differences

Aurora Rising

Linda J

In recent years, science fiction hasn’t been a genre I’ve read a lot – though many many years ago authors like Stephen Donaldson and Douglas Adams were favourites. ‘The Martian’ by Andy Weir would have been the most recent sci-fi I have read. Thus, re-entering the genre was interesting.

‘Aurora Rising’ was a great re-introduction. It begins with A-grade student, Tyler Jones, missing his opportunity to hand-select the best of the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy for his team. Distracted by a girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space, his team is thus composed of the leftovers – supposed misfits. Then, their first assigned ‘mission’ as graduates becomes complicated by Aurora’s presence.

Set in 2380, it mixes 7 different characters together in a venture to find a prohibited colony/planet with the purpose behind Auri’s rescue. The mix is both clever and fun, as each one reveals differing skills and personalities.

Tyler is the Goldenboy, the leader. His twin sister, Scarlett, is both clever and charming at the right times. Alien, Cal, provides valuable universal insights and protections for the group, while Finian’s technological talents get the group in and out of many hairy situations. With support also from ace pilot Cat, and silent but strong Zila, a careful observer, the chosen team is rounded out.

Rescued Irish/Chinese, Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley (Auri for short) becomes the focus of much of their journey when it becomes clear that she is more than a 200-year-old teenager awoken from cryogenic sleep. Her extreme psychokinetic powers are gradually revealed, as the team seek the real purpose of the journey they were first assigned out of the Academy. Just as well, as it seems there are others in the galaxy who have dire plans for them all – destruction, obliteration!

Screengrab of Tyler from: http://amiekaufman.com/extras/

As well as having sci-fi elements, ‘Aurora Rising’ has great connections between the misfit team, wisecracking interactions among them, and some intriguing love/hate interests along the way. Almost like a sci-fi rom-com!

After reading ‘Aurora Rising’, those who are fans of co-authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (also through the Illuminae Files) will be ready for the next book in the Aurora series (Aurora Burning) due for release in May 2020. There was also news on Jay Kristoff’s website that Aurora Rising going to be adapted for television. Amie Kaufman also has a website where you can download some great images of the team, along with lots of other information on writing the Aurora series.

Are you ready to see how MGM will portray each of the team? Make sure you read the book(s) first!

# Already recognised as a New York Times bestseller, Aurora Rising is nominated for the 2020 Indie YA awards shortlist.

## Available as an ebook.

Cloud and Wallfish

Linda J

Imagine how you would feel if your parents picked you up from school, and whisked you away to a foreign country? No time to say goodbye to friends, unable to pack your favourite things – in fact, having many of your school possessions dumped in a bin, never to be seen again!

On top of this, imagine they expect you to change your name (just as they have), and to ‘remember’ where you went to school as somewhere you have never heard of – and to forget where home is. This is what happens to 11-year-old Noah Keller when his parents take him to the ‘other’ Germany to support his mother’s research studies. They even tell him his birthday isn’t really in March but in November.

‘Cloud and Wallfish’ by Anne Nesbet is an interesting tale which follows Noah/Jonah and his parents at a climactic time in history – as change begins in East and West Germany – nearing the end of the Cold War.

As Noah adjusts to a confusing new home, his mother deals with her studies, and his father ‘writes his novel’ while acting as the house-parent. There are lots of rules to take on board too – it seems that East Germany isn’t very accepting of Americans, who they label as brash and opinionated. Thus, Noah stays quiet and alone for some time, acceding to his parents’ requests to stay ‘under the communists radar’.

In telling Noah’s story, ‘Cloud and Wallfish’ outlines some of the historical changes happening at the time his family are there – based on the author’s personal experiences having lived in East Berlin in 1987, and again in 1989 just before the Wall came down.

Peering over from East Berlin – website details the history of the Berlin Wall – click on image

Noah’s struggles (loneliness and his own ‘Astonishing Stutter’) are buoyed in the story when he meets Cloud-Claudia; though he still also remains eager to go to school. However, that is not an easy thing to do.

Those who love a bit of history, or even just learning about other ways to view the world*, will enjoy ‘Cloud and Wallfish’. Episodes in Noah’s life are followed with some explanations, in ‘Secret File’ pages which provide an historical understanding of events.

It raises a lot of questions about the past, world politics and rules. It will also have you thinking about when it is wise to keep a secret – about yourself or others. And whether there is a time you need to reveal all you know – even if it may impact on others, because that’s what Noah has to consider time and again.

# Do you like historical fiction?

## Do Noah’s experiences and actions ring true for you? (i.e. do you think this is the way an eleven-year-old would really act?)

Recommended 10-14 years

For details about the fall of the Berlin Wall see: Fall of Berlin Wall: How 1989 reshaped the modern world

*considering a ‘worldview’

# Available as an ebook.

Differences – the Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket

Linda J

Suspend all beliefs to go with the flow of this adventurous tale of Barnaby Brocket, written by John Boyne, author of ‘the Boy in Striped Pyjamas’.

Barnaby is the son of Eleanor and Alistair Brocket whose main aim in life is to be ‘normal’ and not stand out in any way. Before Barnaby was born, life was good and ‘normal’.

However, giving birth to a child who defies the law of gravity alarms the Brockets, and they spend their time hiding him away and using bizarre methods to keep him ‘grounded’. Mattresses are nailed to the ceiling, for meals he is tied to a chair, and for a walk in the park he is on a lead. Not that his parents really care for him – they seem to blame him for his floating condition, as if he could control it if he really wanted to.

When doctors can provide no answers, and Barnaby needs to go to school, the normal options aren’t available to him for his parents fear he would bring shame or notoriety to the Brocket family. Thus his schooling option is ‘the Graveling Academy for Unwanted Children’ – until disaster strikes. Barnaby is almost sacrificed with the rickety old buildings of the ‘Academy’ but for his plucky (and only) friend, Liam McGonagall.

With this turn of events, Eleanor Brocket reluctantly gives in and enrols Barnaby in a local primary school where things seem to settle down, and the mechanics of keeping Barnaby from floating in public seem to work. However, while on a school excursion climbing the Harbour Bridge, Barnaby comes to notoriety when he is counted as the ten millionth person to climb the bridge! Again this flies in the face of Eleanor and Alistair’s wish for anonomity in a ‘normal’ life – and again Barnaby is held responsible.

When Eleanor does the ‘terrible thing’, Barnaby begins an adventure of a lifetime where he meets with a number of people around the world. Most are happily successful or content with their differences.  As stated by one of the characters, ‘Just because your version of normal isn’t the same as someone else’s version doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with you’ – a thought which echoes throughout this whimsical tale, without lecturing the reader.

Boyne’s story is accompanied by the quirky but clever illustrations of Oliver Jeffers, including the postcards Barnaby sends to his family as he attempts to make his way home to Sydney. It’s an enjoyable but not too demanding read – though it probably doesn’t match the impact of ‘the Boy with Striped Pyjamas’. What do you think?

 

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Linda J

curious“All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I’m not meant to call them stupid, even though that is what they are. I’m meant to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But that is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding Relativity is difficult, and also everyone has special needs, like Father who has to carry a little packet of artificial sweetening tablets around with him to put into his coffee to stop him getting fat, or Mrs Peters who wears a beige coloured hearing aid, or Siobhan who has glasses…”

Christopher Boone doesn’t behave like most of the kids at his school – and this often causes him strife and trouble. He  usually says exactly what he is thinking, and sees things in a rather black and white manner, with little room for emotion or pretence. He can’t understand the way many people behave, and why his honesty often causes him, and others around him, grief.

On the positive side of things, Christopher is a bit of a maths whizz and enjoys working out puzzles – though puzzling why a neighbourhood dog is brutually killed gets him into lots of strife. He decides he is going to solve this murder mystery and keeps track of things as he writes a story about his discoveries. Difficulties come about when he can’t understand ‘normal’ social cues, and the idea of telling a white lie or avoiding issues to protect others is beyond his comprehension. this is especially serious when the police become involved and secrets from the past are revealed.

As the above quote suggests, there is really nothing wrong with his thought processes, except for how they fit into society’s way of thinking. ‘The Curious Incident…’ is an interesting insight into how many autistic people view the world, as it is written from Chris’ point of view, as it reflects how he views normal daily interactions which we often intepret quite differently.

It is food for thought for teachers and students as we learn to accept the differences between ourselves and those around us. The struggles Christopher has dealing with relationships, adolescence and school are often magnified by his autism, but Haddon’s tale  is intriguing as he reveals the many complexities involved, while providing an insight to how others could empathise better with those who are different – since “everyone has special needs.”

Recommended to anyone with an interest in thinking about how others tick… And isn’t that you and I?

Further reading:

Robison, John Elder. 2007. Look me in the eye: My life with Apserger’s. North Sydney. Random House