Tag Archives: Jail

Feb19

The Break – Phillip Gwynne

Posted on by
Standard

Penguin Australia

  • September 2021
  • ISBN: 9780143789383
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • RRP: $19.99

I have to say Phillip is soooooo very good at the fast-paced action/adventure genre and, all the while, making it entirely believable. It did take me a while to work through the pile to get to this one but I absolutely gobbled it up when I did. Anyone who has read The Debt series or Deadly Unna, or others of Phillip’s back catalogue, will know how skilled he is with this high-octane coming-of-age narrative, that will always capture your readers – particularly, those hard to reach boys in their teens.

This really has it all. It’s a tightly woven story of Taj, who has grown up with the beaches of Bali and the best of everything, with his entrepreneurial mother who runs a swimwear empire. Downside of his life is that his dad is in an infamous Indonesian jail, on death row for drug smuggling, his case having been one of the most highly-publicised in the past decade. When the turbulent political climate of the country forces Taj into an impossible situation, with his father about to be executed, he takes action the only way he feels he can. He breaks his dad out of jail and they go on the run.

It is, of course, a desperate and dangerous course of action, and Taj is up against near impossible odds. He is far from certain who he can trust or who is hiding secrets but as the wild ride continues, friends appear as do traitors and, certainly, there is not a single dull moment in this narrative.

I was very pleased to arrive in my new library to find this already on the ‘new books’ display as it will be a great title to book-talk – though, for older students as there is a liberal use of swearing and some confronting issues raised – drug use, infidelity and so on.

Highly recommended for your older students from around 15 upwards.

Feb19

Monster – Walter Dean Myers

Posted on by
Standard

Harper Collins Australia

December 2021

  • ISBN: 9780064407311
  • ISBN 10: 0064407314
  • Imprint: HarperCollins US
  • List Price: 19.99 AUD

I will be perfectly honest. I had not heard of Walter Dean Myers before reading this book but since looking up his bio, see that he was, and is a highly regarded writer of, particularly, young adult fiction in the USA. Sometimes controversial [his1988 novel Fallen Angels is one of the books most frequently challenged in the U.S. because of its adult language and its realistic depiction of the Vietnam War. Wikipedia, February 2022], this particular title is one which has garnered awards and accolades, and has now been adapted by Netflix as major motion picture, ‘All Rise’.

Written in the style of a screen play/script, this narrative follows the trial of Steve Harmon, a teen in juvenile detention and accused of being an accessory to robbery and murder in his neighbourhood. Steve’s interest in film scripts stems from a strong connection with his teacher, and this method of his recording the events in which he finds himself, along with some journal entries, provides a method of presenting himself as somehow detached from the single decision and subsequent events that have created his circumstance.

Walter Dean Myers said: “I would like young people to consider what happened to Steve Harmon, as well as why. There were decisions that Steve made and some he clearly should have made, but didn’t. As the author, I’ll be satisfied if the reader forms his or her own opinion about these decisions and the consequences.”

There is no doubt this is confronting at times, and equally, no doubt, that if you shared this with a class, there would be raging debates on many points. For this reason alone, I am thinking I might share it with my new Year 9 (challenging!) English classes that are part of my new brief. I know I have some reluctant readers, and this is so provocative, that it might just swing some. We have also just acquired the graphic novel edition which would provide a two-pronged assault! *wink*

I will be looking forward to the movie adaptation with great interest, and certainly can highly recommend this for your readers from around 14 upwards. It’s gritty realism but extremely pertinent at this point in history.

Apr11

The Tell – Martin Chatterton

Posted on by
Standard

9781760895945

Penguin Australia

April 2020

ISBN: 9781760895945

Imprint: Puffin

RRP: $16.99

OMG whoahhhh! If you struggle at times to get some of those middle school reluctant readers engaged with a great book (who doesn’t?) this is definitely a ‘must have’!

Pure adrenalin pumping action from start to finish, this a narrative that is tense, at times grim but with fabulous concepts of the meaning of loyalty, family expectations, ethics and courage throughout.

Raze Tanic is in many ways an average teen boy whose passion in life is creating street art (yes, graffiti but classy) with his two best friends, Ids and Candy. Together they form MCT and plan to be the best street artists in Sydney. However, Raze is far from average given that he is the son of Dejan Tanic, head of the biggest crime syndicate going and currently serving time – long time – in The Coffin, a high security jail out of Sydney. Older brother, Solo, is already firmly entrenched in the family business but Raze is determined to stay clear of it, a dilemma that has bothered him for quite some time as he anticipates his father’s fierce response. So he is well and truly astonished when during his much-hated jail visit and bravely telling his father of his decision, Dejan is not only understanding but seemingly supportive. Little does Raze know that it’s because Dejan is distracted, awaiting his ‘escape’ plan to come to fruition and when it does, all hell breaks loose.

Dejan’s bold and daring escape, executed with perfect precision, instigates the biggest manhunt ever but also triggers out-and-out warfare with rival crime boss, Jonjo Sullivan and it is Raze who is caught in the crossfire.

Ids and Candy have his back but their help is complicated by the fact that Candy’s father is Don Cooper, chief cop in charge of the operation to re-capture Tanic Senior and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Murder attempts, arson, crooked cops, betrayals, domestic violence, cat-and-mouse chases, narrow escapes and more, all over Sydney, unravel at lightning speed leaving the reader practically breathless.

The energy and intensity of the narrative is superb and the characterisation of the three teens so well done – Martin has captured their ‘voice’ perfectly. Their resilience, ingenuity and sheer daring will appeal to even the most disengaged reader in my opinion and there is no doubt that this would also make a fabulous ‘read aloud’ for those 7/8/9 kids who disdain novels.

I’ve already recommended this to my Choclit group and promoted it on our library home page but will certainly be giving it a lot of ‘book talk’ time (whether that’s real-time or virtual). It’s definitely one to add to our eBook collection as well and I’m pretty selective about those, only adding what I judge to be a ‘winner’.

Do your collection and your teens a huge favour and make sure this one is added to your shelves – you won’t regret it and nor will they!

Highly recommended for readers from around 13 years upwards.

Check this out!