Book: Conspiracy 365: June

Conspiracy 365: June
Gabrielle Lord, 2010

*Spoiler warning: I'll be mentioning things that have happened before*

So, Cal was in a tight spot at the end of May, trapped in a burning plane. Well he manages to escape and makes his way back towards the city and back towards solving the mystery. This time we see him move from a scout camp to a caravan to a mansion. We also see him reunite with Griff (bad consequences) and Repro (good consequences) and he finally gets his hand on the lost Ormand jewel.

There was some development in this book, with the retrieval of the jewel and information about Cal's upcoming birthday. That was very welcome, because the books do tend to be a bit repatative - it's the problem with having such an orderly and well set out time line.

I'd connect this book with the 39 Clues books - probably the next step up in a reading ladder.

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Book: Firefly: Still Flying

Firefly: Still Flying
Various authors, 2010

This is another compasion book to the short television series, Firefly. It's kind of amazing that they still have more to say. Within the book they have pages on each of the actors, using quotes from interviews and panels. They also have interviews with a stand in and a designer, as well as some of the writers. The best part of this book is the short stories written by the writers from the show. A couple of these are particularly nice and a real addition to the Firefly 'verse.

This is pretty much aimed at an adult audience, but is most suited to those who are interested in the Firefly series and the subsequent movie.

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Book:Flygirl

Flygirl
Sherri L Smith, 2008

Ida Mae Jones was taught how to fly a plane by her father. Of course, in 1941 not too many people want to see a woman flying, let along one with coloured skin. But as World War Two progresses, Ida Mae discovers that they are looking for female pilots for the WASP. She's perfect for it, except for the fact that she'll have to pass as white to do so.

This was a really quiet book, which is funny considering how much action goes on within it. It was immensly powerful, with themes of identity and determination throughout. But there is also romance and passion and friendship and the rights of women and sacrifice. You really feel for the characters throughout the book, and you're left kind of devestated when it finishes because there's so much more you want to know. I absolutely adored this book, and would highly recommend it.

I would connect this book to other books about strong women including Almost Astronauts.


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Book: Serenity: Those Left Behind

Serenity: Those Left Behind
Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad, 2006

This is the graphic novel that fills in the space between the Joss Whedon show, Firefly and its movie - Serenity. In it we see the crew taking on a job that puts them in danger from the mysterious men with blue hands, and an old enemy who has a massive grudge.

It's a well drawn comic which at times makes you desperately wish there was more show to watch. The story wasn't that ground breaking - but maybe that was because I've already seen the movie. Obviously this is a comic for older readers - not a children's comic. But a good read for those who have enjoyed the tv series and want to work out what happens next.

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Book: UFO in the USA

UFO in the USA
Dave Hackett, 2007

Our school had a visit from Dave Hackett, aka Cartoon Dave for Book Week this year. Although he mostly talked about comics, we also got the chance to buy signed copies of his books, which is really an offer I couldn't refuse.

This book is the sequel to UFO (Unavoidable Family Outing) and follows the same hapless family as they head off to the USA in the pursuit of BRAD's dream. (BRAD has to be capitalised. It's a thing. It's also a thing to work out what BRAD stands for. Like Bad Reviews Always Die.) In typical UFO style, nothing really goes right, and they end up interacting with pigeons (not The Pigeon though), spandex-wearing jugglers, Elvis, world's worst gifts for Sophie and a couple of real life stars.

This is a completely wacky book and you're really not reading it for the deep character analysis or for any kind of sensible plot. Instead you read it to find out what BRAD explanation will come up next and what on Earth Dad will get up to. It ends up being highly amusing, even if it isn't highly logical.

Connect it to the other UFO books (and btw, grab Dave Hackett's cartooning books if you get a chance - they're really great), and the Just . . . series by Andy Griffith.

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Book: Conspiracy 365: May

Conspiracy 365: May
Gabrielle Lord, 2010

*Spoiler Warning* Fifth book in a series that really does follow on . . .

Cal's stuck in an asylum with someone elses identity. As far as he can see, there really is no way out. No matter what he does, he can't get them to realise who he is. Then Boges and Winter come through with an utterly ingenious plan allowing Cal to finally make it to Mt Helicon and his great uncle's place. Turns out that Uncle Barty's a bit of a wild genius, and the visit will have long lasting effects.

This is a bit of a quieter book as far as the series goes, and a lot of it is occuring in Cal's head, especially as he begins to make connections. Barty is a delightful character, and very helpful, particularly when they work out how the bad guys keep tracking Cal down. The action rises again at the end ready for June.

I'm interested to see the working group of two boys and a girl dynamic is at play here. This seems to be a popular trio in children's fiction. Of course it's most prevelant in Harry Potter, but it was also in the recent Australian book Noah's Law, Sticks by Joan Bauer and the 4 Powers of Daren Saner. Any ideas on why that combination is so popular?

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Book: Conspiracy 365: April

Conspiracy 365: April
Gabrielle Lord, 2010

*Spoiler warning* - This is a series best read in order as each book will spoil the previous ones . . .

Cal has managed to escape from a high speed chase and crash, turning the care of Lachlan over to an unsuspecting police officer. But there's no way he's going to make it to his great-uncle's place. Instead he needs to head back into the city to stop his mother from turning off Gabbi's life support. Cal keeps escaping from both the crims and the police, and we have the welcome return of Repro. There's also a couple of new possible allies in Griff the runaway and Melba, the old lady.

This book brings the first third of the series to an end with a particularly neat twist - Cal is landed in an asylum with his identity removed. Some interesting relations occur between Cal and his family here, along with the reveal of the Ormond Riddle. I did feel, however, that this book was a bit of a place filler as we waited for the action to heat up again.

Want to connect with other books with riddles - you can't go past Gregor the Overlander and the other books in that series or The 4 Powers of Daren Saner.

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Book: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Scott McCloud, 1993
Adult Book

My first adult book of the summer and it's a comic book. Actually it's a comic book about comics, which sounds a lot of fun. This book is a lot of fun, but there's also a tonne of theory in it which makes your head spin a little.

The comic takes you through the history of sequential art, before moving on to art theory (probably not interestin for most people) and then on to the much more interesting theory on comic gutters, frames, line, colour etc. After teaching comics at the end of this year, there was a lot more in here that I would have liked to have shared with the students and definitely will be sharing in the new year. I particularly loved the differences between European and Japanese comics.

This is quite a technical book and some of the art/language is a little older, so probably best from 12-14 years older. But if you have an avid comic reader around, or a comic drawer/writer - this would be a great book for them. And if you're planning on teaching comics, it really is an essential read.


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Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Jeff Kinney, 2010

Greg heads back to school, except this time he's without his best friend Rowley after a serious falling out. Now he's dealing with the pressures of growing up, boy/girl parties, the strangeness of family and a housekeeper who refuses to work - and he's all on his own.

Despite their popularity this was the first Wimpy Kid book I've read. These books have usually been owned by students in my class and passed around that way, so I've never needed to buy them for the classroom. But with the main fans heading off to high school, I realise I'll need to fill that gap.

This was a highly enjoyable read - one I didn't want to put down. Greg is an engaging narrator, and you can easily understand his embarrassments and annoyances - even if you aren't a wimpy kid yourself. My only quibble is that this book was 'Australianised' - Greg is in High School, not middle school and some of the language has been changed. It does a real disservice to Australian kids who have been watching US shows and reading US books for years and understand that this is an American book (a movie kind of keys you in to that) - especially when a really Australian word (like lollies) pops up and throws you out of the text.

I'd connect this book with Totally Joe and The Misfits, Dork Diaries (which seems to be enjoyed by both girls and boys), Amelia Rules and Mail Order Ninja.


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Book: Pastures of the Blue Crane

Pastures of the Blue Crane
H. F. Brinsmead, 1964
(Reread)

I got this book from my aunt and uncle as a 9th birthday present, so there's no telling how many times I've reread it. And with so many books that you read first as a child and later as an adult, there are many layers that you keep peeling back everytime you read.

It tells the story of Ryl, the lonely but aloof 16 year old girl whose spent most of her life in boarding schools in Melbourne while her father worked in Papua New Guinea. After her father's death, she discovers that she has a grandfather she never knew about, as well as a property in northern New South Wales. Ryl doesn't take to her grandfather, Dusty, immediately, but when they discover that the property was where Dusty was born, they grudgingly decide to go and check it out.

This begins a strange set of relationships for Ryl - between herself and Dusty, the ramshackle house, the view, the neighbours, the local 'surfy' kids, the taxi driver descended from Australia's slave population and even the strange bird who visits the pink pastures. Soon Ryl is learning more about herself and the people around her than she ever thought possible.

This is, in many ways, a book of its time. Some of the language is cringe-worthy to us now, even though a book which place people of non-European background as 'just like us' was revolutionary for its time. It pays to remember that this was still a time of the White Australia Policy, and even non-English European immigrants were treated with derision and bigotry. The book also delves into the history of slavery in Australia. There was a time period when 'blackbirding' - taking slaves from the Pacific Islands to work on farms in Australia occured. It's a period of Australian history pretty much forgotten by all and sundry, but well described in this book.

The reason I keep coming back to this book is the layers in the characters. No one's all good or all bad. They interact with each other in very human ways. Ryl in in some ways a grown woman at 16, and in others still a little girl. It's a really lovely book and one that's well worth reading.

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