With "Twilight" still on our minds ...

... here's yet more suggestions for fangtastic reading over summer. The librarians have been searching and checking, and so let's see how they shaped up. Vampire fiction list, from Cairns in North Queensland, plus a Read-Alike list , and a few fang sites to check. Oh stop! that's quite enough!

Dead, dying and undead - booklist

If you're thirsting for a bit of ghoulish reading, or just need something to fill the hours (days) till you can read the Twilight trilogy right through, maybe you should get your fangs into some of the titles on this quite long list. And you may be happy to know that it's not all about vampires.

Twilight competition announced

With the movie soon to be released, and with over 110 readers waiting for their chance to read the 20 library copies, we have decided to give some away. That's right, we have 5 copies of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer waiting for 5 lucky readers to win. All you need to do is tell us, in 25 words (or fewer), why you would like to win. Competition starts on December 1st, and closes on December 22nd, so be in it to win a Christmas gift for yourself or someone you love!
Just go to the library website to fill in the online form, or pick one up in your nearest library. One entry per person, and you must be 18 years or younger to win.

Twilight series

Have you got the latest in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer? Readers are already telling me they don't know what they'll read once this is over - it's that good! Unfortunately, I will have to save up and buy them, because the library copies are still in such demand. I've been doing some checking, though, and will start a list of the "readalikes". Meanwhile, if you can suggest any books in a similar vein, please get in touch...

THOSE AWARDS, AND MORE ...

So, those Book Awards were announced - some weeks ago! And the winner is ... "Ghost Child' by Sonya Hartnett. It would have been a difficult choice as all of the short list were great. But, moving on, it's time to choose the "Inkys" - Australia's only teenage choice book awards. The long list was announced on insideadog.com.au. There are 10 Australian books in the list, going for the gold Inky, and 10 international titles vying for the silver Inky. Readers can also win. So check out the website now. And while you're there, have a go at a quiz. You'd be surprised how much you know!

BLACK WATER by David Metzenthen

Reading my way through the CBC shortlist, I have started with the "watery" titles. So ...
David Metzenthen's "Black Water" - It's set in the period of the "Great War" (WWI) when many Australian teenagers enlisted for national service, went to Gallipoli, and didn't come back. Their main motivation, being innocents, was to biff the enemy, and they had little idea who they were. In this story, there are two brothers: the main one (the younger) is at home in a small fishing village in southern Australia (Queenscliffe) living with his father. His mother died some time ago I guess, and his older brother has gone to the war, so he (Farron) and his father (Tom) carry on as "normal". After the father drowns in a storm at sea, then the brother (Danny) returns wounded from the war, the story goes on with thoughts about coping with what you have left. This is a story of loss and loneliness and so I don't recommend it if you are looking for action and adventure. Although action and adventure are available in buckets, there is a strong sense of the price to be paid for the "thrill" of high adventure, whether that be in signing up to go to the war, or in sailing out on the southern ocean. However, if you do like some great character stories, and the kind of book that leaves you wondering what might happen next, and what might have happened if ... then I think you will like it. It has lots of sad bits. I heard it read on the Louis Braille audio book, which gave it some very old voice characteristics that you will not naturally create in your own head. Read it and weep ...

BOOK AWARDS ON THE WAY

Australia's biggest book awards in young people's literature happen in August every year. Today the short list was announced by the Children's Book Council. From this list the winner will come. In the Older Readers category the following books have been selected:

Author	Title	Publisher
FRENCH, Jackie	PHARAOH: THE BOY WHO CONQUERED THE NILE	Angus&Robertson (HarperCollins Australia)
HARTNETT, Sonya	THE GHOST’S CHILD	Viking (Penguin Group Australia)
HEFFERNAN, John	MARTY’S SHADOW	Omnibus Books (Scholastic Australia)
McDONALD, Meme	LOVE LIKE WATER	Allen & Unwin
METZENTHEN, David	BLACK WATER	Penguin Books (Penguin Group Australia)
NORRINGTON, Leonie	LEAVING BARRUMBI	Omnibus Books (Scholastic Australia

Aurealias Awards

The Annual Aurealias Awards recognize Australian writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. The 2007 winners have just been announced, and one of my favourite authors, Anthony Eaton, has won the Young Adult fiction category for Skyfall the second part of his Darklands trilogy . Here are the winners and the judges comments. While you wait for the book to come in to the library, you could read a review. If you have already read the book, send us your comments.

Your quest ...

is to read the whole summer long - whether lazing in the shade or staying out of the rain, here are are few reviews from a "reader in residence".

The Quest for the Sun Sword by Belinda Murrell is the first book in the The Sun Sword Trilogy and I found it to be a wonderful book!

The Quest for the Sun Sword enthralled me because of the way the childrens’ lives became entangled together, all because of the same thing – the theft of the Sun Sword. The Sun Sword belonged to the King of Tiregian… that is until he was murdered and it was stolen from him! Princess Roana was the only member of the royal procession to escape and she, together with Ethan, Lilly and Saxon embarked on a mission to retrieve the Sun Sword from its wielder.
Ethan and Lily are the Children of The Royal Master of Horse, who was also, unfortunately in the Royal Procession. Saxon is Ethan’s Best Friend and is determined to help them find the Sun Sword, no matter what his parents say.
Throughout The Quest for the Sun Sword, the four young friends must solve riddles and puzzles. They have bravery, courage and determination – all they need.
It is their bravery, courage and determination that kept me immersed in the book, because, even though Roana, Lily, Saxon and Ethan are probably all younger than me, I could never do as well as they did, put in that situation.
I recommend this book to readers 10 years and older, as some sections of the book involve fighting, blood and death.
I give The Quest for the Sun Sword 10/10 stars

By Gabi – Girl, age 12

Need to read

When you want to get away from things
When you need to be alone
When the TV is on the blink
You may need to read.
What is your pick for times when the reading bug gets you?
Let us know now.

Inkys Shortlist announced!

Check out the Inside a Dog website for the next installment in the INKY awards. Vote on your choice of the best young adult book of the year. Read the books at Noosa Library. Make sure you have your PIN up to date to reserve new titles.

Sick of being told what to read?

Have a look at this from Insideadog.
They have started the first ever book award for teenage readers. There is currently a long list from which judges will select 3 Australian and 3 International books. Then we all get to vote. Voting opens 24 September.
Check back at the Insideadog website for progress reports.

Books of the Year 2007

Crikey! It's August already, and book week has hit. The winners were announced on the CBCA website - here.

Voices on the Coast - coming soon

The Youth literature festival is back again for the 11th year. See their website and go if you can. Many schools will be taking students. Noosa Library will be participating by taking a community bus with 20 lucky people to see and hear their favourite authors. Highlights include Isobelle Carmody, John Boyne (author of "The boy in striped pyjamas") and Gregory Rogers whose book "Midsummer Knight" is shortlisted for the Children's Book Awards. Greg will also be coming to visit us at Noosa for a trip to some hinterland schools, and an evening "conversation with ..." Don't know who Greg is? See an interview with him on ABC's Rollercoaster.

Will

Looking at this blog, I realise that nothing has been written for ages, so I must add some news about reading materials. The YA novel I have at my bedside now is "Will" by Maria Boyd. It opens with a fight scene in a school yard. Actually I haven't read much beyond the first 2 pages. So anyone who has read it already, don't tell me. More later, when I've had a chance to read more. If you can't wait, there's a review (kind of) at the Avid Reader's Digest Then there is the first chapter on Inside a Dog

Holes, by Louis Sachar

Only one person is responsible for Stanley Yelnats going to Camp Green Lake, himself. Or at least that's what the camp counselor tells him. But Stanley, accused of stealing the used sneakers of baseball champion Clyde Livingston, is innocent. He knows that himself being at the camp (a juvenile detention center for boys), is just part of the curse that has plagued his family for generations. His bad luck is the fault of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. But that's another story.
And so Stanley begins his routine at the camp. Along with the other boys in the D tent - Zero, X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, Magnet, and Zigzag - Stanley gets up every day before dawn to dig a hole in the desert that's five feet in every direction. Though the digging is supposed to be character-building, the counselors let the boys know that the Warden wants to be alerted if anyone digs up anything "interesting." A fossil that Stanley finds doesn't qualify, but a gold-colored tube with the initials KB does. With each hole he digs, Stanley comes closer to the truth that KB stands for Kissin' Kate Barlow, a schoolteacher whose love for an onion seller turned her into an Outlaw who roamed the area of Camp Green Lake when there was still a lake there.
Holes is a great book which is very witty and page turning. You just want to keep on reading it.
Star rating: 4/5
Age range: 10 years old and up.
By George Anyon of Saint Kentigern school, Auckland.
Do you like Trivia games and quizzes? Here's a quiz based on the book Holes. It contains links to more trivia and word games.

Soldier, Soldier ...

George from Auckland, holidaying in Noosa, has left us with his enthusiastic remarks about a book he read: "Boy Soldier" by Andy McNab. Here it is.

Danny Watts, aged 17, is trying to get to his lifelong dream to become a soldier. But one news story is the end of his career - "SAS HERO TURNS TRAITOR".
Danny's Grandfather, who he's never met, SAS hero Fergus Watts, was suppposedly selling to Columbian drug cartels. And he was to have died rotting in jail. But the story of Fergus rotting jail is just a big fib; and now Danny is out to find him.
While Danny is living at Foxcroft he meets a new friend called Elena who seems to know what she's doing with computers. Elena tracks a call through her laptop to find out where Fergus lives and works. But when Danny finds his Grandfather something unexpected happens. Fergus takes Danny under his wing and they start taking refuge in the country until it's safe to come out again. As they take refuge the adventure begins for Danny.
Boy Soldier is an explosive, fast moving and page turning book. It is packed with some of Andy McNab's own experiences in the SAS.
Rating 10/10
Reading age: 12+
My age: 11

If you have read this, or other books by Andy McNab, leave your comment.
More reviews like this from young readers, wherever you are, are needed. Have you read any other great books about soldiers?

Colin Thiele

On September 4th, Colin Thiele died from heart failure. Colin was a teacher and an author of some very Australian children's fiction. Storm Boy was the most well known, but I really liked Blue Fin - a very powerful book about a fishing community. Both books were made into movies and it would be pretty difficult to find copies of them in video stores today. Colin Thiele's website gives some information on his background. Colin Thiele was one of the great Australian writers of books for young readers. His stories held adventures around the sea and the beach, where many of us live.

The winners ...

Australian Children's book awards were announced on Friday 18th August - here's the full list. Australian young people are very lucky to have such a wide range of excellent books to enjoy. And, as James Moloney mentioned to us last week, the most important people in the world of children's books are ... the readers. Find information about JC Burke here. Elizabeth Fensham, who wrote Helicopter man, has had a very interesting life. Read an interview and find out what inspires this author. A quick excerpt from the book is also included. Enjoy your reading, and share your opinions here.

2006 Book of the Year Awards Short List

The Children's Book Council 2006 Shortlist & Notable Books were announced today in Sydney. You can see the complete list at their website: http://www.cbc.org.au/notables06.htm
We'll be running a competition at the library to see who can pick the winners in each of the categories, so why not get reading and see if the judges agree with you!