Drift Race by David Jubermann

Drift Race by David Jubermann. Pub. Epsum Media Ltd, 2012.

David Jubermann has written an excellent novel about motor racing and the boy racer culture that surrounds the sport.

Leon and his friends and rivals have a passion for cars that is all consuming. They spend all their money and time on cars and they drive fast and often without control. A split second can cost a life and wreck a car.

Leon is a level headed boy whose Japanese father was killed drift racing. When his uncle arrives from Japan the day he wrote off his mother’s car, the speed devil inside Leon is awakened. Leon buys a 1989 Silvia S13 car with a GT-R engine and his uncle teaches him how to drive it and to drift race.

Just as Master tutors Grasshopper, Leon learns the secret of drift racing -”you need to have grip and the power to release that grip when you want to”

There has to be a hot girl in this and there is. Lorna is a goddess that would make you weep with desire and Leon has her as his girl friend. What more could a fast lad like him want?

There are wide boys around and street rivalry and of course there are going to be casualties.

At 342 pages it is a big read for many of those who will be interested in this subject. But those that do will be well satisfied.

Snakes and Ladders by Mary-Anne Scott

Snakes and Ladders by Mary-Anne Scott. Pub. Scholastic, 2012.

The subject of school balls and their after parties was going to be the subject of a young adult novel sooner or later and this first novel by Mary-Anne Scott is a good one.

Finn’s Grandparents decide his friends at Waimea are a bunch of dropkicks so they send him to a prestigious boarding school in Auckland to cough cough cough put him in contact with a better class of person.

Finn is carrying a secret that could ruin his status in the new school. His father has been charged with reckless driving causing death and is likely to go to prison. School bully Eddie threatens to expose Finn and his life turns to one of lying and deceit.

Finn meets and is dominated by the richest girl in school, Mia, and they go to the School Ball and after party. Finn is out of his depth and tragedy strikes at the ball changing lives forever.

Well written with an authentic teenage voice. The banter between the boys is a particular highlight and the issue and after effects of a school ball and after party that goes horribly wrong, will be of strong interest to teenagers.

Dragonkeeper Book 4: Blood Brothers by Carole Wilkinson

Dragonkeeper Book 4: Blood Brothers by Carole Wilkinson. Pub.  black dog books, 2012.

When fantasy and history blend as in this novel anything can happen and anything does.

Tao is a novice Buddhist monk living a spartan existence in a monastary. He has come from a rich family and senses that he has a mission in life. His master sends him on a quest for alms to the city of Luoyang which has been destroyed by marauding armies that have replaced the Han Dynasty.

Before leaving he is found by a shape shifting dragon named Kai, who is on his own quest to find the last dragonslayer and kill him. The dragon is drawn to Tao because of a purple shard that he carries and the meaning of this will become apparent as the novel evolves.

You will have to read the rest yourself and you will not be disappointed.

Easy to read with Buddhist phyilosophy and teachings throughout.There is no need to have read the first three books in this series but you may wish to do so.

Intermediate and high school readers will like this.

Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull by Jack Lasenby

Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull by Jack Lasenby. Pub. Gecko Press, 2012. 

This novel for primary and intermediate school children is a laugh from beginning to end. Uncle Trev is the human equivalent of Harry Wakatipu and he tells yarns that have a strong link with reality yet are miles off the planet.

The narrator is a bed ridden young boy suffering from a severe illness, who needs all the help and encouragement he can get. Uncle Trev is there to tell a wonderous range of yarns about life on the farm in back country New Zealand during the Great Depression.

He starts with the story of his whistling bull Hubert who can warble Pokarekare Ana and the Rose of Tralee among other songs. Hugely funny as are all the stories. Then he gets into his borrowing neighbour Gotta Henry as well as telling ghost stories from his family past.

Not only is the tongue firmly in the cheek but there are a lot of home truths about life and community on the farm in the 1930′s. A bonus is the character of the boy’s mother who Uncle Trev avoids like the plague. She considers Uncle Trev tells a “farrago of rubbish”. Look it up and see what it means.

Children need to hear stories of the past and get a good laugh out of them. How many children can resist hearing ghost stories in the dark?

I liked the stories and so will you.

Farmer John’s Tractor by Sally Sutton. Illus. Robyn Belton

Farmer John’s tractor by Sally Sutton. Illus. Robyn Belton. Pub. Walker Books,  2012.

Whenever I appraise a picture book I block out all the words and see what story the pictures are telling. I saw a brightly coloured, lonely old tractor in a farm shed with some inquisitive and friendly animals.

I watched as vehicle after vehicle got caught in the rising flood waters and I saw how the farmer turned to the tractor when things were grim and the tractor rose to the occasion.

All illustrated by the talented Robyn Belton with pastel water colours and showing a New Zealand farming scene.

I then read the written text to see what harmony has been created. “Farmer John’s tractor lies locked in the shed, Rusty yet trusty and orangey-red.”  Just perfect!

Buy it and read it to your young children. Plenty for juniors to look at and drama as well. Loved the expressions on the animal faces especially the dog.

The Cahill Witch Chronicles Book 1: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood. Pub. Razor Bill Penguin, 2012.

Sixteen year old Cate and her sisters Maura and Tess are spirited girls, but they must be careful. They are witches and live in a world dominated by men of the Brotherhood.

They are taught to be subservient to men and not be too opinionated, too educated, too odd or curious. Even the stupidest of men is more intelligent than a woman. Wow!

To do so is to risk being tried as a witch and in the past witches have been tried and killed in their hundreds.

The sister’s mother died in childbirth and she was a witch. She leaves a diary in which is prophesised that three sisters will restore the power of the witches. Are Cate and her sisters those three girls? Read and find out.

Compelling writing and a great start to a new series. This book sees the development of the girls magical powers, their growing awareness of what they are up against, and the astonishing world in which they grow up in. Jane Austen meets Stephenie Myer.

Some would say it is a girlie book. I disagree. I was captivated by it and will certainly be looking for the sequel when it comes out.

For high school students. Lots of titillating romance and concern for a lady’s virtue. Whew!

Earth Dragon, Fire Hare by Ken Catran

Earth Dragon, Fire Hare by Ken Catran. Pub. HarperCollins, 2012.

Excellent war story of the communist insurgency in Malaya after World War 2 in 1948 in which NZ soldiers took part. It is very much a forgotten war and Ken Catran has breathed new life into it’s memory.

Written for high school students and young adults it tells the story of two boys, Ng and Peter, starting at the time of the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1941/42.

Ng is indoctrinated into the communists who are supplied by the British to fight the Japanese. Peter is a NZ boy who enlists in the NZ army after the war and volunteers for the Malayan campaign. He wishes he didn’t.

Ng is Earth Dragon in Chinese Astrology and Peter is Fire Hare. Earth Dragon Follows Fire Hare and the two boys lives are going to become entwined.

A three part novel superbly linked by Ken Catran. His war stories are second to none, his research impeccable and his story telling par excellence.

Read this one if you liked the Moran quartet or want to know about the Malaya Campaign. It’s good! and beware of a sting in the tail.