SECOND-LAST WOMAN IN ENGLAND

(Maggie Joel) We know the outcome for Harriet Wallis from the outset. It’s how she came to this fate that the story concerns itself.

Upper class socialite murders husband in cold blood in their home with a swathe of witnesses on a very special occasion in British history - Queen Eliza- beth’s Coronation. Harriet will hang for the crime. What events could conspire to lead an otherwise rational individual to kill a man who seems in his time to have been reasonably decent albeit a few innocuous flaws? Certainly Harriet’s protective love for a troubled brother who comes back into their lives after going AWOL from the war and the corresponding total lack of understanding her husband Cecil shows towards their predicament leads to friction.

I found the insights into post war England fascinating. The nanny Jean who comes to work for the family from a poor working class neighbourhood allows us to view the parallel worlds of the rich and the poor. I found myself racing through the book with a sense of the impending doom, wondering how it would all transpire. A good read for those who like to put a bit of a puzzle together.

Fiona

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

(Stephen Chbosky) After reading this book, I was so grateful that I had to thank the person who recommended it to me. Perks of Being a Wallflower is an inspiring coming-of-age story of 14 year-old Charlie who is trying to discover himself amongst the daily dramas of an introverted teenager: unrequited love, making mixed tapes, new friendships and social experimentation (let’s leave it at that!). Charlie is fortunate enough to have an English teacher, who not only recommends great novels, but also offers him advice on how to participate in life instead of watching from the sidelines. I was so engaged in this book that I started reading the 12 books that Charlie reads throughout the novel, including Ayn Rand’s the Fountainhead and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby. I found this book emotionally moving, and it is a tribute to its genre. You will love this book if, like me, you were a little bit geeky in high school. A great combination of literature, friendship, and love.

Melissa

THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA

(Tom Angleberger) The story revolves around Tommy and the incredibly embarrassing Dwight. Dwight is quite strange and more than a little clueless about life until the day he makes an origami shaped Yoda. Suddenly, he is giving advice to all of his classmates, through his little Yoda, that actually seems to be working! Everybody is lining up to be the next to get great wisdom from “Yoda”. Tommy wants to work out how this is happening before he goes to “Yoda” to get some advice for himself. He wants to figure out if he is really tapping into the force or is it all just a fluke!

With a humorous storyline and each chapter written from the perspective of those “Yoda” helps, this book was really quite enjoyable. Oh and there is also instructions on how you can make your very own origami Yoda finger puppet. I haven’t tried yet, but I hope to soon!!

Nicole

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER

(Stephenie Meyer) I loved this book. I have never been a fan of novellas. I find them too short, and are unable to invest in the characters when I know that before long the story will be over. Having loved all of Stephenie Meyer’s books, I found that I was unable to resist picking Bree Tanner up. I am so glad that I did! Stephenie Meyer is so good at creating charismatic characters, ones that I find want to know more about, and the characters in this novella are no exception!

It is written from a very different point of view to Stephenie’s other books. Bree sees humans as weak and flawed. Her life is wholly concerned with hunting them and avoiding the other unpredictable new-born vampires, that when she meets Diego, and forms an unexpected friendship, her world changes forever. Whilst anybody who has read the series knows her inevitable outcome (She is the vampire that Carlisle attempts to unsuccessfully save from the Volturi), you cannot help but hope for things to turn out differently for Bree, and to wonder about some of the other characters and their eventual outcomes.

Justine

UNHOLY GHOSTS

(Stacia Kane) If you’re into paranormal fiction but sick of Vampires and Werewolves here’s something a little different. Unholy Ghosts is the first book in Stacia Kane’s new series “Downside”. In a time where the ghosts of the dead have risen and constantly attack the living, the powerful Church of Real Truth has taken power and now controls all. The Chruch has promised to compensate anyone being harassed by a ghost and the main character Debunker Chess Putnam is responsible from sorting the true claims from the false. Problem is Chess has a dirty little “drug” secret that’s about to land her in trouble. Owing lots of money to her drug dealer Chess is offered a sweet deal to clear her debt but obviously that comes at a price.

Unholy Ghosts is an edgy fast paced read with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing. It’s a refreshing change to the usual paranormal themes. And if you do love it, the second title is released in July and the third in August. (That’s how it should be!!!)

Nadeine

THE PASSAGE

(Justin Cronin) The Passage begins with the United States military launching Project NOAH, an attempt to create super-soldiers using a rare virus. Clearly those behind the project have never read a horror novel, because for they use 12 death-row inmates! They also use a young girl, Amy. I’m sure you can guess at the outcome of this – yes, the 12 criminal subjects, transform into primal vampires, and escape their confines. Within weeks, the world has been decimated by the virus and the marauding monsters it creates.

Most of the novel takes place almost 100 years later when a group of survivors, who have weathered generations of attacks by the virals, set out in search of batteries and, more significantly, in search of the secret of the young girl who arrived at their gates, a girl not quite human (the same one that was experimented on along with the criminals) on whom their continued survival may well depend.

If you pick this story up, you won’t be sorry. Justin Cronin has delivered a jaw-dropping novel that balances horror and suspense with a beautiful, haunting style. It’s a page turner from the very beginning.

Charmaine