Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt

Published (Australia) by Bloomsbury, 2003

Tuck Everlasting is a short book, easy to read, but it is such a beautiful, charming little tale that I kind of wish I could stay stuck in it forever.

The Tuck family are doomed to/blessed with eternal life after drinking from a magic spring. Ten year old Winnie Foster stumbles upon their secret and the Tucks kidnap her to try and make her see why the spring must stay secret and why living forever is not as much a blessing as it may seem. Meanwhile, a strange man in a yellow suit is determined to cause trouble for Winnie and the Tucks.

I’ve always known about this book, and I’ve seen the movie version, but it still did not prepare me for how amazing Tuck Everlasting is. I feel like it is near perfect, with its flawless prose, structure, style, and subtle themes largely centering around morality.

This is a book that makes you feel like you are there, with Winnie, in her front yard on those stifling hot days, or wandering around the cool woods, or in the homely, ramshackle little cottage of the Tucks. Babbitt’s prose is so delicious that I sometimes had to read passages over and over again because it just rolls off the page so effortlessly. There is a winsome humour and deft capturing of Winnie’s emotions and reaction to a discovery that would surely change her life.

Winnie is an adorable lead character and her interactions with the Tucks are skilfully done. Her awe of Jesse is never overwrought or too sentimental, and yet we get a great sense of the scope of it. For a short book, all the characters feel fleshed out and clearly motivated by their individual wants and needs.

Tuck Everlasting has won quite a few awards and received plenty of praise. Trust me, it is so very deserving. It is touching, superbly crafted and an utter delight.

"You can't have living without dying. So you can't call it living, what we got. We just are, we just be, like rocks beside the road."

Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White

Published by Harper Collins, 2010

Evelyn wants to be a normal teen with a normal life (whatever normal passes for in the literary world). Instead she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency and uses her ability to see through supernatural’s glamours to help monitor and control all those bad-ass vamps trying to get their sexy on. When she finds herself linked to a faerie prophecy that promises death and destruction to the paranormal world, everything she knows is called into question and she must find a way to make sense of her world. So much for normal.

Despite Paranormalcy’s slight deviation from the usual set up, this is very much a paranormal romance. The guts of it involves Evie’s longing for Lend’s ‘normal’ life and her worry that their conflicting worlds will stop them from being happy together. I am so pleased that Evie isn’t a total wet blanket when it comes to love and lust – that she has a bit of spark and can give as good as she gets. She is a cute character, easy to go along with. I love that White lets us see her and Lend’s relationship actually develop. They go through the whole awkward flirty, cutesy stuff instead of just falling all over each other with unparalleled declarations of love. That being said, I didn’t really care all that much about them ending up together. We get the attraction but something is missing from the dynamics of their relationship – maybe it’s the angst, maybe it’s the tension, but something just wasn’t there.

Apart from Lend’s water spririt Mum, I also wasn’t feeling the love for any of the supporting characters. I think maybe because they don’t get a chance to develop, or they just aren’t around enough to make me care what happens to them. Reth was the best developed out of all, and we’re kind of made to not like him. I didn’t even care all that much for Lish, and she’s a mermaid, my absolute favourite.

I also found it hard to immerse myself in the plot. The book itself is an easy and fun read, and original in its premise. But as to actually what goes on, and how it unfolds, I just didn’t get sucked in, I didn’t feel anything. I think maybe this is because of Evie’s character, the way she is written, and the overall tone of the book. As I said, it is light-hearted and fun, and a welcome relief from the often bland and depressing protagonist voice of other YA paranormal romance - but it also makes it hard to really take anything seriously, maybe because Evie doesn’t.

I enjoyed Paranormalcy (even if the title is a bit awkward). It’s definitely worth having  a read. But it didn’t seduce me, like the back cover promised it would.

This is Shyness, by Leanne Hall

I sometimes post reviews over at this blog, CAE Book Groups, and my most recent post was for This is Shyness, by Leanne Hall.

I absolutely just adored this book, and encourage everyone to go out and pick up a copy. It is so quirky, original and fun, with the kind of beauty reserved for those nights just like the book describes - the nights that you don't want to end, that are so perfect for the feelings and emotions they capture, that almost feel like another time and place. That was my experience reading This is Shyness, and I love Leanne Hall for writing something so unique.

The full review is here: This is Shyness. Like I said, I didn't read the gazillion other entries for the Text Prize (which, by the way, is a fabulous prize that all emerging writers should look into entering), but I can't help thinking they definately picked the right winner for this one.

Raw Blue wins Victorian Premier's Literary Award

Earlier this week the winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for 2010 were announced. The prize for Young Adult Fiction was won by Kirsty Eagar, for her novel Raw Blue.



I've noticed this book popping up everywhere so I think now it definately has to go on my reading list. That it is based around beaches and surfing also makes it pretty irresistible. At least to me.

I also noticed that the prize for an unpublished manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer was won by Peggy Frew. I remembered the name vaguely from the Age Short Story Award, and upon checking I found she won it in 2008. I think it's so fabulous to see emerging writers keep going with their work and building on the momentum and just getting their stuff out there.

Who's read Raw Blue? What did you think?

Keeper, by Kathi Appelt

Published in hardcover by Atheneum, 2010

You know when you want a book to be so good, and you have such high hopes - even put off reading it because you don’t want the whole thing to be over and done with? That’s how I felt about Keeper. And then, when I finally started reading, all those hopes got that nasty feeling of deflation. It’s not that Keeper is a bad book. It just isn’t what I expected, or hoped for.

My major problems with it:

-I don't like it when characters use obvious and self-referential slang, all the time. Therefore, every 'cooleoleo' and 'stealth kiss!' and 'halloo hallay' made me cringe and step out of the story.

-I don't have a problem with stuttering characters, but it gets painful and annoying to read.

-It bugs me when characters state obvious things to themselves or just put obvious things out there in general. Like Keeper watching the moon come out and then saying 'the moon!' Appelt uses this a lot and I find it tiresome to read, and redundant.

-Which brings me to the main issue of this book - it moves very slowly. Too slowly, I think, for a children's book. There are many flashbacks and cuts to different characters. Some of it is cute. I found the chapters on both Jack and Henri's and Signe and Dogie's relationships well done and quite touching. But if the driving narrative behind this story is Keeper taking a boat out to sea to find her mermaid mama, then it is, at best, an idle.

Appelt can do simple, clear, lyrical language, and do it well. At times there is too much repetition of words and ideas, to the point that it feels a little overdone and like it's tipping a hat to its own cleverness. I know this is an attractive device for kids, and I can see how it might sweep them up and keep them reading. But it just doesn't work for me.

Keeper does redeem itself with some moments of very lovely prose. I particularly liked 'In the deep disappointment of the night, the sound of Sinbad's purr slipped into Mr. Beauchamp's ear.' The little coastal town of Tater and the Oyster Ridge Road are both portrayed with obvious care and affection. And there were, of course, mermaids. But I just didn't feel the magic with this one.

"It didn't matter, did it, what Jack was? It only mattered that he loved him."

Peter Pan

...Hook found himself face to face with Peter, and the others drew back. The two enemies looked at each other for a long time. Hook shuddered slightly, but there was a smile on Peter's face.

   "So, Pan," said Hook, at last. "This is all your doing."

   "Aye, James Hook," Peter answered, "it is all my doing."

   "Then prepare to meet your doom, my cocky boy," snarled Hook.

   "Have at you," cried Peter, and the fight began.

One of my all-time favourites is the incomparable Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie. This is a beautiful, beautiful story, rich in theme, that just about breaks my heart every time. Peter Pan, Tinkerbell ('You silly ass!') and Captain Hook are such fantastic, layered characters. P.J. Hogan's 2003 live action movie version is also one of the most stunning kids films you will see, and Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan is perfect.

The Keepers: Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner

Published in hardcover by Allen & Unwin, 2010.

Three things attracted me to Museum of Thieves: the cover, which I think promises just the right amount of adventure and intrigue; the concept (a fantasy adventure set in an ancient museum? Amazing!); and the fact that Lian Tanner is from Tasmania. Originally hailing from this beautiful state myself, I always feel a little surge of pride over anything vaguely creative-artsy and Tasmanian. So I really wanted to like this book.

The story centres around Goldie Roth, who lives in the repressive city of Jewel and runs away on Separation Day. She takes refuge in the mysterious Museum of Dunt and is taken under the wing of Olga Ciavolga and Sinew, the Keepers of it, and initially scorned by Toadspit, a fiery little boy who lives there with them. They train Goldie to be a ‘Thief’, and her training begins to come in handy when the Museum encounters the corruption of The Fugleman, and his plans to use the evil forces of the Museum to invade Jewel.

First of all, I absolutely love that the story is centered around a museum. The Museum of Dunt in has layers and layers to it, is stuffed with thousands of lost and forgotten things, has a will of its own and is dominated by an eerie, menacing presence. Tanner uses it to create a great sense of adventure and discovery. Goldie and Toadspit are proactive, clever protagonists and once the action picks up about halfway through, the story rollicks along at a nice pace.

It didn’t quite win me over, though. A few of the plot points and lines of dialogue I felt I had read many times before, and a few of Goldie’s moments of self-discovery were a bit forced. At times I didn’t really feel emotionally invested in the story. That being said, I do recognise the fact that I am an older reader, and can appreciate that the story will have different resonances with a younger audience.

There seems to also be quite a lot of death, or promise of it, in this book. It feels slightly out of sync with the rest of the story, maybe because it doesn’t really seem to have a large impact on everyone who witnesses it, which is strange as Jewel is set up as a very subdued, safe city. This may be what causes the lack of emotional investment that I mentioned before.

There is certainly loads of adventure to be had, though. And it makes me want to live in a museum. I think the series has promise, and am interested to see how Tanner will advance Goldie’s story in the coming books.

"Go home and be good?" She grinned at Toadspit, and shook her head. "I've barely begun."