CBCA Awards for 2009 have just been announced and the winner in the Older Readers category is Shaun Tan, Tales From Outer Suburbia. Jackie French and Anthony Eaton were awarded the Honour Book award for A Rose for the Anzac Boys, and Into White Silence, respectively.
Now might be the time to reread our reviews and [...]

‘A Rose for the Anzac Boys’ is an extraordinarily well researched book by Jackie French about the experience of World War I from the viewpoint of three young teenage girls.  Midge Macpherson is a 16 year old New Zealander studying at an exclusive private school in England, when she becomes friends with two English girls, [...]

‘Lamplighter’ is the sequel to the first book in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. ‘Foundling’, the first book, introduced the reader to the highly original world of the Half-Continent, where there reigns a continual battle for supremacy between monsters and humans. Monsters are seen as an evil scourge and to be killed as quickly as [...]

Previously, Marchetta has been famous for her realistic fiction such as ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ and ‘Saving Francesca’. However, this time she is writing in the fantasy genre, with an authority and creative breadth that shows she is master of this genre also.
‘Finnikin of the Rock’ is epic in its scope, with action, romance and complex [...]

‘Into White Silence’ is supposedly a historical novel based around the story of an Antarctic voyage by the Polar vessel, Raven, in 1922. The Raven is to go on an expedition, the aim of which is to map and explore parts of the Antarctic continent that are still unknown in 1922. This book features excerpts [...]

‘Tales from Outer Suburbia’ is a loose collection of short stories, illustrated and written by Shaun Tan.  The stories are all inspired by life in the suburbs, but have many different themes and styles, and the illustrations are also a conglomeration of styles.  Shaun Tan himself has commented that “an ensemble of different stories can [...]

‘Kill the possum’ is a novel that, in Moloney’s own words, is “not for the fainthearted”.  It is a hard-hitting realistic novel that deals with some tough issues: sexual and emotional abuse, violence and revenge.  Moloney is an author that has in the past looked at relationship difficulties in families, such as parental desertion in [...]

This novel can often be a painful and heart-wrenching read.  The final scenes are not for the faint hearted, so don’t choose this book if you want a nice read in front of the fire with a box of chocolates! 
Marty’s Shadow is the story of two brothers, Marty and Jack, who mostly fend for themselves [...]

I always approach a new novel by Sonya Hartnett with a combination of excitement and apprehension.  Every novel by her is different and you know you are in for an intense experience.  The same is true for ‘The Ghost’s Child’, however, this time it is a more mellow novel with less disturbing overtones. ‘The Ghost’s [...]

‘Leaving Barrumbi’ is the third in a series about the Barrumbi kids set in an Aboriginal community in north Australia. In this book, Dale and Tomias have to leave their community and go to boarding school in town. 
The boys are sent off with much advice in order to cope with their new lives.  Dale [...]