Family relationships

Worse than school?

Linda J

“There are lots of things worse than school.”

This comment, made by Charlotte, begins an argument between her and Luke’s best mate, Blake; on a day they decide to skip school. It later becomes something Luke ponders more deeply, as he gets to know Charlotte a little better.

In usual Steven Herrick style, ‘the Bogan Mondrian’ is told in a clear, waste-no-words fashion.

Luke and his friends are relatable characters – teens biding their time at school, but preferring to spend a more casual existence away from school. As regular visitors to the principal’s office for truanting and cheekiness, they are nonetheless likeable.

Luke is still coming to grips with life after his father’s premature death from cancer. Charlotte has recently enrolled in the local public high school he attends, though she is clearly from a wealthy background and could attend a costly private school. Even though they live in contrasting worlds of wealth, their friendship evolves as they work through their own personal issues, and occasionally gain support from each other.

That said, it is not always an easy relationship, with aggression and flareups often arising. Luke is uneasy about Charlotte’s homelife, and Charlotte is not very willing to be open and honest with everyone – under attack and often quite aggressive herself.

Other characters woven into the story provide interesting levels of support for Luke, in the absence of his father. Rodney, a petty local criminal, gives Luke a few pointers/things to think about at times, and later in the story, tools for action. Neighbour, Mr Rosetti, also provides advice and amusing banter each time they cross paths. Even Buster (the local mutt that Luke adopts for his walks) has a important place in grounding Luke’s emotions throughout the story.

For Blue Mountains readers, there will be places and names you may well enjoy recognising. On the other hand, you may have to allow poetic licence to Herrick as he tells his tale – with the cultural divide north and south of the highway a bit irksome, and the efforts of the Mr Pakula, the school principal, (seeking out truants himself) a bit questionable. But still the story must be told.

You will find that there are worse things than school; things sadly that some young people face daily. Herrick’s fictional youth tackle these the best way they can – though not always with glowing success. Lots of food for thought and highly recommended reading.

# Those who wonder about the title and cover design can find information on Mondrian here.

## More importantly, after you have finished ‘the Bogan Mondrian’, you can read here the reasons why Steven Herrick wrote this book.

### Shortlisted for CBCA Older Readers 2019.

Obsession or escape?

Linda J

What do you know about dead things? How do they make you feel?

Charlotte (Lottie) seems oddly fixated on dead creatures – collecting them from her local neighbourhood in the hope of preserving them. Her interest extends to anything at school which alludes to preserving life, such as the embalming rituals of the Egyptian culture. Is there a reason for this?

Her Aunt Hilda (who cares for her, and her father, since the death of her mother) struggles to cope with Lottie’s obsession, calling it crazy and unhealthy. Thus she constantly tries to block Lottie’s collection and preservation attempts.

In his own grief, Lottie’s father also struggles. However, as a scientist, he supports her investigations – and encourages her scientific curiosity and interest in taxidermy.

In “The Art of Taxidermy”, death, grief and emotions are both raw and beautiful. Mix in a few elements from the past (an immigrant history) and cultural conflicts of the time (mid 60’s?) and you can understand the turmoil Charlotte/Lottie and her family experience.

As a verse novel, the reading flows easily. (If you haven’t tried a verse novel before, this is a good one to choose.) Australian readers will lap up the vivid and concise descriptions of all that Charlotte finds beautiful – dead or alive e.g.:

The corellas were grazing
with a scatter of galahs.
We sat on a fallen log
and watched them squabble and tussle,
beat their wings and waddle
like hook-nosed old men
with their arms tucked
behind their backs.

What some might struggle with is her fascination with ‘dead things’. But then, that may be the key to understanding the issues of dealing with premature death – from sickness, accidents and war – to intentionally make you uncomfortable. Through all these things, Sharon Kernot explores how we might feel in this wonderful, but heartbreaking verse novel. Don’t hesitate – read it – available from your school library – and in ebook version from other sources too!!

Have you read a verse novel in the past? Did you like it?

Don’t you love Kernot’s descriptions of the Australian countryside? Which part is your favourite?

Why do you think Aunt Hilda is so much against Lottie’s ”obsession”? Is it the right choice?

Note: this book is shortlisted for CBCA honours this year. Will it be a worthy winner?

Lenny’s Book of Everything

Linda J

Lenny has a younger brother, who after a while isn’t really her little brother any more – since he “has a condition” and won’t stop growing. This becomes a challenge for Lenny, her mother and of course, Davey – especially as he nears school age.

In many ways, mum Cynthia is in denial, even though she has had “dark heart feelings” about Davey’s future right from the time of his birth. Thus, Lenny tries her best to understand and cope with the other complications of their family situation – neglectful absent father, remote Nanny Flora and hardworking mum, Cynthia, all while being a normal kid.

Like most families, they have their own quirkiness and ways to get on. Davey and Lenny love to imagine travel together. They long to get away to create a kinder world of freedom and adventure for their family.

A weekly delivery of the Burrell’s Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia feeds their urges for discovery and creates an interesting side story. The kids absorb the facts voraciously (Lenny is obsessed with beetles and Davey with eagles), while mum fights to claim her winning free subscription to the encyclopedia.

A kindly neighbour, Mrs Gaspar, helps out by caring for the siblings while mum works multiple jobs. What an interesting character she is! Along with Mrs Gaspar, several significant others pop into their lives (including a love interest for mum; a long lost relative for Lenny…).

There has been great praise for this title, including this quote from author Melina Marchetta:

A beautiful read. I savoured every word and loved every character… such a big heart and not a beat out of place.

Lenny is searching – for her father, for a family connection, for meaning in her life beyond the day to day trials and challenges of Davey’s “condition”. These feelings could be part of any child’s life. With characters full of life and ideals, this story of both triumphs and heartaches will be enjoyed by many.

And did you notice the amazing cover? Have a look at it again once you have finished reading it!

What do you think of Lenny’s choices?

Is she a good sister?

Was it right for her to keep secrets from Lenny?

# Awards/nominations  for ‘Lenny’s Book of Everything’ to date (May 1 2019) :

Longlisted Book of the Year for Younger Children, ABIA Awards 2019 AU;

Shortlisted Best Book for Older Readers, CBCA Awards 2019 AU;

Award Winner Best Children’s Book, Indie Book Awards 2019 AU

A thousand perfect notes

Linda J

Beck’s life has always been routine – music practice – school – music practice – nothing more – nothing less. No time for friends or other activities – the Maestro wouldn’t allow it.

His only other ‘allowed’ distraction is taking his little sister to and from day-care, as his mother is too distracted to deal with anyone outside the family.

Things come to a head as the Maestro prepares Beck for a major performance, at the same time as Beck becomes reluctant friends with August, who takes an interest in Beck. As Beck tries to deal with the violence of the Maestro, and her expectations to make a music prodigy, he struggles to work out his own needs and where his ability truly lies.

Beck closes his eyes. Forgets. Zones out so far he reaches the place deep inside where his own music lies. Little notes clamouring to be free. His own notes. His own creations. His fingers tap a tattoo against his other clammy palm. If people cut him open, they’d never accuse him of being empty. He’s not a shell of a pianist – he’s a composer. Cut his chest and see his heart beat with a song all his own.

‘A Thousand Perfect Notes’ portrays Beck’s struggle with his own ability, the expectations of others, the fulfillment of dreams and the conflicts of family loyalty. At what point did he have the right to stand up against the Maestro? And what would be the consequences for his family? Who’s dreams should he follow? 

# What would you do in this situation? Who’s dreams and aspirations do you want to follow?

## How do you think this compares to ‘Everything I never told you’ – in terms of meeting the expectations of others?

Be proud of who you are…

Linda J

When we first meet Rob in ‘A Song Only I Can Hear’, he is shy, uncertain of himself, and in the throes of first love. He has a few significant people in his life, but not many friends. And a bully lingers at school.

Fortunately, he has a fun, if quirky, family – one which many readers will relate to. Then again, how much help is a fat, balding dad with bad dance moves, and a mum who always sides with the school when things go awry? Even his grandfather, who swears like a trooper, doesn’t seem to understand him. So apart from his friend Andrew, how much help is anyone?

Initially, Rob’s main concern is to win the heart of Destry, but how can he do it? Suggestions come his way in a series of mysterious text challenges from someone anonymous (not surprising since he only has about 4 contacts on his phone).

As the texts come in, Rob grows a little with each challenge, while curious to find out who they are from.

Though Rob’s decisions aren’t always perfect or met with the desired result or applause (with some comical episodes), it is mostly fun experiencing his journey. There are also moments to reflect on – and tears to shed, and as Jonsberg brings this tale to an end, have your tissues handy.

While the anonymous texter challenges Rob to take action, a twist in the story also challenges the reader and what they believe, in a moving and surprising novel about family, love and identity. You might, like me, think you need to reread it at the end.

How well do we know those around us?

What things do they struggle with?

How often do we judge others we don’t really know?

What more should we try to know about our own families?

 

## One of the Indie Book Award Winners for 2019!

See more about the Indie Awards for 2019 here.

Missing by Sue Whiting

Linda J

What would you do if one of your parents went missing while overseas? Unfortunately, as author Sue Whiting notes over 38,00 people are reported missing in Australia each year – and “roughly 1600 are considered long term missing”.

Mackenzie’s mother could be one of these statistics, after failing to make contact with family and friends while working overseas in the jungles of Panama. Distraught after a length of time, her father decides to take the search into his own hands, and in the dark of night, he and Mackenzie leave home.

What happens as a result of this impulsive move, rushed and without informing anyone, creates a tricky adventure for Mackenzie.  However, she becomes strong and determined, while being rightly cautious in some circumstances. What she holds back from others seems to make her stronger in her search for clues, while unusual circumstances begin to provide clues of her mother’s whereabouts.

In some parts, what Mackenzie is able to achieve is questionable (how old is she really – #12/13 0r older?), but it is easy to be swept away in this puzzling tale – so that you suspend the sort of questions and let the story roll out. All the while you keep hoping for her to be successful in her search, but there is always a lingering doubt.

‘Missing’ is great tale of family love and desperation, trust and wariness – all based on the true concerns for those who go missing from families year after year around the globe. Clearly, Mackenzie loves her mum and shares many strong interests with her (which are important in the story), so it a quite an emotional ride, even right to the end.

Whiting explains here why she wrote such an emotional tale:

 

There is no denying that Missing was a tough story to write and a sad one to read, but I believe it is also an important one. Because it is as much a story about resilience and human endurance as it is about grief and loss. And it’s a story to remind us of the human faces and personal tragedies behind the statistics.

To what extremes would you go to find a missing loved one? Would you be able to match Mackenzie’s efforts?

Are you aware of how important it is to stay in touch? How do we guard our personal safety?

[# I think the story would have worked better if she was older. Some of the initial setting talks about her just finishing primary school.]

Present and past entwined – Catching Teller Crow

Linda J

Catching Teller Crow is an intriguing mystery, told in two voices through poetry and story.

Sixteen-year-old Beth begins the tale, introducing her death and the need to look out for her father since the accident. He is the only one who can see her (she is a ghost), and she hopes to be able to help him move on with his life. She is also there to help him work through mysterious happenings in their home town, in an effort to get him back to police work.

In crime story tradition, events and clues are revealed gradually, and both Beth and her father have differing interpretations of what they mean.

Some clues are provided by strange revelations from Isobel Catching, who is the second voice in the novel. Her voice differs from Beth’s. Using poetic form creates a wariness in her character and at times implies a reluctance to help solve the mystery.#

Authors, Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, have created an enthralling, though somewhat disturbing novel, which reflects some of Australia’s past attitudes and actions. The main characters (Beth, Catching and Crow) are Aboriginal, and have each suffered due to that. However, themes of love and family, along with their spiritual beliefs are also strong in the story. When they finally bond together, they become strong together.

A ghost story as well as a psychological thriller, Catching Teller Crow seamlessly weaves together the poetic and everyday life – Justine Larbalestier

Catching Teller Crow goes straight to the heart of Australia’s darkest history – Margo Lanagan

Sister and brother, Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina speak briefly here about the writing process, and their own personal need to tell their story – “We wanted the strength of those (past Aboriginal) generations to flow through the pages like a river.”

Catching Teller Crow is more than just a crime story. It reaches into the past, hoping to make an impact on the future. It will make you think – what really happened? who is to blame? and finally, who has suffered as a consequence?

Can Beth ultimately be able to let go?

How many similar episodes like this actually happened? 

# This poetic form wasn’t as obvious in the audio version of this book, though the different character voices were well defined by the narrator, Miranda Tapsell. A great option!

Don’t Stop – playlists of life

Linda J

Planning events these days will involve a playlist – that is, the significant songs that can be used during the event. Special songs for the wedding couple, meaningful songs for a birthday celebration, reminiscent songs for anniversaries. The Spotify generation can relate to this – and plan their playlist.

Stevie has a playlist her father left her – to deal with different days and different times – even though he wasn’t expecting to leave her life quite so soon. Her mother certainly didn’t expect that either – and Stevie has also ‘lost’ her too since she is severely depressed and unable to cope with daily life in any form – including caring for Stevie.

In another world, Hafiz was sent from his family – forced to flee as a refugee from Syria – and to leave his parents behind. Facing life without his parents (in a strange new country, in a new school), Hafiz finds some solace in Stevie’s isolation from others, when he first sits at his allocated desk, beside her, in homeroom.

Each has their own struggles, which slowly surface as they slowly expose different parts of their life to one another. And together, they find support.

Curham’s novel Don’t Stop Thinking about Tomorrow’ blossoms from the Fleetwood Mac song – as Stevie and Hafiz deal with the usual teen issues, along with their fragmented family lives. It is told alternatively by Stevie and Hafiz, giving two sides to the story. How these unlikely friends, cautious about sharing with others, ultimately work together (without romantic involvement) is what keeps you reading, and provides lots of food for thought.

What are your takeaways from this book?

Though it is set in England, would it easily transfer to an Australian setting? 

Sagas and history – Iceland

Linda J

‘Saga Land’ was not what I was expecting – but then, the collaboration between broadcaster, Richard Fidler, and Kari Gislason, a writer and academic born in Iceland starts with multiple but different needs to investigate Icelandic history. So really, you could expect something unexpected.

Kári was born Iceland – the product of an affair, hidden by his father. In the spirit of his mother, he has travelled beyond Iceland to Australia (with her) but also discovered an impulsion to study Icelandic literature at university, rather than the law studies he first engaged in. 

‘Saga Land’ moves between the observations of journalist, Vidler, recollections of Gislason and the Icelandic sagas they wish to share.   

There are many different themes which flow through ‘Saga Land’ – providing an insight to the culture of Iceland. Honour, conflict, violence and family heritage are strong elements of the tales.

“Each character is responding to a situation in which violence seems necessary and ceaseless. And somehow, the saga… prompts us to see the strangeness of the characters’ behaviour in the light of their desires, their complexity as human beings.”

The different perspectives of Kari, a native of Iceland, and Vidler, an Australian journalist, provide an interesting balance. Kari’s investigations, as a returned Icelander, reveal a personal insight as he revisits his childhood home – though being half-Icelandic and in search of is heritage. Vidler provides journalistic structure, while being genuinely interested in Kari’s Icelandic heritage and, personally engaged.

What a great and inspiring learning experience for all (readers included). So it doesn’t really matter what I was first expecting when I picked up this book – it has given me a view of history, family heritage and culture perspectives I would have missed, had I not opened this book.

N.B. Another tale readers might enjoy is by Hannah Kent, Burial Rites – also set in Iceland, investigating the last women to be executed for murder in Iceland (an amazing literary debut for a young Australian author). Previously reviewed.

There is also a podcast you can visit, where Richard Vidler and Kari Gislason discuss the journey to create Saga Land if you want to hear from the authors.

Does Saga Land make you want to investigate your family heritage/culture?

Note – loved this as an audiobook/physical book combination. Especially when read by the co-authors, with authentic pronunciations of Icelandic names. (A bit like ‘reading’ Burial Rites by Hanna Kent)

Everything I never told you

Linda J

Should parents’ dreams be lived through the lives of their children? 

Before she married, Marilyn had dreams of becoming a doctor, but then children came along. Her dreams were different from her mother’s, but as a mother, she has great plans for her daughter, Lydia – to make up for what she didn’t achieve herself.

Unfortunately, this dream will not be fulfilled. At the age of 16, Lydia is dead.

The story opens with Lydia’s drowning in the lake near her home. As it unfolds, the intense passion Marilyn has for her daughter to achieve is revealed. The reasons for this drive are clearly tied to her own need to achieve which has been thwarted by marriage.

There are other frustrations in ‘Everything I Never Told You’, in a family which is loving but unable to communicate all they feel. In a small town which is slowly adjusting to multiculturalism, the Lees are a novelty. As a Chinese-American family, they struggle to blend in – a concept James, the father, had battled (though being American-born), and something Marilyn’s mother had warned them of when they first married.

As much as Marilyn dotes on Lydia, there is little attention given to her siblings, Nath and Hannah. Locked out of her attention, both Nath and Hannah fail to speak up about things their parents should really know – about themselves and things they observe about the family. And then it is too late.

Some may find the intensity of Marilyn’s efforts to drive Lydia’s future extreme. Similarly, the treatment of the family within the community and their lack of integration may seem harsh, but set in between the late 1950s and 1970s it is a reflection of life experiences for those with cultural differences.

‘Everything I Never Told You’ also shows how, even in a loving family, there can be differing perspectives on what happens day-to-day. Without good communication, things can go unsaid and misunderstandings arise. There are many examples of what-ifs and story-turns that occur because someone fails to say what they really think or know. Clearly, Lydia’s inability to voice her feelings has fatal consequences.

Some may be frustrated with the way the characters behave in ‘Everything I Never Told You’, but Celeste Ng’s debut novel (which took 8 years and 4 drafts to complete) is both moving and clever. It portrays an unimaginable family drama – the death of a child – and weaves past and present to explain how it came about. It leaves the question at the end – who is really responsible?

Following this best selling debut novel, Ng has written a second one, ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. She talked to Goodreads interviewer Janet Potter about teen drama, race, Twitter, and the fear of writing about a place you love. Read the interview here on  GoodReads.

Here, Celeste introduces ‘Everything I Never Told You’:

Are there times when you don’t speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing?

How might Lydia’s life have worked out better?

N.B. this is adult fiction but accessible for mature readers.