Get ready for thrills, spills (of milk

Last month’s movie opening of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, based on the second book in Rick Riordan’s bestselling series (disclaimer: “Not exactly the same as the book,” said my 9 year old daughter with a sigh), saw kids scrabbling to read more books in the series over the school holidays. The latest in the spin-off series Heroes of Olympus, The House of Hades, is just out.

It’s one of the best things in the world to watch children pouring into the shop with their wide-eyes seeking out the cover of the book they’ve been waiting for and Rick Riordan’s series definitely has that effect.

Speaking of movies, fans of Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now (and there are as many adult fans of this book as teenage ones) will be waiting for the film to open in Australia - we have to wait until November 28th. But in the meantime there’s a new Rosoff novel to keep us going, Picture Me Gone.

Sticking with YA for a moment, here are two books whose killer concepts really got our attention when we first heard about them.

First of all an Australian debut: The Last Girl by Michael Adams, who hails from the Blue Mountains. In Adam’s dystopia, a “snap” occurs which results in people being able to hear everyone’s thoughts … as in all the time, without an off-switch. The only exception is a teenage girl - she can hear other people’s thoughts but they can’t hear hers. Inevitably, everything starts falling apart. I love how this concept plays with our curiosity versus the value of privacy.

Furthermore, a new YA that our reviewer from the Hawthorn shop, Katherine Dretzke, read in a single sitting is All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry. The premise is that two teenage girls are abducted, and years later only one of them returns but she’s been mutilated (she’s now unable to speak) and as if her trauma were not bad enough she’s also rejected by her family.

Katherine called it “remarkably unconventional”; check out her full review here.

Perhaps we need some light relief after that lot and the latest offerings for 8-12s provide just that. There’s David Walliams’ new novel, Demon Dentist, plus a debut in a very similar Dahl-esque vein in Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door, Fortunately, the Milk from the much-loved Neil Gaiman, as well as the new Kate DiCamillo story, Flora & Ulysses, all of which put their heroes in peril but with a heavy dose of humour which proves the perfect anaesthetic. All great adventures and lots of fun.

From fear to laughter and now to finish with some good, therapeutic weepies in a new batch of picture books. From Australian favourite Alison Lester comes the very beautiful, cloth-bound Kissed By The Moon. This is a perfect gift for new parents, although be prepared for hormonal weeping at its loveliness. I’m not a new parent by a long stretch but it made my heart snag for sure.

So too did Hannah’s Night about a little girl who gets up in the middle of the night and goes exploring around her house. As our Hawthorn reviewer Alexa Dretzke puts it: “…the illustrations have a cultural sensitivity and understanding of childhood’s intrinsic moments. Young children will love following Hannah’s gentle adventure and be reassured by her happy acceptance of the night.”

From award-winning Australian picture book writer-illustrator Kylie Dunstan comes a story about a little girl returning to Australia after having lived abroad for a while. This Way Up tenderly explores a child’s journey back to a feeling of belonging.

Finally, a picture book-sized graphic novel, Jane, The Fox And Me. I can’t recommend this enough for children from about 8 and up - way, way up; it’s a lovely, sophisticated story for those of us who survive most of life’s traumas with our heads in a book, and especially for Jane Eyre fans.

P.S. A special note just for Billie B Brown readers: Billie is now in colour! Check out The Beautiful Billie Treasury, available now.

Emily Gale