This is a chilling, page-turning psychological thriller set in a clinical future that may be closer than we think. A seventeen-year-old girl wakes from a year-long coma and is told her name is Jenna Fox. She doesn’t remember the accident; she doesn’t remember her life; she doesn’t remember herself.

Her parents show her home movies of her past, but is she really the same girl she sees on the screen? When the memories start to come, they come with questions – questions no one wants to answer. How did the accident happen? Why does her own grandmother hate her so? And why does she feel her parents are hiding her away? Who is Jenna Fox? Feature-film rights of this title are sold to Fox 2000 and translation rights sold around the world. This is the holder of a Golden Kite Honor Award, nominated for the 2009 Nebula Andre Norton Award.

‘Expert plotting and complex questions raised about ethics and the nature of the soul’ – “Publishers Weekly”, Starred Review. ‘This novel is truly unlike any other I have read and is a breath of fresh air in the often predictable world of teen literature’ – “ELLEgirl”.

A Review By Frances Smith

When the author Louis Sachar mentioned to his friends and family that he wanted to write a children’s book about his favourite card game, Bridge, they all told him it wouldn’t work.  Typically he went ahead and wrote it anyway, and it is a wonderful book.  I wanted to get my cards out and follow many of the hands described, even though I don’t play Bridge myself.  However, it is also a beautiful story about expectations, misunderstandings, greed and knowledge.  Even if you don’t get the card bits, it is still a good book.

When 17-year-old Alton is asked by his parents to drive his elderly Uncle to Bridge tournaments, he reluctantly agrees because he needs the money and his social life is at a low ebb.  His Uncle is a champion Bridge player but has recently become blind through illness.  However, his blindness does not seem to prevent him “reading” Bridge hands to perfection and Alton gradually comes to realise that there is more to his uncle than he at first thought and that his “mad” cousin, Toni, is cleverer than his parents would have him believe.  Highly recommended to readers 13 and above.

A Review By Frances Smith

Stanley is an ordinary boy, living a mundane and not particularly happy existence, being looked after by his older half-brother in a rather run-down London Pub. He suddenly finds himself on an alien planet, imprisoned for the murder of President Vorlugenar.

This frightening scenario is brilliantly portrayed.  How would you feel if no-one believed a word you said, if there was video proof of you committing the crime and if you didn’t speak the language?

 The story moves forward very fast, and as Stanley is a very resourceful boy who is pretty unfazed by the situation he finds himself in, the early frightening passages are soon forgotten as our boy hero manages to get back home.  But things at home are difficult too.  Would any policeman believe such a story?  Where has he really been?

 I would not hesitate to recommend this book to 8 – 12 year olds, particularly boys, but I think girls would enjoy it too.

A Review By Frances Smith

The second book in Giuttari’s crime series featuring Michele Ferrara, head of the Squadra Mobile. Giuttari was himself head of the Florence Police Force from 1995-2003.

In this gripping story, Michele Ferrara and his wife miss meeting a long-time friend for drinks one evening.  Trying to get in touch the following day, they find that the friend and his “mistress” are missing, and the ladies husband has been murdered.  At the same time, Ferrara is convinced that a suspected overdose by a young girl is, in fact, murder.  Juggling the two cases, and being forced to take a holiday, Ferrara is drawn into a complex plot involving drug dealing, marble quarrying and the Mafia.  Giuttari skilfully weaves his drama and with his first hand knowledge of Sicilian society, the Mafia and the Italian police the book has a rare and realistic feel.

A Review By Frances Smith

Set in Tasmania in the 1960s with big hairdos and emerging unisex fashions, this is a coming of age novel about Julian Corkle who is sixteen by the end of the book.  Unlike Adrian Mole, Julian Corker is neither particularly intelligent nor articulate.  Discovering he prefers other boys to girls, and having absolutely no interest in cricket or football, Julian is a puzzle both to himself and his very macho father.  His mother is convinced that he has star quality and indulges his fantasies.  The true star of the story is his sister Sharon who frequently rescues Julian from bullies and other awkward situations.  Ironically, she is the tomboy, powerfully built and good at all sports, particularly those such as Cricket and Hockey which involve small, hard, potentially lethal balls. While Julian is a disappointment and embarrassment to his father, Sharon’s butch tendencies are overlooked as she is lauded for her sporting prowess.

While finding this book an easy read and quite an amusing story, I am at a loss to quite understand who it is aimed at. Most teenagers would probably find it old fashioned and irritating.  Gay teenagers would certainly not find a hero in Julian, although they may have sympathy with some of the scrapes he finds himself in and the misunderstandings with his family.  Tasmania in the sixties is not an exotic or an exciting place to read about and for more mature readers there is nothing new or different about this particular story. On a scale of one to six, I would give it two!