July Book Club
It’s July…which is nowhere near Summer ☹ But never mind!
At least we have books and cosy blankets and Reece’s Peanut butter Cups! We also have some very cool new titles for this month’s book club thanks to our friends at QBD.
City of Dragons, The Awakening Storm
Heads up! This super fun illustrated graphic novel has dragons! And lots of them!
When Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mom and new stepdad, her biggest concern is making friends at her fancy new boarding school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons she heard when she was a young girl might actually be real--especially when the egg hatches overnight.
And so continues City of Dragons, the first in the series by children’s author Jaimal Yogis. With full colour illustrations by Vivian Truong, this is an easy read with a sweet storyline heavy with ancient folklore.
Available at QBD Books!
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Newly released as a major TV series on Amazon Prime, The Summer I Turned Pretty is an adaptation of the 2009 YA romance novel series by the same name and is a beautifully-written novel for older tweens by bestselling author Jenny Han.
Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her favourite place in the world - the Fisher family's beach house. It has everything a girl could want: a swimming pool, a private stretch of sandy beach... and two (very cute) boys:
Unavailable, aloof Conrad - who she's been in love with forever
Friendly, relaxed Jeremiah- the only one who's ever really paid her any attention.
But this year something is different. This year, the boys seem to really notice Isabel for the first time. It's going to be an amazing summer - and one she'll never forget . . .
This classic coming-of-age tale is focused on adolescent transformation and has all the right ingredients – classic storytelling with a strong female lead, handsome male protagonists and a picture perfect backdrop of the wealth and leisure of the ‘Summerhouse set’.
Having also written the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series, Jenny is a master of the YA genre and this book is a perfect representation of her style.
With an additional two books in the series, The Summer I turned Pretty is an outstanding choice to encourage a love of reading for pleasure and a beautifully balanced work that mums/dads/carers can also enjoy – allowing for the start of some great conversations.
Available at QBD Books!
The Year The Maps Changed
The Year the Maps Changed was Danielle Binks’ debut middle-grade novel and a CBCA Notable Book for Younger Readers in 2021.
Fred's family is a mess. Her mother died when she was six and she's been raised by her Pop and adoptive father, Luca, ever since. But now Pop's had to go away; Luca's girlfriend, Anika, and her son have moved in; and Fred's just found out that Anika and Luca are having a baby of their own. More and more it feels like a land-grab for family and Fred is the one being left off the map.
Set in 1990s Melbourne and based around the complexity of family (and our heroine Fred), the book is a coming-of-age story that encourages all readers to consider their life as well as the world around them.
Not only does the book explore the changing landscape (or map) of family life, but it also beautifully intertwines with a tale inspired by true events – that of the the Kosovo War of 1999 and how Australia accepted 400 Kosovar-Albanian refugees who were housed on an isolated headland not far from Sorrento, where the book is set.
In this way, the changing political map of Europe during this time is also explored, unifying the book’s two central themes into one glorious analogy – a testament to the very sophisticated writing that is delivered in such age-appropriate fashion.
'I was eleven when everything started and twelve by the end. But that's another way maps lie, because it felt like the distance travelled was a whole lot further than that.'
Available at QBD Books!