books

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

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There are many different relationships in the young adult books on the shelves.  There are guys that long to tell their best friend they are in love with them, girls that swoon over the popular guy or loner (who happens to be a vampire/werewolf/shapeshifter), teens who long to come out but are afraid of what others might think, and those whose love of their life is right under their noses.  In Daniel Hander’s latest book, we get a different perspective on relationships and find out why Min and Ed broke up.

Why We Broke Up is the story of Min’s relationship with Ed and how it broke down.   Min delivers a box to Ed, her now ex-boyfriend.  Inside this box is a collection of objects from throughout their relationship and a letter.  Min has written this letter to explain to Ed why they broke up and explain to him why he now has this random assortment of objects on his doorstep.  She tells Ed exactly how she felt throughout their relationship and why each of these objects meant something to her.

Daniel Handler has created characters that teens (and adults) will be able to relate to and told us the story of the ups and downs of relationships.  It’s refreshing to read a story of a relationship that’s not as rosey as those in other young adult books.  You know from the title that Min and Ed’s relationship doesn’t work out and because you’re on the outside, you can see the little signs that it’s not going to last. Min has a very unique voice and it took me a while to get used to.  She’s a very observant person so she sees and hears things that a lot of others wouldn’t take notice of.  At one stage she describes a whole school day and it almost seems like she doesn’t take a breath.   After a while I found myself really liking this about her character because it’s what makes her unique and, I hate to say it, ‘different.’  The remains of their relationship, including two bottle caps, a box of matches, a toy truck and some stolen sugar, are an interesting and original way of framing the story.  Maira Kalman’s art is stunning and makes a perfect match with Daniel Handler’s story.  Min and Ed’s relationship may not have lasted but lets hope that Maria and Daniel’s does so that we see more books from this talented duo.

5 out of 5 stars

Check out whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com to read other people’s break up stories, including some from Neil Gaiman, Brian Selznick and Carolyn Mackler.

My favourite YA love stories

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Paranormal romance is one of my least favourite genres, because often the romance totally overwhelms the story.  Some of my favourite YA books from the past few years have centered around teenage relationships, whether it’s a girl who has to remind herself every morning about the guy she loves, a red notebook that bring a guy and a girl closer together, or a terminal illness that gives two teens a shared experience.  I’ve listed my favourite YA love stories below (with links to my reviews).  The characters in these books feel like real people, with real problems, who have realistic relationships.

What are your favourite YA love stories?

The perfect book for Valentine’s Day – Love Monster by Rachel Bright

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There are alot of picture books around that are about love.  Usually they feature rabbits, bears, or even kangaroos, but until now there hasn’t been one featuring a monster.  Love Monster by Rachel Bright is the perfect picture book to give to your valentine this Vanlentine’s Day.

Love Monster is about a little red, furry monster who is ‘a bit funny looking to say the least.’  He lives in a place called Cutesville, filled with all the cute, fluffy things you could imagine, like puppies, kittens and bunnies.  Nobody loves him so he sets out to find someone that will.  He looks high and low, inside and out, but he search proves fruitless.  Just when he gives up and starts to go home, love finds him.

Rachel Bright’s story about finding love in the most unexpected place is cute, funny and smart in just the right doses.  It’s not sickly sweet like some books about love.  The monster in this book isn’t scary, but one of those ones you want to pick up and cuddle (kind of like Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc.).   Rachel’s illustrations are big, bright and bold and remind me of those pictures I used to do when I was at primary school where you use crayon and ink.  The picture of the monster holding his teddy with his sad face on the front cover will definitely stand out on the shelf.  You’ll want to share Love Monster with the slightly hairy monster in your life, as well as the not-so-hairy ones that would love to live in Cutesville.

4 out of 5 stars

Discover what the Scottish Book Trust has to offer

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Beth Bottery from the Scottish Book Trust wrote this wonderful post about the promotions and events that they offer, even to children and teens in New Zealand.  Be sure to check out their brilliant site.

No matter where in the world you’re based or what kind of books you’re interested in, Scottish Book Trust has something for you to get involved with. Based in Edinburgh, Scottish Book Trust is the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Our Children’s Programme also run several projects which can be enjoyed by children, and adults, all over the world. You can find details of just a few of these below. Our website is a great resource, full of writing advice, book recommendations, author interviews, blogs and loads more www.scottishbooktrust.com

Authors Live

A series of fantastic of children’s and teen’s authors events which are broadcast live online to schools in the UK via the BBC. These events then become available to watch again for free a week later for people around the rest of the world. They feature a stellar line-up including Michael Rosen, Charlie Higson, David Almond, Jacqueline Wilson, Liz Lochhead and many more and you can download them from our website for free. Details of the next event are below. All events come with free classroom resources.

  • Francesca Simon (Horrid Henry) – World Book Day 1st March 2012

You can find further information about these and future online events on our website http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/childrens-authors-live. Keep an eye out for information about our next programme of live events by following the same link.

Virtual Writers in Residence

We have brilliant Creative Writing videos and tasks from top teen authors Keith Gray and Cathy Forde. Keith looks closely at several aspects of the writing process and Cathy has a series of creative writing tasks for budding writers to use in developing their skills. http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/teens-and-young-people/videos .

The Blog

Every week we have new blog entries from authors and illustrators, booksellers, publishers and Scottish Book Trust staff. It’s a great place to find out about what’s going on at Scottish Book Trust and in the world of books more generally. We have several regular blogs aimed at young people, learning professionals and parents. You can find out more by following this link: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog.

Teen Hit List

We regularly put together hit lists of some of the best teen books around. These often feature a theme and are a great way of getting your pupils reading new and different fiction, our latest one is all about understanding mental health: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/teens-and-young-people/hit-lists

Reviews

We are always on the lookout for reviews of what you have read recently, whether you loved it, hated it, would recommend it or warn everyone against it. Email your book reviews to heather.collins@scottishbooktrust.com and we will put the best ones on the website. You can read past reviews by following this link: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/children-and-young-people/books/reviews-and-recommendations


Win a copy of The Story of Bo and the Circus That Wasn’t

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The Story of Bo and the Circus That Wasn’t is about a sheep called Bo who has always dreamed of being an acrobat.  He’s not going to let the fact that he’s a sheep or that he’s afraid of heights get in the way of his dream.  However, Bo lives in a country where circuses are forbidden, so he works in secret on his sparkly blue uniform and his ‘sheepachute’.  His friends are right behind him and want to help him live his dream, but can he overcome his fears?

Thanks to Scholastic New Zealand I have two copies to give away.  To enter to win a copy of The Story of Bo and the Circus That Wasn’t just enter your details below.  Competition ends Monday 13 February, 2012.  Open to New Zealand only.

This competition has now closed.  Thanks to all those who entered.  The winners were Helen and Angela

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

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Every now and again a book comes along that gets completely under your skin.  You get so emotionally invested in the characters that when you’re not reading their story you’re thinking about them and their situation, and hoping that things will all work out for them.  Even when you’ve finished the story you can imagine what they might be doing next and wondering what their life might be like months and years down the track.  I found myself completely wrapped up in the story of Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters in John Green’s latest masterpiece, The Fault in Our Stars.

The narrator of the story is Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old girl living with cancer.  When her mother decides that Hazel is depressed she sends her to a Support Group run in her local church.  At first she hates the experience and loathes having to tell others about her condition and listen to others tell about theirs.  But then she meets Augustus Waters, a friend of Isaac who attends the Support Group.  Augustus is also living with cancer and has lost a leg to the disease, and Hazel finds herself intrigued by him.   They start to hang out together, reading each others favourite books and sharing their experiences.  Hazel has always wanted to know why her favourite book, An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten, ended the way that it did and after Augustus’s correspondence with the author they are invited to Denmark to meet him.  It’s the trip of a lifetime and one that they’ll never forget.

The Fault in Our Stars is a heart-breaking, brilliant story that will have one laughing one minute and crying the next.  It’s the sort of story that makes you want to stop after each chapter and digest what you’ve just read.  There is so much in this book about making the most of our lives, living your dreams, and leaving our mark on the world.  I loved the relationship between Hazel and Augustus, and some of their conversations were hilarious.  Isaac was one of my favourite characters because of his humour and the ways that he coped with life.  Ever since I read John Green’s second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, a few years ago I’ve eagerly awaited his next book.  He’s one of those authors that make me feel like he’s written the story just for me.  I have this real connection to his characters because I see parts of them in myself.  I think it’s partly because of the first person narration of his books, which is something I love because you can get right inside the character’s head.  Hazel and Augustus are two characters that will take up permanent residence in my head and their story is one I won’t forget.

5 out of 5 stars

Picture Book Nook: The House That Jack Built by Gavin Bishop

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If I had to pick one picture book that is quintessentially New Zealand, I would choose Gavin Bishop’s The House That Jack Built.  Gavin’s multi-layered story, based on the traditional rhyme, contains our history within it’s pages, told from both a Maori and a Pakeha perspective.  It is a picture book in which you discover something new or get a slightly different meaning from each time you read it.  Now, thanks to the wonderful Gecko Press who have reprinted the book in a stunning new format, a new generation of New Zealanders can enjoy this important book.

On the surface, it’s the story of Jack Bull, who travels to New Zealand from London as a new settler in 1798.   This is one of those brilliant picture books where the words tell a completely different story from the illustrations.  The end papers show us the reality of Jack’s life in London in 1798 and we see him with his cart of possessions and the red door that comes to symbolise Pakeha society.  In the next few pages we follow Jack’s ocean voyage on a map and see the list of goods that he has brought to trade with the natives.  Throughout the rest of the story Gavin portrays the effect that Pakeha colonisation had on the local Maori, from trading land and food for clothes and weapons, to the loss of culture and the deaths in the New Zealand Wars.

The House That Jack Built is a book that should be in every home, school, and library around New Zealand.  It’s an important book to help us remember who we are and where we’ve come from.  For those readers not in New Zealand the story will also be relevant as it applies to any colonial history.  Gavin Bishop is our master of the picture book and this is the best example of how he gets his message across visually.  He weaves the Maori and Pakeha strands of the story together and shows us through the illustrations, how Maori were assimilated into the Pakeha world.  The publisher, Gecko Press, deserves a huge amount of praise for, not only bringing this book back into print, but also for producing a gorgeous edition in a larger format than the original and printed on high quality paper.  Buying a copy of The House That Jack Built and sharing it with your family is the perfect way to celebrate Waitangi Day on 6 February.

5 out of 5 stars

The House That Jack Built is being published to coincide with Waitangi Day (6 February) and will be launched at the Porirua Festival of the Elements on Waitangi Day 2012 with author/illustrator Gavin Bishop.

The One and Only Ivan Giveaway

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If you’ve read my review you know that I LOVE The Only and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  I want to spread the love so I’m giving away 2 hardback copies of this wonderful book.

To get in the draw, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (along with your name and email address) telling me a fact about Silverback Gorillas.  You could either tell me your fact or you could post a link to an interesting Silverback Gorilla video on YouTube.  Competition closes Friday 10 February, 2012.

This competition is now closed.  Congratulations to Sandra and Anita. 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

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Have you ever read a book that makes you want to pull the characters into your arms, rock them gently and tell them everything is going to be OK?  This is exactly what I wanted to do the whole way through Katherine Applegate’s beautiful story, The One and Only Ivan.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla.  Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain.  He rarely misses his life in the jungle.  In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog.  But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home – and his own art – through new eyes.  When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

From the opening lines, ‘I am Ivan. I am a gorilla.  It’s not as easy as it looks,’ you are transported into Ivan’s head and see the world through his eyes.  You read everything Ivan thinks and remembers, sees, touches, tastes and smells.  Ivan comes out with some real pearls of wisdom and I found myself writing down so many quotes that I wanted to remember later.  Things like,

“In a Western, you can tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, and the good guys always win.  Bob says Westerns are nothing like real life.”

There is a real sadness to the story, because these once great majestic beasts are locked away in cages, but the friendships between them help them to deal with their situation and add humour to the story.  It’s these friendships and Ivan’s need to protect Ruby that bring a sense of hope.  Ivan wants Ruby to have a better life than the one that he has lead, locked up in the mall.  Katherine Applegate’s writing is absolutely beautiful and I wanted to savour every word.  The stream of consciousness writing style she has used for this book means that she has obviously chosen her words very carefully.  Her writing is incredibly descriptive and, like Ivan, she paints a vibrant picture for you.  This is my one of my favourite descriptions,

“Because she remembers everything, Stella knows many stories.  I like colourful tales with black beginnings and stormy middles and cloudless blue-sky endings.  But any story will do.”

I can’t recommend The One and Only Ivan highly enough.  It’s a story that will affect you and the characters will stay with you long after you close the covers.

 5 out of 5 stars