Leonie Jordan & Bernadette Lennon, Auburn Library

CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR

2015: OLDER READERS

THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF CINNAMON GIRL,

MELISSA KEIL, HARDIE GRANT EGMONT

Plot Inspi red by the 2012 Mayan ca lendar anxiety

Alba loves her l i fe just as i t i s : l iv ing behind the bakery, drawing comics and watching bad TV with her f r iends.

The only problems are Danie l , a ch i ldhood f r iend she thought long gone who has unexpectedly reappeared. And Grady, the boy who has been her best f r iend forever and has suddenly gone off the ra i ls . A lso, the wor ld might be ending – which is prov ing to be awkward. As Doomsday enthus iasts fl ock to idy l l ic Eden Val ley, A lba’s l i fe is thrown into chaos.

Style Bi ldungsroman/coming of age novel Loveable, quirky, easy-to -read, whimsica l , sweet ,

del ight fu l , exuberant –a feel good teen romance Dist inct ive adolescent ident i ty created through

vernacular language, intertextual i ty and pop cul ture references

Ski l fu l evocat ion of subcultures – comic geek-gi r l , rockabi l ly ch ic etc

Themes Growing up/change Identity and its construction Discovery of self and the world Place – city vs country Friendship and love Grieving

Read Alikes Dash & Li ly’s Book of Dares, David Levithan; Li ly Wilkinson; Fiona Wood; Reluctant Hallelujah , Gabriel le Wil l iams; Nick Hornby

Further Resources http://melissakeil .com/ Teachers Notes available at: http://

www.hardiegrant.com.au/egmont/resources/teachers-resources/other-fiction

THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF CINNAMON GIRL,

MELISSA KEIL, HARDIE GRANT EGMONT

PlotKat Jones is woken by an Intruder looming over her bed. She's saved by Edwina – the ne ighbour Kat be l ieves betrayed her dying mother.

Her dad issues an ul t imatum. E i ther spend nights next door , or accept another intruder in her l i fe – Hercules, the wor ld 's ugl iest guard dog. But the prowler isn 't fi nished wi th Kat . To stop him, she needs the help of Edwina and Al , her new fr iend from the dog park . . . and what Kat learns could mend fences – or break her f ragi le fami ly apart forever.

Style Fi rst person narrat ive voice – l imi ted perspect ive,

unre l iable narrator Tense/suspenseful , fast -paced sty le – a page turner F lashbacks/non-chronological s tructure Engaging to a teen audience Vernacular /co l loquia l language used to create humour

and character eg.“walk on fl oordrobe” Moti fs and symbol ism eg. intrus ion Fai ryta le a l lus ions

INTRUDER,CHRISTINE BONGERS, RANDOM

HOUSE

INTRUDER,CHRISTINE BONGERS, RANDOM

HOUSEThemes Grief /death/cancer Courage, s trength & res i l ience – fac ing fears /overcoming trauma Respons ib i l i ty Change and growth/ forgiveness, Fami l ies Secrecy and concealment Confl ict Danger and vulnerabi l i ty vs safety Percept ions vs real i ty Lines/boundar ies / fences

Read-Alikes Sue Lawson; Karen Tayleur; Cath Crowley; Vicky Wakefi eld, Margo Lanagan; Liar,

Just ine Larbalest ier ; We Were L iars , E . Lockhart ; Stolen , Lucy Chr is topher; Mice , Gordon Reece

Resources Christ ine Bongers ’ webs i te: http: / /www.chr is t inebongers .com/ Random House teachers ’ resources:

http: / /www.randomhouse.com.au/content/ teachers / intruder.pdf

 

Yolnu – Aboriginal; Napaki - non-Aboriginal Characters Rosie - main character. Non-Aboriginal l iving

with her mum in Kirrpala Nona - her Indigenous sister. Moves away when

the gir ls are 9. Selena and Anya - Rosie's non-Aboriginal

fr iends at school. Nick - Selena brother and Rosie's boyfriend. Rosie’s parents. .

NONA & ME, CLAIRE ATKINS, BLACK INC. BOOKS

Plot and style Warm, fi rst person narrative Flashbacks Thought-provoking Includes Aboriginal words but they are introduced slowly

Rosie l ives in Yirrkala, an Aboriginal community in the NT. Her family has been adopted by an Aboriginal family and are accepted into the community. She sees Nona as her s ister and Rosie is immersed in Aboriginal culture. Nona moves away when the gir ls are 9. Rosie goes to school in Nhulunbuy, the town, where her fr iends are non-Aboriginal . She l ives between both cultures - juxtaposit ion. Nona's return in year 10 creates waves and Rosie is forced to face her fr iends' racism. In the background is the 2007 intervention

ThemesFriendship Rosie & Nona and Rosie & Selena.Family Rosie’s parents are divorced and she l ives with her mum. Her dad rings

every Wednesday and she talks to him about everything, rather than her mum. A visit to her Dad reveals he has been keeping things from her.

NONA & ME, CLAIRE ATKINS, BLACK INC. BOOKS

Racism Us and them mental i ty - Aborigines on handouts, don't look after

property, drinkers. Rosie's class mates sing another one bites the dust when an Aboriginal

teenager dies.Aboriginal culture Very strong sense of kin.   Looking after each other.  Flashbacks - tr ips to

the bush, gathering food. Funeral r i tuals - more l ike a period of mourning than a funeral .  

 Strengths Strong characters with personal growth Educational: A fr iend said, you know about Aboriginal culture but this

gives you a sense, better understanding Identity/belonging – l ink to syl labus

How to use it Triptych Debate on 2007 intervention

NONA & ME, CLAIRE ATKINS, BLACK INC. BOOKS

Characters Hannah – coping with the death of her s ister, Kat ie Hannah’s parents Charlotte – Hannah’s old pr imary school f r iend Tara and Amy – Charlotte’s new fr iends who bul ly

Hannah Josh – a new student who takes an interest in

Hannah Anne – the school counsel lor

Plot and style First person narrat ive Touching and provokes empathy Flashbacks

Hannah’s s ister was k i l led in a car accident and her father was badly in jured. Pr ior to that, Hannah was being bul l ied at school , after that, she became untouchable – just left a lone i .e . the protected. The court case surrounding the accident is approaching and Hannah is sent to the school counsel lor , especia l ly as she has blocked out the accident and needs to give evidence. A new student becomes fr iends with Hannah and br ings her out of her shel l .

THE PROTECTED, CLAIRE ZORN, UQP

ThemesFamily Especial ly the relationship between Katie and Hannah, Hannah’s mum is

withdrawn and the relat ionships between her parents is strained.Friendship Charlotte ignored Tara’s and Amy’s fi rst mal ice against Hannah but she

secretly provided assistance on another two occasions. Gui l t and grieving Hannah’s peers after the accident, her father blames himself for the

accident, Hannah feels responsible.

Strengths Likeable protagonist Real problems

How to use it Discussion on bul lying

THE PROTECTED, CLAIRE ZORN, UQP

ARE YOU SEEING ME?,DARREN GROTH, RANDOM HOUSE

Plot

Insp i red by Groth ’s own twins , one o f whom is on the Aust i sm Spect rum Disorder.

One year a fter the death o f the i r fa ther , n ineteen-year- o ld tw ins Just ine and Perry a re seek ing to c reate a fi na l per fec t memory on a road t r ip in Canada . For Perry , who i s about to move in to an ass is ted care fac i l i t y , i t i s a g lo r ious ce lebrat ion o f h is favour i te th ings : myth ica l sea monsters , Jack ie Chan mov ies and ear thquakes . For Just ine , i t ' s a chance to ad just to the loss o f Perry , see who she i s w i thout her boyf r iend and off er the i r mother the chance to a tone fo r past wrongs .

Style Dua l narra tors c reate empathy Thought fu l , cons idered narra t ive s ty le – a more “mature”

vo ice Funny and tender Dreams, v is ions , le t ters , l i s t s , d ia ry ent r ies and text

messages add s ty l i s t i c var ie ty High ly descr ip t ive , metaphor ica l language wi th extens ive

use o f mot i f s and symbo l ism In ter textua l i ty deve lops themes and character eg .

Rob inson Crusoe , J ane Austen , Jack ie Chan , Moby D ick

ARE YOU SEEING ME?,DARREN GROTH, RANDOM HOUSE

Themes Independence/autonomy Responsibi l i ty & sacrifi ce Love, care and empathy Grief/bereavement/cancer Journeys & discovery Relationships: romantic, s ibl ing,

parent chi ld

Growth and change Fear & Anxiety Communication Stereotypes Disabi l i ty

Read AlikesThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon; Wonder, R. J. Palaccio; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathon Safran Foer; Looking for Mondrian, Nadia Wheatley; Films: Accidents Happen and Look Both Ways

Further ResourcesCurriculum aligned teachers’ resources and book club notes available at: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/content/teachers/areyouseeingme.pdf

THE MINNOW, DIANA SWEENEY, TEXT

Plot (https:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPTLjTDzgGk) In the wake of devastat ing fl oods that have taken her

fami ly , Tom, whose real name is Hol ly , t r ies to rebui ld her l i fe . Pregnant by a man o ld enough to be her father, she takes refuge with a loyal f r iend, Jonah, who has a lso lost h is parents . Tom struggles to heal her gr ief and fi nd her own voice and place, a ided by those around her: her sp ir i ted grandmother, her teacher, the ghosts of her fami ly , and the minnow, the t iny creature growing ins ide her.

Style Lyr ica l , po ised, luminous prose, with an earth iness to

i t Intense, dreaml ike, surreal and immers ive with

e lements of magical real ism and gothic undertones Precocious, humorous fi rst person narrat ive voice

creates poignancy Mood and sty le are instrumental in reveal ing character

– even more so than act ion and plot Dist inct ly Austra l ian in sett ing and tone Mature, sophist icated text su i table for upper teens

and adults Has l i terary, rather than popular appeal

THE MINNOW, DIANA SWEENEY, TEXT

Themes Discovery and understanding Life and death/gr ieving and bereavement Change/moving on from the past /start ing again/hope Family Relat ionships and fr iendship Responsibi l i ty , protect ion and betrayal Chi ldhood and adulthood Ident ity Language Disasters and their socia l /personal impact Country town/communit ies

Read Alikes: Under Mi lkwood , Dylan Thomas; I Capture the Cast le , Dodie Smith; Jasper

Jones , Craig Si lvey; This is Shyness , Leanne Hal l ; Margo Lanagan; Mel ina Marchetta’s “Finnikin novels”; Meg Rosoff .

Further Resources Curr iculum al igned teachers notes avai lable at

https: / /www.textpubl ishing.com.au/ l ists/ t i t les-with-austral ian-curr iculum-teaching-notes