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Spending an evening in the company of a group of people who are as passionate as they are knowledgeable about books is about as close as it gets to paradise on Earth. Add a sinfully creamy crème brûlée with the barest sliver of a caramelised crust and it’s closer to heaven.

This pretty much sums up my night on Monday when I went to the 2015 Pan Macmillan Roadshow. Claire Craig, the company’s Children’s Publisher, kindly spent some of her very much in-demand time talking YA, children’s books, and the industry in Australia with me. She had a great deal of insight into all of those topics. Books are constantly variable, and the shift that’s happening in YA right now favours local Australian authors. Not for patriotic reasons. Readers – younger ones especially – don’t care where their books come from. They just want an enthralling read. Increasingly, it seems, Aussie authors are stepping up to fill that demand.

On that note, one of Claire’s personal favourites for the year is local author Fiona Wood’s Cloudwish. A relatively new author, Fiona Wood has never-the-less managed to amass a slew of awards and nominations for her first two novels. Claire was so passionate about this author that I’ve requested her novel and will be bumping it to the top of my TBR pile the moment I have it. Cloudwish follows Vietnamese-Australian Vân Uoc Phan as she tries to maintain a low profile and navigate high school. Unfortunately the best laid plans all too often collapse… Fitting in, standing out; a clash of cultures, and surviving high school; everything about this book makes me want to curl up with a copy of it and lock out the world.

To no one’s surprise, the 65-Storey Treehouse is doing amazing things for the book industry. Released in August, it is the fastest selling Australian title in history moving 70, 000 copies in its first week.

Rainbow Rowell has a new book out in October. Carry On is Rowell’s first foray into all-out fantasy. It’s linked to Fangirl in as much as it’s the story of Simon Snow, the fictional character who is the basis for Cath and Wren’s fanfic, and sounds fantastic. And the question on everyone’s lips – okay, okay, the question on my lips – is will there be slash?

With these amazing titles, I can see that my 2016 reading list is going to balloon this Christmas. Now I just have to decide what to read first…

 

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Bel and Joelene discuss Hachette’s forthcoming YA books, which they heard all about at the Holly Black event in Sydney.

 

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All of her life, Becca’s grandmother, Gemma, has told her the tale of Briar Rose. But this tale is not like the original. In Gemma’s tale only Briar Rose awakens from her hundred years of enchanted sleep.

As Gemma ages, she becomes convinced that she is the princess in that magical fairy tale. Before she dies she asks Becca to promise that she will find the truth behind her story. Without even knowing her grandmother’s real name, that promise is going to be almost impossible to keep. It is a vow that will take Becca far from home in search of castles, princes, and something much darker.

There’s something about fairy tales that draws people to them – and when fairy tales are re-imagined in modern skins, they become even more compelling; a classical story that everyone knows, but with more complex emotions and a possible twist. In Briar Rose, Yolen puts the traditional fairy tale grimness back into the story. Rather than the story serving as a vague morality tale, Yolen links it to the Holocaust to devastating effect.

The way the characters are portrayed when confronted with dire circumstances is at the emotional heart of this novel. There were heroes during the Holocaust but most of the people involved were just trying to survive to the best of their, often limited, ability. Yolen shows this: the men and women who took last stands – not because they thought that they could make a difference but to do something other than starve or freeze; the people who thought that war couldn’t affect them before they were proved wrong and dragged into the violence they had tried to ignore.

Despite the fact that this book is over twenty years old, there is so much in it that is ahead of its time. It’s centred on the relationship between two women, with Becca taking up a quest that her grandmother could not. The novel doesn’t boil the Holocaust down to being a tragedy that only affected Jews either. The other groups that were prosecuted are present.

While Gemma’s story – and the stories of those around her are captivating, Becca’s tends to drag. Her safe existence can’t compare with Gemma’s perilous one. Becca is needed as a framing device to the story, but I rushed through most of the scenes set in the present day.

The thing I love most about retold fairy tales is that – if done well – all of the emotional complexity that is missing from the original is worked into the retelling. In Briar Rose, the emotional impact is shattering. It’s the kind of fairy tale that needs to be told: one with history, depth and compassion. One that was an unfortunate reality for far too many people.

Briar Rose – Jane Yolen

Tor (1992)

 

ISBN: 9780765342300

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Krista:

Cover

I love this cover, very eye catching and pretty.

Characters

There are a handful of characters as Nina ends up joining a group of outcasts. But the story really focuses on her and her intentions to save her sister.

Favourite

I liked Nina the best; totally understood her actions and thoughts with what was going on around her. Her priorities and intentions were always in the right place.

Least Favourite

Nina and Mellie’s mother. She could have played a bigger role in their lives, even under the circumstances.

Beginning

Nina is debating her future role in society and how to protect and take care of her sister when some unexpected news causes everything to change.

Storyline

Mellie has committed a sin that endangers her whole family who are barely getting by already. If her secret gets out, the church will bring unwanted attention to their family, and they will have to pay, ruining the future for all of them. In trying to protect her sister, Nina escapes and joins a fugitive group, which is also being hunted by the church.

Ending

Perfect.

Thoughts

Rachel Vincent has yet to disappoint me with her writing. It’s very well crafted, great pacing and never a dull moment. I love stories that include a secluded community on the cusp of discovering life is not what it seems. This book pulled off the story well, and I ended up being somewhat surprised at the somewhat twist towards the end. It all made sense when revealed, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Quote

“I feel like my life is a book, and someone turned the page before I was ready, and now I can’t follow the story.”

 

Belinda:

Cover

A red and pink butterfly shiny embossed along with the title against a buttery mat black backdrop. The wings of the butterfly look like they’re ink bleeding out onto the page. It’s quite dramatic and eye catching.

Characters

There is an over abundance of evil characters.

Favourite

Hmm, Annabelle. Coz… all the reasons.

Least Favourite

Mellie. UGH! Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

Beginning

Life it tough and Mellie’s mistake makes life impossible.

Storyline

Nina does her damndest to keep her crap together. She runs into a group of outcasts with the same abilities as she has and they begin to work together to keep Mellie safe.

Ending

You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.

Thoughts

I didn’t mind that I guessed the major plot points early on in the book because watching how Rachel Vincent crafted the storyline was entertaining. I wanted to slap the daylights out of Mellie, but that may just be watching some of my own stupidity played out in the book, making me overly sensitive.

The possibilities for further books to be great, mean that I’m interested to see where Rachel will take Nina, Finn and the others.

Quote

“Exorcists aren’t born every day, but I think it’s reasonable to assume the Church had a few at one point.” ~ Finn talking to Nina

 

 

Joelene:

Cover

A dark cover with a luminous butterfly centre page and the title in sharp capitals. The cover is lovely but nothing about it connects to the story within – not even the title.

Characters

A soulless horde of demons, a holy order that is just as merciless, and trapped in the middle are Nina, her sister, and several new friends who might just be her key to unlocking the secrets to her world.

Favourite

Devi. She stands out. Though she’s not in the book all that much, she steals most of the scenes she’s in.

Least Favourite

Despite quite a bit of time being devoted to her, I never got a clear idea of who Melanie was. We’re told a lot about her personality, but what we’re told doesn’t mesh with the choices she makes. She feels more like a vehicle than a person.

Beginning

In a world ruled by the Church and preyed on by voracious demons, Nina is doing her best to keep herself and her sister fed. It may mean selling her immortal soul to the Church – if the demons stalking her don’t get it first.

Storyline

Nina has always thought that she knew how her world worked. When a demon attacks her and she meets a boy who can do things that only church officials should be able to; everything she thinks she knows begins to unravel.

Ending

The world Nina thought she knew is as tangible as ash. Along with her friends, she’s going to have to figure out how to survive a new – and much more deadly – reality.

Thoughts

This is an amazing premise. I think Vincent says that she’d been thinking about it and talking it through for a few years before sitting down to write. That makes sense; there’s quite a bit to this world. On the other side, there are a bunch of things that I didn’t get. I’m guessing that demons come from a pretty bleak realm if they’re so impatient to get themselves a human shell. But what’s the point of possessing a human when there are so many restrictions? No sex, no excess (food, alcohol, drugs) of any kind, frequent mandatory church sessions. Having the coveted human shell seems more like a chore. Also, the love was pretty insta. I liked Finn, and Nina had her moments. I think they could have worked well together if built up more gradually.

Quote

“The plan is to send the bastards back to hell, then dance on their corpses.”

“She’s kidding about the dance.” Reece’s gaze was focused on the end of the alley, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he listened.

Finn stepped up to my side. “No, she’s not.”

 

Discussion Topics:

The title The Stars Never Rise comes from the poem ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Do you see connections between the title and poem, or is the allusion tenuous?

For fun-if you found out one day that you are going to develop a gift that would help save others lives…would you train to develop it or be too shy to reveal yourself?

 

http://rachelvincent.com/

Paperback, 368 pages

Published June 18th 2015 by MIRA Ink (first published June 9th 2015)

ISBN 1848453833 (ISBN13: 9781848453838)

Joelene:

 

 

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Bel and Joelene went to the Hachette blogger evening in Sydney recently to meet and listen to Holly Black speak. They had and awesome time, and here is the first of 4 videos they made to share it with us.

 

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