Catching up, part 3

More mini reviews as I work through the last few months worth of reading.

The ghost’s child, by Sonya Hartnett
This is the third book I have read by Sonya Hartnett. The first two were Of a boy and Surrender. Both amazingly written and with powerfully tragic story lines. The ghost’s child is still amazingly written but quite different too. I must confess to being absolutely stumped about what to say about this book. I think I’ll cheat and recite part of the jacket blurb. “Maddy longs for her life to be mystifying, to be as magical as a fairy story. And then one, day, on the beach, she meets the strangest young man she has ever seen.” I guess it’s a sort of a fable, a slightly surreal one perhaps. Beautifully written as you would expect, coming from one of Australia’s most talented writers. Clearly a “crossover” book too, with appeal to adults as well as teens.

Town, by James Roy
A collection of thirteen connected short stories. All set in the same country town. All told from the perspective of different people. There are bits of overlap with central characters from one story popping up in the peripheries of another and Roy varies the voice of the character narrating each story. Evocative and engaging. Well worth reading, especially if you particularly like short stories and even if you don’t.

Edit: Poking around a bit today I came across James Roy’s website and his blog.

Cold skin, by Steven Herrick
The latest book by Australia’s master of young adult verse novels, and the first verse novel I had ever read. Are you like I was two months ago, having never experienced the beauty of a well crafted verse novel? Then do yourself a big fat favour and grab a copy of Cold skin. A good solid country town story. A kid who wants to leave school and work in the mine. A father who won’t let him and won’t go down the mine himself. Throw in a dead body and a bit of mystery, write it all in poetry and there you have it. It’s not a tough read, partly because the verse form flows so well, and party because the form means there is a lot of white space and therefore fewer words. Seriously, do yourself a favour and give this book a shot. Maybe verse novels are not for everyone, but I loved this book and would be interested to hear other people’s feedback.

What does blue feel like?, by Jessica Davidson
The second verse novel I have ever read. Given this, it is hard not to compare it directly with Stephen Herrick’s Cold skin. I liked it quite a lot, probably not quite at the same level as Herrick, but still very good. The story deals with Char, a year twelve student spiraling into depression. Different chapters take the perspective of Char as well as people around her. A great first novel and I look forward to what Jessica Davidson comes up with next.

Nick & Norah’s infinite playlist, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
“I know this is going to sound strange, but would you mind being my girlfriend for the next five minutes?” So begins the relationship between Nick and Norah, who narrate alternating chapters written by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn respectively. The story begins in the middle of the night and lasts until morning. Cohn and Levithan are both successful writers in their own regard and this is their first collaboration. At the risk of sounding like I’m just raving about everything today, this is a truly great book. One of the best books I have read in the last year.

Naomi and Ely’s no kiss list, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Cohn and Levithan’s second collaboration. I felt it failed to reach the lofty bar they set for themselves with Nick & Nora but was still a really good read. Naomi and Ely are best friends. Soul mates. They take this so seriously that they have created a “no kiss list” of people that are off limits for kissing in order to avoid conflict and awkwardness and protect their friendship. However, things get messy when Ely kisses Naomi’s boyfriend and Naomi starts to reconsider her own feelings for Ely.