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PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Hachette Australia

Book Review: The Boy Who Steals Houses

March 23, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Boy Who Steals Houses – C.G. Drews – Orchard Books – Published 4 April 2019

♥♥♥♥/♥

 

Synopsis

Can two broken boys find their perfect home?

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie. 

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

My thoughts

The Boy Who Steals Houses is an emotionally devastating, heartbreaking YA contemporary. Seriously. Pack tissues. Yet, also in parts funny and with characters who are totally loveable, The Boy Who Steals Houses is sure to steal your heart.

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Book Review: Indigo Blue

December 11, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Indigo Blue – Jessica Watson – Hachette Australia – Published 11 January 2018

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

Alex feels like a fish out of water in her new hometown – the sleepy little lakeside village of Boreen Point where she is reluctantly sent to live with her slightly eccentric aunt for her final year of high school. None of Alex’s classmates could care less about the new girl, so Alex couldn’t care less about them . . . or so she tries to tell herself.

As a distraction from what is quickly shaping up to be a very lonely year, Alex spends her savings on a rundown little yacht and throws herself into restoring it. An offer to help a shy classmate with a history assignment leads to a curious discovery and the beginnings of a friendship, but it’s Sam – the sailmaker’s apprentice – and his mysterious ways that really capture Alex’s attention . .

My thoughts

Indigo blue is the fiction debut from renown Australian sailor, Jessica Watson. Along with her excellent knowledge of sailing, Jessica brings to this fun and quirky story an obvious familiarity with the landscape and history of the coastal setting. Indigo Blue seamlessly combines sailing, friendship, and romance with magical realism.

When Alex is forced to move to the tiny coastal town of Boreen Point when her father moves oversea, she expects boredom. But an old sailing boat in need of repair and new school friendships quickly fill her time. And then there is the mysterious sail-repair apprentice, Sam. As Alex discovers a piece of local history she also begins to untangle the mystery that surrounds Sam and what makes him so different.

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Book Review: Everless

November 29, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Everless – Sara Holland – Hachette Australia – Published 27 December 2017 (January 2018 US)

♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

 Time is a prison. She is the key. Packed with danger, temptation and desire – a perfect read for fans of The Red Queen. In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything – even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family.

There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever … and possibly the future of time itself.

My thoughts

What if time was money? What if the only way to pay your debts was to drain time from your body? Everless is a creative and original fantasy novel that takes alchemy and sorcery and speculates what would happen if it was possible to turn blood into coin.

Jules knows only hunger and a desperate fear that she will be unable to stop her father using the last of his time to pay off their mounting debts. It wasn’t always like this. Once, she and her father lived at the grand Everless estate – as servants, but never hungry or drained of their time. But they had to flee Everless and now her father insists they must stay hidden from the Gerling family. When the opportunity arises to return to Everless for work, Jules can’t resist, especially as she feels it is the only chance to save her father’s dwindling time. However, what she discovers at the Everless estate will change forever her life and how she views her family and her future.

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Book Review: Nevermoor – The Trials of Morrigan Crow

September 25, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow – Jessica Townsend – Nevermoor #1 – Hachette – Published 31 October 2017

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

The book tells the story of Morrigan Crow, a girl born on Eventide, who’s fated to die at midnight on her ninth birthday. She is spared when rescued by a mysterious stranger ,and after they are chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, they escape to a secret city called Nevermoor. Morrigan’s rescuer, Jupiter, owns the eccentric Hotel Deucalion and has chosen Morrigan to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious society. The young girl must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent.

My thoughts

A delightful, whimsical and purely imaginative fantasy, Nevermore is sure to capture the attention of readers of all ages. Nevermoor is reminiscent of Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Unwanteds, and yet has a quality that is unique to this charming story. I was captured by the very first chapter, enchanted by the mysterious and colourful Jupiter North, and intrigued by the magic of Nevermoor, but it was the brave heroine of this story, Morrigan Crow, who truly won my heart.

Morrigan Crow is a cursed child, doomed to die on the last night of the age, Eventide. But before she can meet her untimely end, she is whisked away by the strange and colourful Jupiter North, who takes her to a magical, secret city called Nevermoor. Here she discovers that Jupiter has put forward her name as a candidate for the illustrious Wundrous Society – but to gain entry she must first pass four trials. However, Morrigan soon realises that while the other competitors each have a special talent (from dragon riding to magical singing), she herself does not (being cursed doesn’t count). Morrigan must discover her talent and pass each trial if she is to stay in Nevermoor.

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Book Review: Frostblood

December 15, 2016 / / 0 Comments

frostblood

Frostblood – Elly Blake – Frostblood Saga #1 – Hachette Australia – Published 10 January 2016

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

In a land governed by the cruel Frostblood ruling class, seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has spent most of her life hiding her ability to manipulate heat and light – until the day the soldiers come to raid her village and kill her mother. Ruby vows revenge on the tyrannous Frost King responsible for the massacre of her people.

But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable…and so are the feelings she has for Arcus, the scarred, mysterious Frostblood warrior who shares her goal to kill the Frost King, albeit for his own reasons. When Ruby is captured by the Frost King’s men, she’s taken right into the heart of the enemy. Now she only has one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who took everything from her – and in doing so, she must unleash the powers she’s spent her whole life withholding.

My thoughts

Frostblood is an epic fantasy adventure that tells of a kingdom where darkness rules, frost covers the land and fire has all but been stamped out. Bloodshed, hatred, deadly battles, frost and fire magic, an evil-controlled king, magical training, and romance – this book has everything I need in a good fantasy.

Being a Frostblood means a death sentence. The king rules the land with ice, terror, and death. Ruby has lived a simple life hiding her gift of fire and helping her mother as a healer. But when the king’s soldiers raid her village and kill her mother, Ruby vows revenge. Taken to prison, her gift is hampered by damp and ice until she is rescued by a monk with the frost gift and a sullen and angry young man. They say they too seek to dethrone the king but they are hiding things from Ruby. Ruby will have to risk everything if she is to have the revenge she desires.

Ahh, the romance. There is nothing quite like a match that starts off with anger, distrust, and fear and that slowly warms (or in this case also melts) to become a partnership that stands strong against darkness and might even save the world. Ruby and Arcus despise each other from the start. But they each have need of the other if they are to have revenge and free the kingdom from tyranny. I love their fight, their passion, and their gentle coming together. She names him Arcus the Angry, he insults her gift and calls her a bundle of crackling firewood. Truly, is there anything better than a love story that starts off as far from love as you can get?

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