends, old flame and old life that is familiar and relieving as much as it is disappointing and diminished in his opinion. However also lying in wait are the Murston Clan – the reason behind his running and even though Stu is back in town to pay respects to the recently departed Grandfather Jo Murston they seem to be having some trouble putting the past in the past and some still crave retribution…

Despite the somewhat ominous feel often delved into, the story is still incredibly entertaining and filled with loveable characters and that brilliant Scottish brogue (I swear the highly versatile word ‘Aye’ has now worked its way into my regular vocabulary much to the amusement of my friends and family).

It is wonderfully nostalgic and witty as well as quite lyrical when Stu describes his beautifully troubled town creating a funny, touching, relevant and generally uplifting read!

NASA returns to the Moon!

172 Hours on the Moon – Johan Harstad

Hachette - Available April 2012

I only really need 3 words to describe this teen sci-fi space odyssey – Thrilling, fascinating and absolutely terrifying!!

Set in the not so distant future of 2018, NASA’s failing popularity (sound familiar?) has driven them to concoct the marketing plan of a lifetime - NASA is going back to the Moon, and they are taking 3 teens with them! The winners of an epic international lottery, enter Mia of Stravanger – Norway, Midori of Yokahoma – Japan and Antoine from Paris – France, each of whom feel a trip to the moon is well timed to either escape their lives or make it big when they return famous (no real ‘moon love’ seems to be required…) amidst the internal plotting and secrets of NASA Mia, Midori and Antoine are walking into the unknown, and the dark side of the Moon.

Translated from its original Norwegian, Johan portrays a believable and interesting view on the inner mechanisations of the American space organisation, in fact the plot reads like a solid conspiracy theory and for all of our sakes I pray this remains a work of fiction!

The Daughter's Tale continues

Lookie, Lookie waht I just found out....

The LOOONG awaited sequel to my fave book for 2011 Daughter of Smoke and Bone finally has a name!! Thanks to Laini for posting this great news :)

OMGosh I'm so excited and can hardly wait to read this, hopefully my job perkiness will award me an early manuscript soon xxx

Jamie's Story

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – Annabel Pitcher

Hachette – Available NOW

Never before has the title of a novel been more evocative of the story for Jamie’s sister Rose truly ‘Lives’ on the mantelpiece, at least in the mind of his father.

After Rose’s tragic death during a London Terrorist bombing his father retreats into a world of his own grief fuelled by alcohol, his constant despair and blaming push their mother away who feels the best way to move on is to abandon her family for a life with their therapist!

The story beautifully delves into the dynamics of the family members left behind – Jamie and Jasmine (twin sister to Rose). As their relationship with their father dwindles the two children become stronger together, caring and protecting each other from the harsh realities that surround them.

Many little moments make this book into something quite special, covering a multitude of issues and ideals that I cant even begin to describe, I will tell you though that when I finished I was so close to Jas and Jamie and so proud of them that I didn’t want to let them go – A truly wonderful little story.

Mean Girls meets The Craft

Hollow Pike – James Dawson

Hachette – Available March 2012

The best description I can think of for this debut teen thriller is a blend of the movies Mean Girls and The Craft – but missing most of the ‘craft’ element….

There’s the towns mysterious witchcraft laden history that creates Hollow Pike’s very own brand of ghost stories (mostly used to scare children out of going into the forest or ‘pike’) but it doesn’t really amalgamate into magic wielding teens as I thought it inevitably would. Instead the focus is more on the age old topis of bullying and the ‘mean girls’ taking over the school and a strong theme of embracing your individuality and not judging people by the way they look or dress or whether they are part of the ‘in crowd’ because as long as your happy with the choices you make and the people you call friends then that’s all that matters.

The drama, characters and romance are all fantastically solid but a little more ‘parra’ and a little less ‘normal’ would have been welcome especially with such a striking witchy jacket!

A Fairy Tale for the Newages...

Liesl and Po – Lauren Oliver

Hachette – Available NOW!

Adorable, beautiful, hopeful, gritty, enchanting and simply ineffable – are some of the words I would use to describe this new offering from Lauren, I mean seriously is there a genre this girl can’t do??

Liesl and Po is the story of a brave little girl who after losing her Dad is locked in the attic by her evil stepmother. Enter a curious ghost (gender unknown) and his(?) shadowy pet sidekick (creature unknown) who befriends liesl, in the best manner that a ghost can and tells her that her father is on ‘the other side’ and cannot rest and ‘move on’ until he gets home.

So Liesl with Po in tow sets out on a grand adventure to deliver and scatter her beloved father’s ashes under the willow tree of their old home, during her journey she encounters Will an Alchemist’s apprentice (and possibly the most adorable character I have ever had the privilege to read) and together they dodge the authority and various baddies that are out to catch them for separate yet nefarious reasons and make allies in the most peculiar of places.

Make no mistake this is a proper Fairy Tale in the vein of Dickens or Hans Christian Anderson and I loved it to pieces! It’s a fantastic tale for Children (and adults) of all ages and I will certainly be keeping it safe to read to mine.

Australian Cover Art - The best Magic of all!