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A
SECRET BURIAL by Penelope
Sell
Published
by Harper Collins (Flamingo)
Review
by Dani
A
Secret Burial is the debut novel
by Penelope Sell, it tells the
story of 15 year old Elise and
her brother Jeremy who live in a
dusty, hot, outback, Australian
town and how they cope when
their mother unexpectedly. The
pair decide not to tell anyone
for fear they will be seperated
and put into foster care.
With
the help of the reclusive Isac
who lives over the hill the duo
attempt to fend off the
authorities.
Although
this is not an original concept,
similar plotlines having been
seen in other novels as well as
movies and TV, Sell paints an
excellently vivid picture of
small town life and captures the
muggy hot, despondant and
opressive attitude that is built
up as the children go about
covering up their mothers
absence and although at times I
found myself becoming frustrated
with the decisions made by the
children as the story progressed
any strong emotional response to
a novel is indicative of a good
story.
The
winner of the 2002 Varuma
writers award for script
development this novel captures
the essence of its subject in a
vivid and moving portrayal that
definitely puts Penelope Sell on
the map as a talent to look out
for.
CUBA
DIARIES by Isadora Tattlin
Published
by Random House
Cuba
may not be a hot tourist spot
but it is certainly a city of
many beguilements as
author Tattlin can testify
having spent four years living
in the country in the early
1990’s a time when Cuba’s
economy was in freefall and
(thanks to the ban on the US
dollar being lifted) Cuba’s
salaries were on the
rise.Tattlin captures the
dichotomy of
Cuba
with its parade of classic
American 1950’s cars and its
attempt to be part of the modern
world. Tattlin also has some
very interesting tales to tell
of her time spent with all
manner of Cubans even having
dinner with old Fidel himself.
MOLLY
MOON STOPS THE WORLD
Published
by Pan MacMillan. Reviewed by
Katie for Katie’s Corner
Molly
Moon is back again! This time
she and her best friend Rocky
have to try and save the world
by stopping Prima Cell (a
multi-multi-billionaire) from
taking over all the stars and
celebrities in the world.
The
sinister Prima has performed an
outrageous permanent hynosis
lock that can only be countered
with a special password, before
too long Molly learns the
password and how to stop time
and the universe, also by the
end of the book Molly has
discovered who her parents
really are. A really great book
that kept me in suspense all the
way through.
SUMMERLAND
by Michael Chabon
Published
by The 4th Estate
Without
question Summerland is
fantastic, both in style and
content, part coming of age tale
and part Grimm’s fairy tale
Summerland tells the story of
young Ethan field who just
happens to be the worst baseball
player in the world, so far so
normal, Ethan then finds himself
teaming up with a werefox to do
baseball battle with hobgoblins,
giants and the like. Truly
mesmerising stuff and on the
strength of this book alone
Chabon certainly deserves his
reputation as a pullitzer prize
winning author. Highly
recommended.
THE
BOY IN THE GREEN SUIT by
Robert Hillman
Published
by Pan MacMillan-Scribe
The
boy in the green suit is a
memoir of writer Hillman’s
youth interspersed with
anecdotes of his parent’s
lives. Kicking off in 1965 with
a young Hillman brimful of
adventure, intent on travel he
boards a ship bound for
Ceylon
but ends up in
Athens
and whilst searching for his
voice as a writer visits most of
Europe
along the way.
Full
of wonderfuly funny moments and
at the same time carrying with
it an air of sadness The Boy in
the Green Suit ploughs a similar
vein as Clive James's unreliable
memoirs and is easily the equal
of that work.
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