Exposure - Mal Peet

Great idea, great story. Following in the footsteps of Shakespeare, Peet takes the story of Othello and reworks it (with interesting changes) into a modern day setting.

Otelo is a South America's football superstar, Desmerelda is a his pop idol bride (not unlike the Beckham's). Peet retains the original racial contrasts. Desmerelda's father 'owns' Otelo's new club. Michael Cass is their bodyguard, Diego (Iago) is Otelo's trusted manager. Set against a backdrop of football fanaticism, streetkid poverty, exploitation and racism in modern day South America, it tells a believable story of what life can be like in the world of 'superstardom'.

I'll definitely be recommending it to senior readers.

Between the assassinations - Aravind Adiga

Adiga's second novel ( though written before the highly successful White Tiger ) blurs the boundaries between fiction, travel log and history text. The history of the fictional town of Kittur and the travel log of the city's sites are interspersed with detailed descriptions of the lives of the privileged and not so privileged inhabitants of Kittur.
Set in the years between the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, there appears to be little joy in the lives of the characters.

A fascinating depiction of the city and it's people.

Triskellion – Will Peterson

Rachel and Adam are sent to their Mother’s home village in rural England – the first time they have ever been there from their home in NY. The village is quiet and unsettling and has a dark history going back 1000s of years. The villagers have a strange way of dealing with mysterious issues that arise. Mysteries and a history that the kids are inextricably linked to.
The novel pulls together threads of medieval history and mysticism - the druids and pagan rites and is a little 'dark' in places.

The first in trilogy.

For the mature junior reader.

The hungry ghosts - Anne Berry

This unusual novel is set in Hong Kong during the 'hey day' of British rule and the handover to the Chinese in 1997. The 'hungry ghosts' of the title are the spirits of those who have died but do not want to move on into the next world. In this case, Alice's life is complicated by the 'hungry ghost' of a young girl murdered during the occupation of HK by Japan in WW2. The complications of this inhabitation form the basis of the novel. Other ghosts join her the course of her life, creating further issues.

The underlying themes of love and the lack of create a group of characters at times have few, if any redeeming features.

Interesting.

Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko

Wow! Before Twilight for teens there was Nightwatch for adult vampire tale fans! Set in modern day Russia, good and evil forces have an uneasy truce that has lasted 100o years. These 'Others' move in and out of our world and their 'twilight' world. The 'watches' keep the balance of power and peace. The main character Anton, a low level member of the 'Night Watch' saves a young woman from destruction and discovers an extraordinary talent who could change the course of the world.

A fascinating tale of the struggle between good and evil and the'humanity' that exists in all of the creatures.

Free fall - Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams

First of all - apologies for being so slack on the blog front over the last 8 months - I am now right back into it!!

Starting off with the 3rd book in the Tunnels series, Freefall is an action packed continuation of the amazing journey of Will, his Dad and Chester in the 'Deeps' - the world that exists in the depths below our very own world. The Styx twins continue to plague Will and his father and the very survival of the 'upper world' is threatened.

If you have been waiting for this you won't be disappointed - and what's even better is that the ending suggests that a 4th installment is on the way!

10pm Question - Kate de Goldi and Tommorow Code - Brian Faulkner

Kate de Goldi's winning novel 10 pm Question is a sophisticated story about an interesting group of characters. It is definitely beautifully written - but I'm not sure that it will appeal to many young teenage NZers. While Frankie, his unusual family and their world are captivating and intriguing, readers would need to have a mature sense of the world to engage with the novel. More for older readers than younger teens would be my suggestion.

My winner would have to have been Brian Falkner's The tomorrow code - a book that will definitely appeal to readers of both sexes - it is a fast paced action drama - much like many of the online games that students these days play. The end is cleverly crafted to hook the reader in to really thinking about the possibilities of creating a loop in time ....