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There is an incredible depth of literary talent in New Zealand ranging from Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton to Kate di Goldi, Lloyd Jones, Janet Frame and the incomparable Margaret Mahy. NZ is also the base for amazing publisher Gecko Press, which publishes books from around the world for children. We should keep an eye […]

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I am so sleepy. And then I had a too much super-greasy super-yummy food for lunch. Now I am super-sleepy.

I stayed up too late last night, reading Eclipse. So, now I've started Breaking Dawn. Next week will be Twilight review week. I have some things planned that have me excited, but might actually be really lame. I hope they're not lame.

Anyway, before then, I have a review of an amazing book, which was an Alex Award winner this year that I am highly recommending:

Mister Pip Lloyd Jones

Set during the rebellion of the early 1990s in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, Mister Pip tells the story of the one white ma who stayed on the island after every one else fled and the island was blockaded. Mr. Watts was not a teacher, but he started school again and read Great Expectations to the students. Pip’s story grabs the attention of the small village as they make do with fewer and fewer supplies. However, both sides of the rebellion have heard of this Pip and wonder why the villagers are hiding a man among them, a man who is probably fighting for the other side. Pip, who allowed the children to escape to another world, may well be the undoing of the entire community.

Matilda, the narrator, is thirteen when the book begins. Caught up in Pip’s adventures, she struggles with her mother over the role he plays in her life. Teens will identify with Matilda’s desire for independence as she searches for her own voice. Jones’s description of the tropical island, and the villagers’ loss of a sense of time, lulls readers into the story, even if their memories of reading Great Expectations are less than fond. The message on the power and importance of imagination will reverberate with teens and adults. Although it details a great many horrors, especially in the end, Jones’s novel is quiet, but guaranteed to stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.

Highly, highly recommend for adults and older teens. (Mom, I mean YOU)

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