LANE BOOKSHOP

‘I am a reading girl, with a pale face, and glasses. People who become enthralled by the world of books as I am, are often thought to have dull lives, but I feel that my own life is made of the stuff of myth. Or anyway, I intend to make it so. So this is my story. It will be about birth and death and love and sex. I will make it something after my own heart, tender and dark, a little candlelight novel, started this late summer night’….Quietly breathtaking…I love it – reader Phoebe Lines.

This is a gripping and compulsive read for young adults of both sexes. A murder in a country town is the backdrop for the story of three young people. Tom, Alice and Jonty, who are bound together because Alice ’s mother was murdered and Jonty is the suspect. Years later, a string of secrets resurfaces and families are broken and brought back together again with profound consequences for them all. This is a thrilling read both for young adults – and their parents.

Living alone with his silent father and the shadow cast by his long dead mother, Dustin waits. All he wants is to slip under the radar and to survive what is left of high school; get through his work at the photo lab, get by – and then he expects his real life to begin. Then one Sunday a single photograph gets stuck in the processor and it changes everything and the repercussions change Justin’s life forever.

Sophie lives in a crumbling castle on an island kingdom along with her tomboy sister, her beautiful intellectual cousin and her cousin’s father, the completely mad King John. When Sophie receives a leather journal for her birthday she decides to write about everything; but it is 1936 and the world is about to change. From Sophie’s charming lively and bittersweet observations on life to a nail-biting, unputdownable ending, this is a book to be treasured.

Chenxi and the Foreigner by Chenxi and the Foreigner by Sally Rippen $19.95 Paperback (Text) Book Council Award for Older Readers

Anna is in Limbo. Her life in Melbourne hasn’t prepared her for living in Shanghai . She is eager to learn Chinese painting but can’t cope with being a foreigner, or with the chaos and heat of the city. Then she falls in love with Chenxi, a young mysterious fellow painter whose secret life in art and counter-revolutionary activities fascinates her. Anna’s obsession with him consumes her and she is convinced they are meant to be together. This is an outstanding novel that confronts first sexual experience, pregnancy and cross cultural questions in an extraordinary and compelling story.

Celebrate Paddington’s 50^th Anniversary by acquiring this exquisite edition for your favourite child. Paddington had travelled all the way from darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington Station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same….for ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved. Unabridged and illustrated in full colour this beautiful keepsake will enchant a new generation of readers.

For those in early childhood this is another stunning Graeme Base picture book containing his amazing illustrations and a delightful story about a badger that goes to the assistance of his grandfather who is a magician who has lost all his magical props. The young badger sets out to solve the mystery and find the thief. Base is one of the best children’s illustrators in the world.

This is a simply delicious book for boys and girls from 6 to 10years. Kenny is a rabbit with a big problem. His two best friends are heading for a major battle – with each other. In one corner there is Grahame, a well read dragon with sophisticated tastes and no stomach for battle and in the other there is George, a retired knight who would be content to spend his days in a bookshop. But when the townsfolk in Kenny’s village get wind there is a dragon running loose and call George out of retirement – the stage is set. Can Kenny avert disaster?

The perfect gift for an intelligent child. Bryson has adapted, for children, his bestselling book that took the adult world by storm a year or so ago. In this exciting new and well illustrated book he covers the wonders  of outer space, the mysteries of time, the creation of life and the unusual scientists that were involved in this evolution along the way. This is all about the life that came to be on this wondrous planet we call home.

August 1611. Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan – his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary sword master Masamoto Takeshi, Jack’s only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins. But life at the samurai school is a constant fight for survival. Even with his friend Akiko by his side, Jack is singled out and treated like an outcast. Can he prove himself and face his deadliest rival yet? A great read for middle to upper primary.

Wild and beautiful, Sovay finds that her cosseted life has not prepared her for life as a highway robber, for defending the honour of her family or for trying to save herself from corruption and evil. As Sovay becomes more embroiled in her adventures, a story of intrigue, thwarted passions and sinister intentions is revealed to her. Will she be able to survive, and if she does so, at what cost? A highly entertaining novel set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. (For ages 12+)

Here is the final fantastically illustrated and utterly gripping, instalment of The Guild Trilogy. India 1920: Becca and Doug continue to search for their missing parents; a quest which takes them deep into the Desert of Death . Deep in the desert wastes, the ancient underground city is stirring back to life. Have Doug and Becca learnt enough to solve the final mystery, or will they find their parents only to lose them forever?

‘Run out and buy The Red Necklace’. If there is a better way to make kids read the French Revolution, its not one I know about –(Meg Rosoff)  This is an elegantly presented and elegantly written book about a host of characters during the reign of terror which was the French revolution when Madame Guillotine reigned supreme. It contains all the horror and brutality of the times but what is clever about this novel is that young readers are made perfectly aware of the dangers but can also enjoy an exciting, magical story without being made to dwell too closely on the gory details. This is a rattling good story.

The year is 2140. Peter and Anna are living as ‘Legals’ but continue to rebel against the laws of the state Impatient to see action as an agent in the underground Peter is tasked with infiltrating a major corporation to find out what is going on in a secret longevity program.. To do this Peter must pretend to reconcile with his grandfather, the most powerful man on the planet who is chasing the holy grail of modern science – a drug that will reverse ageing. But grandfather has his own sinister plans for Peter and Anna….

Here is the spectacular third novel in the Inheritance Cycle. Eragon represents the greatest hope for a better Alagaesia. Can this once simple farm boy rise to become a leader who can unite the rebel forces and defeat the king? Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors, Eragon and his dragon have narrowly escaped with their lives. And now when unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices – choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

This is a marvelously written and illustrated book for all younger children. It is the story of Jack Kirkpatrick who, when he was a boy, used to work with his friend Billy leading donkeys along the summer beaches for a penny a ride. Many years later during the war in Gallipoli, Jack became a stretcher bearer. He enlisted the help of a donkey and together they worked tirelessly carrying wounded soldiers from the battlefront to the beach. This is the story of a man, a donkey and a strange twist of fate that brought two boyhood friends together one last time.

This is one of the loveliest picture books ever. Written and illustrated for 3 to 5 year olds the book tells the story of Sunny the Meerkat who gets tired of his home in the Kalahari Desert and sets off to explore other parts of his continent from whence he sends funny and beautifully illustrated postcards. Kids will love the humour, the adventure and the wonderful illustrations.

This is a great book by a local author set on Rottnest Island. Jack’s family is temporarily based on Rottnest during WWII while his father helps build an airfield. Jack and his best friend Banjo have the run of the island and a remarkable knack for getting into trouble. The book is filled with adventure but also offers young readers a valuable insight into life in Australia during the war.  

‘This is a great book with a twisting turning plot…Rivals the formidable Harry Potter and is better than Lemony Snicket!’ so says Cam, aged 12. This is the first book in a new series that promises to be the next big one for 8 to 12 year olds. Cass is given to seeing disaster everywhere so no one believes her when a classmate is kidnapped by the dazzling but dangerous Dr. L and Ms Mauvais, no one except super-talkative Max-Ernest. Cass and Ernest team up to solve the mystery surrounding a dead magician, to uncover an amazing secret and to rescue their classmate before his brain is removed!

This is a powerful story of drama and survival on the streets of an Indian city that is a serious read for ages 10 to 14. When Suresh and Sandeep run away from home to escape their abusive father, they find themselves homeless in the big city. Struggling to survive, the brothers learn to survive from other street children. Things begin to look a bit brighter until Suresh realizes that his younger brother isn’t coping and he must do something to save them both.

Nine-year-old Ling is very comfortable with her life; her parents are both dedicated doctors in the best hospital in Wuhan . But when comrade Li, one of Mao’s political officers, moves into a room in their apartment, Ling begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her world. In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust, Ling fears for the safety herself and her family. Ling’s father is arrested and she endures vicious tormenting at school because of her bourgeois background. This is a gripping and compelling story of a girl fighting to survive during the Cultural Revolution. For readers in upper primary and lower secondary.

It is 1915. War is being fought on a horrific scale in the trenches in France , but it might as well be a world away from 16 year old Midge Macpherson, a New Zealander who has been sent to England to learn to be a young lady. Desperate to avoid boring school life and their inevitable destiny of finding suitable husbands, Midge and her three friends start up a canteen behind the lines in France feeding and caring for battle worn soldiers. Have they taken on more than they can handle? A great read for year 7 to year 10 students.