Every Day is David Levithan’s amazing new book, out in NZ and Australia this month from Text Publishing. I love David’s books and Every Day sounds really interesting and completely different. I can’t wait to lose myself in the story.
Tag Archives: Text Publishing
Win Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett
Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett was the winner of the 2011 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. I loved it and gave 4 out of 5 stars (you can read my review here). I also interviewed Myke here on the blog today too, which you can check out here.
Thanks to Text Publishing I have 2 copies of Fire in the Sea to give away. All you have to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address below. Competition closes Monday 6 August (NZ only).
Filed under books, competition, fantasy, young adult, young adult fiction
Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett
The wonderful people at Text Publishing (based in Melbourne) launched a fantastic new award for authors across Australia and New Zealand a few years ago, called The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. This prize has introduced me to some of my favourite authors, including Richard Newsome and Leanne Hall. Last year they chose another very deserving winner of the prize, Myke Bartlett with his book Fire in the Sea, which has just been released.
Dark menacing forms attack an old man, leaving him for dead and Sadie wracking her brains to understand what she saw. Then there’s a mysterious inheritance, a strange young man called Jake and a horned beast trampling the back yard.
Sadie finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict that is nearing its final battle, a showdown that threatens to engulf Perth and all those she loves in a furious tsunami.
Fire in the Sea is a story of gods, monsters, curses, immortality, war and the normal teenagers who get caught in the middle. Myke Bartlett grabs you within the first few pages and you get swept away in the story, not wanting to surface until you get to the very end. It’s one of those stories you want to devour all in one go because the writing is just so good and the action never lets up. There’s something for everyone in the story, from mythical creatures and body-swapping gods, to a genie-like demon who grants wishes and a lost civilization. There is plenty of violence and blood and guts to keep the guys interested, especially when the Minotaur is involved.
I love how Myke has weaved mythology into the story. I can see Fire in the Sea appealing those teens that have enjoyed the Percy Jackson series because of the way that Myke brings gods and monsters into the present day. Even though you don’t see the gods, you get the impression that they’re watching everything happen and will intervene if or when the time comes. The feel of the story also reminded me a little of Maurice Gee’s Under the Mountain.
Sadie is a strong, feisty heroine. She doesn’t seem to care what other people think of her and is prepared to do what she thinks is right to save the people she loves. She get caught in the middle of a war that they didn’t want to be involved in, but she handles the situation incredibly well.
The ending of Fire in the Sky left me wanting to read more about Sadie, Jake and the ancient ones, so here’s hoping Myke continues their story. If you’re looking for a fast-paced story, filled with action, adventure, fantasy and mythology, Fire in the Sky is the perfect book.
4 out of 5 stars
Filed under adventure, authors, books, fantasy, mystery, young adult, young adult fiction
Queen of the Night by Leanne Hall
The Text Publishing Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing has introduced me to some of my favourite writers. The first winner in 2008 was Richard Newsome, author of the brilliant Billionaire’s Curse Trilogy, and the second winner was Leanne Hall, author of one of my favourite books of 2010 called This is Shyness. In This is Shyness, Leanne introduced us to the suburb of Shyness where it’s always dark because the sun never rises. This mysterious suburb is home to all sorts of weird and wonderful people, including the Kidds who are hooked on sugar, the Dreamers, and Wolfboy. The story is focused on one night in Shyness where Wildgirl meets Wolfboy, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since I read it. Thankfully, Leanne wrote a sequel, which has just been released called Queen of the Night.
For six months Nia has tried to forget Wolfboy, the mysterious boy she met in Shyness. The boy who said he’d call but didn’t.
Then, one night, her phone rings. The things Wolfboy says draw her back to the suburb of Shyness, where the sun doesn’t rise and dreams and reality are difficult to separate. The Darkness is changing, and Wolfboy’s friend is in trouble.
And Nia decides to become Wildgirl once more.
Queen of the Night is just as strange, mysterious and wonderful as This is Shyness. It’s one of those follow-up books where you find yourself right back in that place you loved as soon as you start reading. I felt that same sense of fascination about Shyness and I wanted to know everything about this mysterious place. Some of the questions I had from the previous book were answered, but Leanne also added to the mystery and I get the feeling we don’t quite know everything about Shyness and the weird things that happen under the cover of constant darkness. There is still a lot we don’t know about Doctor Gregory and his strange experiments and I hope that we get to learn more about Diana. I loved being able to get inside Wolfboy and Wildgirl’s heads more in this book, and I really liked the ‘Inception’ vibe in the second part of the story. Like Wildgirl in the story, I got quite disorientated by Shyness. I would forget that just because it’s dark in Shyness, it could actually be mid-morning outside Shyness. If you liked This is Shyness you’ll love Queen of the Night, and if you haven’t read Shyness you need to get your hands on a copy. I hope that Leanne has more in mind for Wildgirl and Wolfboy because I’m certainly not ready to leave them behind.
5 out of 5 stars
Filed under authors, books, young adult, young adult fiction
Sequel to This is Shyness coming in 2012
One of my favourite books of 2010 was a Young Adult book called This is Shyness by Australian author, Leanne Hall (read my review here). I’ve known for a while that Leanne has been writing a sequel and was excited to discover on the Text Publishing website yesterday that it’s called Queen of the Night and is being released in February 2012. If you haven’t read it but love quirky YA books you really should rush out and get hold of a copy. Leanne was the winner of the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing in 2009.
To whet your appetite, here’s the blurb for Queen of the Night:
“The dark is dangerous. So is the past. So are your dreams.
For six months Nia—Wildgirl—has tried to forget Wolfboy, the mysterious boy she spent one night with in Shyness—the boy who said he’d call but didn’t.
Then Wolfboy calls. The things he tells her pull her back to the suburb of Shyness, where the sun doesn’t rise and dreams and reality are difficult to separate. There, Doctor Gregory has seemingly disappeared, the Darkness is changing and Wolfboy’s friend is in trouble. And Nia decides to become Wildgirl once more.
The sequel to the 2009 Text Prize-winning This Is Shyness is about the difficulty of recreating the past—about how the Darkness no longer sets Wolfboy and Wildgirl free.”
You can pre-order Queen of the Night on the Text Publishing website now. Text are a Melbourne based publisher and are one of my favourites. They always publish really interesting and original titles, especially for Young Adults.
Filed under authors, books, young adult, young adult fiction
The Bridge by Jane Higgins book trailer
The Bridge is the brilliant new dystopian thriller by New Zealand author, Jane Higgins. It is the very deserving winner of the 2010 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. I’m currently in the middle of it and don’t want to put it down. My review will be posted later this week.
In the mean time, here’s the blurb:
The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.
Nik is still in high school but destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn’t chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Then the school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik.
But Nik is on the run, with Sol’s sister Fyffe and ISIS hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he’d never dared to ask.
Filed under book trailer, books, New Zealand, young adult, young adult fiction
