Monthly Archives: November 2016

“Talk Under Water” by Kathryn Lomer

The Facebook page of Jessica Watson – the Australian teen who skippered her sailboat solo around the Southern Hemisphere at age 16 – brings Summer Rainbird and Will Lane together. They both think Jessica is awesome, but Summer has never set foot on a sailboat. Will lives on one. When they find out they haveContinue reading ““Talk Under Water” by Kathryn Lomer”

Writing fiction – Heroes and Characters

Here are a couple of central ideas from some of the recommended books on creative writing. A hero is not Spider-Man or the fireman who saves a child, or your favorite football player. A hero, in storytelling, is the story’s central character, who goes on a real life – or mental, or spiritual – journey,Continue reading “Writing fiction – Heroes and Characters”

‘Yong – Journey of an Unworthy Son’ ; ‘Ties That Bind, Ties That Break’

Yong – The Journey of an Unworthy Son by Janeen Brian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_gold_rush Thirteen-year old Yong recounts his dangerous journey from southern China to join the 1850s gold rush in Ballarat, Victoria. He tries with all his heart to be worthy son, obedient to his father’s decision to sail to Australia after drought and famine devastateContinue reading “‘Yong – Journey of an Unworthy Son’ ; ‘Ties That Bind, Ties That Break’”

“One Would Think the Deep” and “Steal My Sunshine”

When a family tears itself apart, can secrets from the past bring healing – or will they destroy even what is left? Who will you be after the secrets are told, and how will you live with what you learn, and the people who lied to you? Two Australian YA novels answer these question inContinue reading ““One Would Think the Deep” and “Steal My Sunshine””

Review – “New Guinea Moon” – Kate Constable

After one fight too many with her mother, sixteen-year-old Australian Julie McGinty finds herself put on a plane, flying to meet a father she doesn’t remember in a country she doesn’t know. In a blinding rainstorm her tiny plane lands in the frontier town of Mt Hagen, high in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.Continue reading “Review – “New Guinea Moon” – Kate Constable”