Posts

Review: Babel by R.F. Kuang

Image
RF Kuang's Babel is a dazzling and ambitious speculative fiction about history and etymology. Robin Swift is orphaned in Canton and brought to England as the ward of a man that he knows (but never dares say,) is his biological father. After years of study, he is given a place at Oxford to study at Babel, a tower in the centre of the institution from which the power of all of the British Empire flows. He soon discover that many kinds of sinister forces exist and eventually, he and his classmates discover that they have to find a way to stand up for what is right ... While this novel has received much acclaim across the globe, my own feelings are mixed. The plot is somewhat tedious in the first half of the novel and the second, while much more exciting, does not always properly address what was set up in the first half. I found the death of Professor Lovell and subsequent cover up to be quite gripping and it certainly sets up the second half of the novel, but I felt that the charact...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Big Switch (It's a Twin Thing 2) by Kristin Darell and Illustrated by A Yi

Image
Abi and her twin sister Brook are back in another touching story about what it means to be an identical twin. This time around, it is Term 2 at school. Brook is terrified about giving a talk in front of the whole class, so she and Abi come up with a scheme where they will swap places and Abi, a confident public speaker, will give the talk in her place. Except that things go very wrong, and Abi, as Brook, ends up being chosen for the school public speaking competition ... This was an entertaining read. To be honest, I found the subplots about the discovery of the hut and that of Frankie raising money for a new guitar to be more interesting than the main twin plot. That said, there is lots of fun to be had and there is a great moral about being truthful--with a fitting punishment, rather than fire and brimstone consequences. Also, the lesson is something that I feel kids will be able to understand and relate to, especially those like Brook, who may be anxious about public speaking.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Where It All Went Wrong by Amy Remeikis

Image
Political journalist Amy Remeikis takes a long hard look at the Prime Ministership of John Howard and examines how his old fashioned style leadership and unwillingness to compromise may have led to many of the social problems that we are experiencing in contemporary Australia. It has been thirty years since Howard was elected and nineteen since he was voted out of office, but many problems can be linked back to the policies of the time.  This was an interesting read, particularly as I was in my early teens and too young to vote when Howard was elected, and, during the early part of my adulthood I was against many of his policies, in particular sending Australian troops to Iraq. However, Remeikis goes far deeper than my personal quibbles with Howard and takes a deep dive into many of the policies such as negative gearing that have had far reaching consequences. The book is well researched and far more than a moral panic that pins the blame on today's problems on someone who cannot f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry

Image
It is no accident that Rebecca Perry's debut novel May We Feed The King has been longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.* The novel is a well written account of a reluctant medieval king, and of a curator who, some many years later is tasked with recreating parts of his palace for an anniversary display. The novel opens with the curator, who, though it is not deeply touched upon (the reader gets just enough to be empathetic,) has some troubles in her personal life. As a consequence, she is burying herself in her work, doing deep research, which leads to the bulk of the story, her speculations of who this king could have been. The third son, it was never expected that he would rule and, it would seem, he does not really want to. There are people plotting against him and all kinds of rumours until he and the queen find freedom in an unexpected way ... And that's really it. The real treat of the novel for me is the way that it touches upon the human condition and human nature. It h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Dawn On the Coast by Arley Nopra and Ann M Martin (BSC Graphix 19)

Image
There is no stopping the almighty BSC Graphix series. What started as a four book project in 2006 adapting four popular Baby-Sitters Club books as graphic novels now has nineteen volumes in the series and there is no sign of it slowing down yet.  Dawn On the Coast is the most recent addition to the series and only the second adaption to feature Dawn as the main protagonist. (Why The Ghost at Dawn's House was skipped, I'll never know.) In this one, it is spring break and Dawn is off to visit her dad and her brother Jeff in California. (Now here is another point. Jeff's departure for California was depicted in book fifteen in the original series, which was skipped in the graphics.) Anyway, as Dawn returns to California she soon discovers just how much she has missed her Dad and Jeff, and Sunny, her California bestie who has started her own, laid back version of the Baby-Sitters Club. (Sidenote: Sunny and Maggie later become key characters in the long-forgotten California Di...
2 comments
Read more

Review: Audition by Katie Kitamura

Image
I have mixed feelings about Katie Kitmura's Booker Prize shortlisted novel, but I also suspect that this is what the author intended. The author's talent lies in the way she sets the scene for one story, that of a middle aged woman who meets a young man in a Manhattan, and then, in each chapter, changes things over and over again. Who are these two people to each others? Lovers caught in an uncomfortable encounter? A mother and the son she gave up for adoption? A mother and the son she cast out? Two actors playing a part? A shyster and a bored middle aged couple who were sucked in? The possibilities are endless and each chapter changes things and challenges the readers perceptions. There are no clear answers. Ultimately, I feel that the story and the relationship the characters have with one another what each individual reader will see and will want it to be. It could be easy to explain it all using one bit of evidence or another from the narrative, but I also suspect that may ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Barbie: Dreamscape by Alex Aster

Image
There is something quite lovely about a fantasy novel featuring Barbie. Although this one is marketed as young adult and a coming of age novel, the novel is very innocent, and perfect for readers who are just beginning to transition from middle grade but who may not yet be ready just yet for some of the darker parts of YA fantasy. Also, it makes for near perfect escapism for anyone who has fond memories of Barbie. In the novel, Barbie has grown up in a boarding school in Heartland, a mythical land where there is lots of pink, everything is perfect and she, along with her classmates studies hard. Barbie adores her guardian Robin, the best friend of her mother who died when she was just a baby. She is also looking forward to graduation, where mythical beings, known as fates, will decide on her future career.  Then the unthinkable happens. Barbie is the first student from the academy not to have a fate. Something is not right, and against the wishes of her guardian she embarks on a da...
Post a Comment
Read more