Tiddas by Anita Heiss : a review

Even though I finished reading Anita Heiss' latest novel "Tiddas" earlier this month, it has taken me some time to focus my thoughts for a review and I still find it not an easy task. There are things I want to say about this novel but I find I struggle putting the words into context. I found it, as with Heiss' other novels, a delightful read which touches on the heart of friendship and identity. Tiddas takes place over the course of a year in the lives of Izzy, Nadine, Xanthe, Veronica, and Ellen.
Tiddas deftly touches on a myriad of social issues and concerns but does so in a way which is both subtle and provoking. As the five women come to terms with changes in their lives and challenges to their friendships, they consider the impact of their own past and history on their current lives and any possible future for their children. Family is important. Cultural and social history is important. Friendship is colour-blind.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tiddas, sharing the journey of these five friends. I immediately felt connected with the characters and most certainly connected with the setting of Brisbane (having lived there myself for a few years many moons ago) - and Mudgee. Anita Heiss writes with such a deft hand. The depth of connection between the characters is heart-warming, their frailties real, their struggles touching.
It is, quite simply, a lovely read.

5/5 stars.

Mary Bennet by Jennifer Paynter : a review

I enjoyed this quirky tale which so delightfully fitted in with the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Mary Bennet is a character we know so little about and often find ourselves disliking from the little the original book (or movies) reveal of her character. She seems the odd duck in the family of Bennets and here she has her chance to show her true nature and the background to who she is.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and I admire Jennifer Paynter for taking on this character and revealing her beauty and individuality as she has done.

3/5 stars (I liked it) - as reviewed on Goodreads

The Rogue by Trudi Canavan : a review

When I first started the Australian Women Writers challenge for 2014 I'd planned on reading ten different authors but after stumbling across The Rogue by Trudi Canavan and having enjoyed the first book in this series so much I simply threw that idea out the window.

The Rogue is book 2 of Trudi Canavan's Traitor Spy trilogy and follows on from the events of The Ambassador's Mission. The story will conclude in book 3: The Traitor Queen. 

It's interesting the approach you take to reading a book which you know will be incomplete as far as the story goes. I expect less of a middle book than I do of the first or last book in a series. The Rogue cleverly puts all the characters in place for the final book, introducing a few new characters and events which will obviously impact upon the conclusion of the story. Given that The Traitor Spy trilogy is built around already existing characters from The Black Magician trilogy and may perhaps lend itself to another series, I'm also not expecting book 3 to be an ultimate conclusion. It's a fantasy series. Worlds are built which constantly change and the scope for new characters and new stories which inhabit those worlds is never-ending - Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a classic example of this.

I like this series. I find the characters interesting and the worlds they inhabit equally so. I am also impressed by the way in which Canavan deftly builds these worlds and cleverly twists the events surrounding characters so that you know there's going to be a confrontation. By the end of this book the reader knows that there are some serious issues to be addressed. There is political intrigue, assassination attempts, drug use, black magic, murder, mayhem and mystery. Underlying the entire story is the question of black (or higher) magic and how all the cultures of this world approach its use and application. When young Lilia accidentally learns black magic through reading a book, the belief that this form of magic could not be learned from books is turned on its head. When she also determines how to unblock her magic it additionally brings into question everything that has been considered as true in regards to magic itself. The Guild has a lot of questions they can no longer ignore nor deny. And about time too.

I keenly await reading book 3 now. I'm happy with the questions Canavan has posed to her characters and interested to see how the various pieces will tie together. I enjoy her writing style and have adapted well to the constant flow from character story to character story to characters story within the same chapter. It adds to the sense of the passage of time and shows how each character is developing in relation to the others. While The Rogue brings the new magician character of Lilia to the forefront of the action in Kyralia and focuses less on Cery, you know he is still there in the background and will continue to have a major role to play in the story. Learning more about the Traitors, the Sachakans, and the Duna adds to the overall landscaping of this world. Each small piece of information adds to the whole and establishes the footings for the following book.

This is solid fantasy writing. Trudi Canavan is an Australian writer of great skill and definitely a voice to pay attention to within the Fantasy genre.

4/5 stars (really liked it).

The Betrayal by Y. A. Erskine

I read this novel as part of the #aww2014 challenge to read at least 10 books by Australian women writers this year. The following is the review I put up on Goodreads with a rating of 2/5 stars (It was ok).

This is a solid police procedural but lacks the grit of an Ian Rankin, P M Newton, or Patricia Cornwell. While it pries open the lid of police and political corruption it fails to provide a likeable character and gives the sense that this story is part of a larger whole - a much larger whole. In itself it seems somewhat incomplete.
The Betrayal is the second novel by Y. A. Erskine, following on from The Brotherhood - which I have not read. The sheer naivete of the main character seems somewhat implausible given her chosen career. The sexual  deprivations of most of the characters also seems a little over the top. The arrogance and chauvinism and heightened levels of anger expressed by one character is excessive, yet oddly plausible.
The feelings and thoughts expressed by the spouse of a police office with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are spot on and for me provide the only sense of resonance with this novel.
Y. A. Erskine is a talented writer whose skill continues to develop with her characters. While this genre is not one I read often, I would certainly read her work again.

I didn't really take to this book and the more I thought about it the more I realised it was mostly due to the overall feeling that the story was incomplete. The Betrayal unfolds around the crime of date-rape but features so many other characters and events/crimes that the starting point gets a little lost. Rather than tying pieces together it opens up more and more story lines until the reader (ie, me) is left feeling that the date-rape crime is being swept aside for the larger story. The ending is unsatisfactory.
All that aside, there's some definite talent here and I would like to see how Erskine pulls these characters together to solve the larger issues/crimes.

The Ambassador's Mission by Trudi Canavan : a review

The Ambassador's Mission is book one of the Traitor Spy trilogy and follows on from Trudi Canavan's previous seven novels (two trilogies and a standalone). For a reader coming in without any of the previous back-story there is little sense of missing any required history or appreciation of the characters. Canavan cleverly reintroduces the important players and provides whatever context is required for the story to progress. I'm still amazed that I've gone all this time and not read any of Canavan's stories before.

There are three key characters whose tales intersect at various levels and who the story follows throughout. Sonea is a Black Magaician and tied to the guidance and control of the Kyralian Guild of Magicians. She is a Healer and has emerged from within the ranks of the very poor to be a powerful magician (and somewhat feared by her colleagues). Her son, Lorkin is also a magician but an Alchemist. He agrees to accompany Lord Dannyl, the newly appointed Guild Ambassador, to Sachaka as his aid - both to help Dannyl in his search to fill some of the gaps in Kyralian history and also to explore more of the world than the city of his birth. Cery is an old friend of Sonea and a Thief in the City, he's familiar with the darker side of life.

"The Ambassador's Mission" ends on the delightfully teasing note of intrigue and deception, and as any good story does leaves you wanting more. Sonea has helped catch the rogue magician and Thief Killer; Cery has avenged his family's deaths and grown closer to his only surviving child (and learned a nice tidbit of information about a certain other Black Magician.... no spoilers); and Lorkin has come closer to discovering more about the Sachakans, the people they call Traitors, his father Akkarin, and hidden magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am keen to continue reading the trilogy to discover what happens with our three main characters. It has everything: political intrigue, clash of cultures, fighting, magic, avoiding capture, more magic, quips. But more importantly it is enjoyable and I really do want to know how this story ends. I've ended up caring about these characters, curious about the Sachakans and Traitors and blood gems and magic, wondering how the Wasteland fits into all of this, and whether the Guild will let go of old prejudices and fears.

Grace Beside Me by Sue McPherson: a review

Grace Beside Me by Sue McPherson takes place in 2008 and follows young teenager Fuzzy Mac (Ocean Skye McCardell) and her life in the country town of Laurel Dale. Raised by her grandparents she explores her relationships with them, with her mostly absent father, with her dead mother, with her friends, neighbours, and  community. Fuzzy's grandparents are a mix of Islander and Koorie and the absolute cornerstone of Fuzzy's life. They instill a pride in family and heritage in Fuzzy which shines through her interactions with everyone she meets. 2008 is a big year for this family: it's the year the nation says "sorry" for removing Aboriginal children from their parents. It's the year Fuzzy is faced with some tough decisions and learn to find grace beside her -the grace which comforts and settles torn emotions, the grace which provides wisdom, the grace to be at peace with you are  and within your own skin whatever that may be.
Grace Beside Me is a well written young adult story. The story labours a little to start with, laying deep and somewhat complex foundations, but goes on to find its own rhythm and flow. It is a novel which is very much about the value of stories in identifying who we are and where we come from. The book does tend to cover a lot of ground and attempt to expose Fuzzy to as much of the darker side of Australia's past which Aboriginal people have been subjected to as McPherson can fit within the pages. At times the story itself seems to lose its focus as a result.
That said, this is a powerful story and one which explores what it means to be Aboriginal in Australia and the impact Australia's past has even now. It does not sugar coat anything but provides a simple and straightforward insight into a young girl's family and life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was heartened by the choices Fuzzy makes and the wisdom her grandparents use to guide her.

This is the second book I have read as part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2014. It is Sue McPherson's debut novel and written with the support of the State Library of Queensland's 2011 kuril dhagun Indigenous Writing Fellowship which is part of the State Library's black&write! Indigenous Writing and Editing Project.

Friday Brown by Vicki Wakefield

on GoodReads

Friday Brown is a beautiful story of self-discovery and self-determination. It is the coming-of-age tale of a young girl, discovering who she is, but on her own terms. At 17 Friday's life has been under the singular influence of her mother until she finds herself alone and lost in Sydney. As she falls into the company of a group of homeless children she learns the value of friendship, the meaning of love, and finally the meaning behind her mother's philosophy of life: that if you can't make a good choice, at least make a choice you can live with.

I enjoyed this story immensely (4/5 stars). Wakefield describes Sydney and the various country towns Friday finds herself in with clarity and detail. Her characters are honest and flawed, the dialogue cleverly reinforcing their various natures. Friday is an engaging character and her struggle to remain true to herself whilst also discovering who she is, the sort of person she chooses to be, is universal.

When all is said and done, Friday Brown is a story about how the choices you make are what end up defining you as a person, and accepting people for who they are, regardless, is the sign of true friendship.

I look forward to more by Vikki Wakefield. Her first novel, All I Ever Wanted, was shortlisted for the 2011 Gold Inky Awards, shortlisted for the 2012 REAL Awards, a 2012 CBCA Notable Book and winner of the Young Adult Fiction Award at the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. Friday Brown is her second novel and was shortlisted for the 2013 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers.

2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge

A new year brings a new reading challenge.
As well as #rwpchat and the ubiquitous GoodReads challenge, this year I've decided to participate in the Australian Women Writers Challenge.

For me the challenge will be in developing my review writing skills. I've done a little bit of reviewing for ALIA's inCite magazine a few years ago but mostly keep my personal reviews to GoodReads or this blog. (Let's be honest, mostly I just rate a book on GoodReads and leave it at that, call me lazy). Which is why I'm excited about #aww2014. It's a challenge that not only stretches me as a reader and reviewer but more importantly highlights the work of Australian women writers.
And if there's one thing which I am passionate about as a reader, it is supporting Australian writers.

So I've joined the AWW challenge group on GoodReads and I'll be signing up and focusing my reading efforts (and reviewing efforts) on the work of Australian women. I am still debating what level to aim for (Stella = 4; Miles = 6; Franklin = 10) but am really looking forward to sharing my reviews and reading the reviews of other readers participating in #aww2014.

This is going to be fun!

My Reading Year

2013 has been a reasonably quiet reading year for me.

Seriously, 120 books is pretty average for me. But I did set myself the challenge of reading stuff I wouldn't normally read and ended up with quite a neat list in the end.

But what's my favourite read of 2013? What's the one title that struck such resonance with me that I reluctantly put it aside when I finished it? That's a tough one.
Discovering the Laini Taylor Daughter of Smoke and Bone series was a huge delight. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery) and The Book of Emmet (Deborah Forster) struck me deeply. John Scalzi's Redshirts and The Android's Dream saw me laughing out loud in public (as did The Mallet of Loving Correction). Mark Lawrence's series The Broken Empire is just plain wow, I waited with baited breath for each instalment and loved the blend of fantasy and science fiction. Darren Shan and Derek Landy were pretty constant throughout the year and anything Neil Gaiman writes is usually very very good (no disappointments there). The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is heartbreakingly beautiful as is Kate Forsyth's The Wild Girl. Tad Williams, Terry Pratchett, John Marsden,Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King, Joe Hill, Jim Butcher, Jack Heath, John Flanagan, Matthew Reilly, Dean Koontz, James A Owen, Cinda Williams Chima, Justine Larbalestier, Melina Marchetta, P M Newton, Libby Gleeson, Cassandra Clare, Emma Donoghue, to name but a few. There were very few stories I read which disappointed (always nice when this happens). I took on the recommendations of others more this year and discovered a range of new authors to explore. It's been a delight.

But, what's my favourite read of 2013? ....... Yeesh.

I'm going to give that honour to Laini Taylor and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. This title was suggested to me by a work experience student as excited by books and reading and authors and stories as I am and was a delight to spend a week with showing her the ins and outs of library land. I read this and was wowed.   Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence comes a close second but I started this series last year so I was already exposed to the characters and story whereas Daughter of Smoke and Bone was completely new.    Neil Gaiman's Fortunately the Milk entertained me for days. Even now I can induce giggles with "Ve vill wiwisect you".    I was excited to be part of Jack Heath's Ink, inc. Pozible project and delighted by the end product.

this book on GoodReads

It's been a really good reading year for me and I am keenly anticipating 2014 and the continuation of the Read Watch Play twitter reading group (follow @readwatchplay for the latest updates) which has inspired some cleverly themed reading choices. #rwpchat is a fun conversation to be involved in and the monthly tweetups have led to some very satisfying new discoveries. Talking books and games and movies and music and reading in all its myriad forms is positively delightful!

So, cheers to 2013 and bring on 2014 - may it be keenly filled with reading delights and discoveries!