Australian Rural Fiction

I have to say I love this genre, when I was young it was books like The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell (yes I have now brought the entire collection which has been reprinted in 3 volumes) and Man from Snowy River (tell me, who didn't want to be Jessica??) 

I then moved onto authors like Joy Dettman & Tony Parsons (the Australian Author not the English one). Rachael Treasure was the first of the new generation of Australian Rural Authors and she was quickly followed my may more brilliant authors, most of which are working on the land or in small country towns as well as writing. Their stories are realistic and moving. They make you want to pack up and move to the country.. even if it is a lot of hard work.

I recently got to talk (email) with Meredith Jaffé a writer, avid reader and The Hoopla’s books editor about the popularity of this genre and her article was published today on Hoopla (yes I'm a bit excited to be quoted!) http://thehoopla.com.au/lust-dust

If you haven't got into this great Genre - do yourself a favour and look up some of these wonderful authors:
Alison Booth
Anne McCullagh Rennie
Barbara Hannay
Bronwyn Parry
Cathryn Hein
Evan Green
Fiona Lowe (Boomerang Bride)
Fiona McCallum
Fiona Palmer
Fleur McDonald
Jennifer Scoullar
Johanna Nicholls
Joy Dettman
Judy Nunn
Karen Wood (her books are YA but don't let that stop you!)
Karly Lane
Kerry McGinnis
Kerry Greenwood
Kim Kelly
Kimberly Freeman
Loretta Hill
Mandy Margo
Margareta Osborn
Nicole Alexander
Pamela Cook
Rachael Johns
Rachael Treasure
Robyn Lee Burrows
Tamara McKinley
Therese Creed
Tony Parsons (the Australian Writer)
Tricia Stringer

Rachael Herron (US Rural Writer but her stories fit in well with the Australian ones)

For some great Non-Fiction Australian Rural Books you can't go past:
Bill "Swampy" Marsh
Evan McHugh
Fiona Higgins (Love in the Age of Drought)
Michael (Mike) Keenan
R.M. Winn
Ree Drummond (US Writer - her bio High Heels to Tractor Wheels is brilliant!)
Sam & Jenny Bailey (Head Over Heels)
Sue Williams

Hope you love these books as much as I do.

Review of Scarlatti's Cat by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer

Scarlatti's Cat

by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, Carlyn Beccia (Illustrations)

  

A cute story about Italian composer Scarlatti and his cat Pulcinella and the 'folk story' of how the talented Pulcinella composed a harpsichord sonata more commonly known as "Cat's Fugue" because it sounds like a cat walking across the keys. Scarlatti get's jealous in the end and give's his cat away. 

This is a great book for anyone who likes animals, music or just good stories. It is beautifully illustrated by Carlyn Beccia.

 

 Here is a link to a YouTube clip of 'Cat's Fugue'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbW1nNBqVnI#t=31
 

Review of Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach

Kiss Me First

by Lottie Moggach

The first thing that got my attention with this book was the Facebook link which I had to admit freaked me out a little bit if I hadn't read the fine print - it appears someone is using your Facebook page.

While I found the book was interesting it did take me a while to read.

Kiss Me First is the story of Leila, a quiet 'nerdy' kind of girl who lives alone with her mum who is dying of MS. After her mum's death she is a bit lost and doesn't have any real friends and while getting caught up in the world of online gaming Leila is drawn to a chat forum for ethical debate called Red Pill where she suddenly feels like she has found a place she belongs.

The main theme of the story is do we really know who we are talking to online - something that is a big problem for may today.

While making 'friends' on Red Pill the charismatic founder of Red Pill 'Adrian' asked to meet her for a 'special project' which while a strange request she readily accepts. Tess, a 'friend' of Adrian wants to commit suicide but doesn't want her family to know - she wants to 'fade out' so Leila's job is to become Tess online to her family and friends on email & Facebook.

After Tess 'checks out' things start to downhill for Tess and true identities start coming out.

The book changes between the current time to a timeline of what happened which Lelia is slowly relating. I found the topic interesting and thought that this book would be good for older teens to make them think about what information they spread online and knowing who they are really talking about. The ending I would of liked to be a bit more definitely (I won't spoil it for you) but overall it was a good book.

I received this book for review from the Publisher. This is Lottie Moggach first book, Lottie is also the daughter of Novelist Deborah Moggach (author of The Best Marigold Hotel amount many others)

Review of WeirDo by Anh Do

WeirDo

by Anh Do, Jules Faber (Illustrator)

What do you get if you cross one of Australia's funniest comedian's the "happiest Refugee" with Diary of a Wimpy Kid? You get WeirDo the hilarious new children's book from Anh Do.

It tells the story of a young kid called Weir who's last name just happens to be Do - he's first day at a new school doesn't start well when the teacher introduces him as WeirDo - but he isn't the new kid for long and quickly finds that being a bit weird isn't that bad.

This is a quick read (well for me anyway) with some great cartoons to go along with the story. Its broken into little 'chapters' which is great for struggling readers. We got this book for the school library - I know its going to be very popular.