five stars | Lost in a Good Book

Green Lizards vs. Red Rectangles by Steve Antony

07 May 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, five stars, steve antony

Published: 2015
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Illustrator: Steve Anthony
Pages: 28
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

The Green Lizards wanted to defeat the Red Rectangles.

The Red Rectangles wanted to defeat the Green Lizards.

They were at war!

Who will win, the green lizards or the red rectangles?

I love the absolute absurd nonsense that this book contains. I love that there’s no explanation whatsoever, and I love that there’s chaos and a lack of logic everywhere you turn. The battle rages through the pages as the green lizards make ground but then on the next page the red rectangles surge forward. A few solo voices try to speak up but are silenced and the battle rages on.

Anthony never explains why the green lizards and the red rectangles are fighting, but the reasons why are irrelevant as the story is fantastic. The illustrations are great and add another level to the story because Anthony uses the whole page with bright, solid colours but also keeps it minimalistic, and seeing the various distinctions between the myriad of lizards was quite enjoyable.

You really can’t think about it too much because the sentience of the red rectangles raises a few questions but it is a funny and clever story about nonsense battles and how working together can be a lot more rewarding.

You can purchase Green Lizards vs Red Rectangles via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Long Lost Review: To Hold the Bridge by Garth Nix

08 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Fantasy, Long Lost Reviews, Short Stories, Young Adult Tags: #llr, fantasy, five stars, garth nix, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, short stories, short story, young adult, young adult fantasy

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 4th June 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Pages: 504
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy/Short Stories
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Far to the north of the magical Old Kingdom, the Greenwash Bridge Company has been building a bridge for almost a hundred years. It is not an easy task, for many dangers threaten the bridge builders, from nomad raiders to Free Magic sorcerers. Despite the danger, Morghan wants nothing more than to join the Bridge Company as a cadet. But the company takes only the best, the most skillful Charter mages, and trains them hard, for the night might come when only a single young cadet must hold the bridge against many foes. Will Morghan be that cadet?

Also included in this collection are eighteen short stories that showcase Nix’s versatility as he adds a fantastical twist on an array of genres including science fiction, paranormal, realistic fiction, mystery, and adventure.

Nix has always been a masterful storyteller and these short stories are evidence of that. In a single story that focuses on one moment in time, Nix has the ability to give you an entire understanding of the world with only a few words and in doing so you gain total comprehension of what this world is like and who these characters are.

I loved the diversity and similarities in the stories, and I loved that they captivate you from the first sentence, drawing you in. It is always fantastic to return to the Old Kingdom and the story of the bridge is wonderful, but the short stories are pretty amazing as well. Set across different genres and eras Nix’s voice is through all of them and it’s amazing to see his twists on genre, well-known stories and mythologies.

Across the 18 stories there are vampires, unicorns, spies and legendary kings to name a few, as well as further stories about Nix’s own work. The way Nix mixes together multiple elements and builds them into the new story is incredible and seeing the familiar references or inspiration throughout shows off how clever he can be.

I love everything Nix does and with a collection like this it goes to show that my admiration isn’t unsubstantiated.

You can purchase To Hold the Bridge via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Loveless by Alice Oseman

07 Apr 2021 3 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, LGBTQIA, Young Adult Tags: alice oseman, asexual, asexuallity, Audiobook, five stars, lgbt, LGBTQIA, young adult

Published: 9th July 2020 (print)/9th July 2020 (audio)
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books /HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Pages: 435/12 hrs and 27 mins
Narrator: Elisabeth Hopper
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

It was all sinking in. I’d never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean?

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.

As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.

But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.

Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

I ADORE this book. I love so many of Oseman’s works but this one I fell into and didn’t want to climb out of again.

Georgia is a great character, she has friends, lives her life, has great plans for after high school, but she also has a weird feeling she isn’t like other people. I loved how this is explored naturally and how it comes about organically and not in a way where the character is aware of what they’re feeling or experiencing. Georgia’s cluelessness until put in certain situations or asked by people makes this story wonderful because we go on Georgia’s journey with her instead of coming to it after the fact and have her explain it to us.

Oseman does a wonderful job at explaining what asexuality is and what it feels like in a way that feels natural in the narrative and never becomes overbearing for the reader. It is used as a way of explaining things to readers who may not know about it through the characters but there never felt like there was a moment where the story stopped so we could get The Explanation.

The story got better and better as it went along, there’s Shakespeare and love, a houseplant that is so metaphorical it would make every English teacher ecstatic, and there are teenagers at uni feeling feelings and working out who they are and it’s messy and beautiful and full of the power of friendship and it is also full of love.

Elisabeth Hopper does a superb job as narrator, her voice is fantastic for these characters and I love how there’s an instant connection, I was into this story immediately. Another bonus is Hopper is a genius and can pronounce all the wonderful “asdkfjugfk” moments in text speak and the random noises that are made when you excitedly text. I have typed them, I have read them, but I don’t think I’d heard them being pronounced until now and it was great.

I am only new to reading books that are clearly about asexuality and not just briefly implied but this might be my favourite because it’s a solid story on its own but it is also a wonderful narrative that explores discovering who you are, realising there’s nothing wrong with being different, and finding acceptance and a place in the world.

You can purchase Loveless via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Things in the Sea are Touching Me! by Linda Jane Keegan

19 Mar 2021 1 Comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, LGBTQIA, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, five stars, lgbt, LGBTQIA, linda jane keegan, minky stapleton

Published: 1st February 2019
Publisher: Scholastic
Illustrator: Minky Stapleton
Pages: 30
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

‘Look in the water, Ma!
Golly, oh gee!
Some THING in the sea
is TOUCHING ME!’

You’ll squawk, screech, yelp… and laugh out loud at the surprises for all on this funny-sunny family day at the beach.

When a small child goes to the seaside with her Mum and Ma, she is unprepared for ‘things’ floating in the water. Ma explains what each one is and that it is nothing to be afraid of.

As someone who is not a fan of going in the ocean this book is perfect for me. I will admire the ocean, I will be on top of it, watch things under it, but physically being in it is highly stressful. Enter Keegan and their wonderful book.

Of course this isn’t a story about the stress of the ocean, it’s a fun family day out and the little girl is so keen to jump right in…until something touches her. Her reaction is my reaction. Her fantastic dramatic cries of horror are mine and I adored how Keegan uses this as a hilarious story but also a reassuring, loving, and educational one as well. Stapleton’s illustrations are delightful and the mixture of the beautiful ocean scenes and creatures coincides with the drama from the young girl and her cries of terror.

What was wonderful it took me a long time to realise this had a same sex couple in it. I was so caught up in the story and the drama of the things in the sea that it didn’t register. An honestly that’s how it should be, a non-issue in a book because Mum and Ma are in the story but the story isn’t about them.

The rhyming is fantastic, the repetition is brilliant and I loved the different explanations for all the things in the sea, especially because it’s a lot different than the seas I’m used to going in (when I am forced to go in them at all).

You can purchase Things in the Sea are Touching Me! via the following

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Theodore the Unsure by Pip Smith

12 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, beau wylie, children's picture book, five stars, pip smith

Published: 1st August 2019
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Illustrator: Beau Wylie
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

King Theodore is the Ruler of the Whole Animal Kingdom.

When his mane keeps growing and growing and growing, he must decide whether to cut it or keep it.

But Theodore is always so unsure! What will he do?

This is a very cute story. Poor Theodore has been crowned ruler of the animal kingdom but he dislikes making decisions. When the summer heat gets too hot for his growing mane, he can’t decide whether to cut it off or not. Enter the vote!

I liked the humour about Theodore’s reign and how he rules the animal kingdom when he’s never left the savannah. Travelling to the different habitats also showed off the differences in all the animals and their experiences. It was clever how Smith shows the misunderstanding between habitats for while Theodore is too hot with his mane, the polar bears for example worry if he cuts it off he will freeze. The in-jokes about the voting systems were divine, and I loved the comments of the animals because they were clever and had jokes that made adults laugh if they understood the references.

I’m not sure whether Smith or Wylie made the comments for the animals in the pictures but they were the best. I absolutely loved all the illustrations in this book, Wylie’s pictures of the different animals were brilliant; snakes in hats and cockatoos with fancy dos were only some of the joys I experienced reading this. I also loved how the uncontrollable mane started to take over the literal page while Theodore remained undecided.

There is a fun solution to Theodore’s problem and once again it shines through with Wylie’s illustrations. The story itself is very cute, but getting to read it while also seeing the fun, clever and adorable illustrations was a much better bonus.

You can purchase Theodore the Unsure via the following