Big Little Lies

Posted on 26 June 2015 by admin

Summary

Pirriwee Publics annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. One parent is dead. The school principal is horrified. As police investigate what appears to have been a tragic accident, signs begin to indicate that this devastating death might have been cold-blooded murder. This book deftly explores the reality of parenting and playground politics, ex-husbands and ex-wives, and fractured families. This book also shows us the truth about what really goes on behind closed suburban doors.

Comments

A hugely enjoyable and easy read. The characters are well developed, believable and likeable. Although it was an easy read, it showcased some serious and confronting issues. It reminded us that although we all appear fine on the surface, a number of us are secretly fighting our own battles. The book also demonstrated the playground politics often found in schools and we all admitted to comparing the characters to some of the parents at our schools! The book at times felt like a screenplay and we questioned whether that was necessary. There is a great, unexpected twist at the end which had us all talking. Overall a fantastic book and a must read for kindergarten parents!

Rating – an impressive 9.5/10

Read By Cultcha Club

Miles Franklin Winner 2015

Posted on 24 June 2015 by admin

Congratulations Sofie Laguna WINNER of the 2015 Miles Franklin Award!

‘Ned was beside me, his messages running easily through him, with space between each one, coming through him like water. He was the go-between, going between the animal kingdom and this one. I watched the waves as they rolled and crashed towards us, one after another, never stopping, always changing. I knew what was making them come, I had been there and I would always know.’ Meet Jimmy Flick. He’s not like other kids – he’s both too fast and too slow. He sees too much, and too little. Jimmy’s mother Paula is the only one who can manage him. She teaches him how to count sheep so that he can fall asleep. She holds him tight enough to stop his cells spinning. It is only Paula who can keep Jimmy out of his father’s way. But when Jimmy’s world falls apart, he has to navigate the unfathomable world on his own, and make things right.

Sofie’s winning book is The eye of the sheep, is a great read. Do yourself a favour and read it today.

If you would like more information on the Miles Franklin Award why not visit the website http://www.milesfranklin.com.au/

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Posted on 9 June 2015 by admin

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Richard Flanagan

Summary

A novel of the cruelty of war, and tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love.

August, 1943. In the despair of a Japanese POW camp on the Thai-Burma death railway, Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his uncle’s young wife two years earlier. Struggling to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings, he receives a letter that will change his life forever.

This savagely beautiful novel is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost.

Comments

This is a stunning book. It is moving and horrific without being sentimental and lingered in my mind well after I finished the last page.

Told in three parts, primarily around the character of Dorrigo Evans, before, during and after his time as a P.O.W. on the Thai/Burma railway during World War II. Dorrigo is a surgeon who finds himself as the commanding officer in charge of hundreds of Australian P.O.W.s as they are starved and brutalised by the Japanese military. Every character is fleshed out brilliantly. The secondary characters that do not survive linger throughout the book, and the survivors continue on with an understated stain that marks the rest of their days. Flanagan even manages to humanise the Japanese war criminals who view their actions as an honourable duty, even well into their old age.

It brilliantly subverts the idea of love, heroism and virtue. Dorrigo is not your typical hero protagonist. He is never comfortable with the admiration of his men, or the praise that he receives after the war. He is an adulterer who can never reconcile his feelings towards a lost, forbidden love and feels like a passenger within his loveless marriage.

I really can’t do this book justice in a short review. A must read.

Read by Dean

Jody’s Picks

Posted on 12 May 2015 by admin

Over the last few weeks I have read some great books, some wonderful books and even a book I couldn’t finish; although lots of my colleagues loved it.

My MUST READ picks are

The girl in Times Square – Paullina Simons

This is the first book I have read by Paullina Simons and I really enjoyed it. An overall enjoyable book.

Mortal Heart – Robin LaFevers

The 3rd book in a Young Adult series and I must say it was just as good as the first two in the series. I will definitely be reading any new books by this author. The two other books in the His Fair Assassin series are: 1 – Grave Mercy 2 – Dark Triumph

Missing You – Kylie Kaden

I discovered Kylie Kaden last year when I read Kylie’s first book ‘Losing Kate’ which I loved. When I saw that Kylie had a new book out I knew I had to read it as soon as possible. I finished ‘Losing Kate’ in one day and I promised myself I would take my time with ‘Missing You’ but I didn’t I just couldn’t put it down. It was so easy to read and the characters were so easy to get involved with. Even a day later I find myself still thinking about the book.

Missing You is unputdownable!

My ENJOYABLE READS are Continue reading →