ReadOn Book Review by Mrs Commisso:

All I Ever Wanted, by Vikki Wakefield, is about a young girl, Mim, who feels that she has been placed with the wrong family at birth. She desperately wants a life away from where she is now, away from her mother and the shame she feels with her brothers both in jail. ‘There are two types of people here. Criminals and their kin, and starched people with qualifications. I look at my purple toes and mum’s eighties half-perm and I know exactly which type we are.’

Mim makes mistakes, and plenty of them. She befriends Kate, sister of the love of her life, Jordan, but things (and people) are not always as they seem.

As the story spirals to its surprising conclusion, we’re left as stunned as Mim as she discovers “that there are so many ways to tell a person you love them.” I loved this book.

If you like books that are real life, thrillers, romance, surprise endings, easy to read then you will enjoy this book.

One of my favourite quotes from this book is ‘Being brave isn’t the same as being unafraid. Admitting that something scares you and facing it anyway, that’s being brave.’

I rate this book 5/5 ReadOn Stars.

I recommend this book to Year 9 +

Other realistic teen fiction books I would highly recommend include ‘The Fault in the Stars’ by John Green.

ReadOn Book Review by Mrs Grech:

Rose by any other name, by Maureen McCarthy, is about Rose, who leaves school and achieves a 100% on her year 12 VCE (the Victorian equivalent of our NSW HSC). Something happens that summer she regrets, along with many other problems within her family. Rose also has a massive fight with her dearest best friend Zoe, and a love affair that didn’t go to plan. All this makes her think again about studying law at university, following in her much loved father’s footsteps. After school ended Rose worked in a cafe and also wrote a column called “Ms Angst” for a magazine called “Sauce” the column  always began with the words “Don’t you hate it when…..” which became very popular.

The following summer Rose decides to go on a road trip to see her dying grandmother, packing her favourite 60s and 70s music CDs, her surfboard and hoping to be able to deal with the horrible secret she has kept this last year. Rose was looking forward to the trip, but then at the last minute her mother decides to go with her. Rose is not keen on the idea, her mother has changed too this last year and everything is not as it use to be in the past.

If you like books that deal with a strong character you love but would just like to strangle sometimes, family issues, love and at times funny, then you will enjoy this book.

If you liked “Looking for Alibrandi” then you might like this book too.

One of my favourite quotes from this book is “don’t you just love the way life messes you around! One minute you’re on the fast track to success, sure as hell you’ll get there, and then … wham! It tosses you off course and you’re flailing around like a piece of stray gunk from an old rusty fishing trawler. You surface gasping half blind. What’s the point? You ask…….Then something happens and you suddenly see it from a different angle. You start appreciating it.You start loving it. It’s like being on a wave. You hook into the swelling energy below and start gliding. Nothing can stop you now.”

I rate this book 4/5 ReadOn Stars.

I recommend this book to girls Year 10 and older.

ReadOn Book Review by Mrs Sylaprany:

Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead, is about a seventh-grade boy named Georges who has just moved from his large, comfortable house to an apartment with his father and mother. Georges’ father has recently lost his job as an architect so his mother, who is a nurse, has been working night shift in the intensive care ward. Upon moving to the apartment, Georges and his father come across an old dusty sign in the basement advertising a ‘Spy Club’. Georges dismisses it initially but curiosity gets the better of him and Georges meets some of the apartment’s other residents, homeschooled ten-year-old Candy and her aspiring detective brother, Safer. Georges days are divided between school (where he has to deal with bullying and the loss of a close friend to the ‘cool’ kids group), writing notes to his mother (who he never gets to see as she is working night shift at the hospital), setting up their new home with Dad and going to the local Chinese restaurant (frequently) for dinner and a few hair-raising adventures with Safer culminating in the investigation of Mr X (another resident of the apartment block).

If you like books that are amusing, clever, with lots of dialogue and unexpected surprises then you will enjoy this book. This is a story with layers. For most of the novel, readers will feel like they are being entertained. However, it is not until you reach the end of the novel that you will pause for a moment to reflect on what you have finally discovered.

If you like books by Meg Cabot and Ally Carter you might like this book too.

It’s a great read for Years 7 and 8 students (but also highly recommended for older readers and adults too).

Favourite quote – there were many lines and scenes that made me smile so it’s difficult to single out one line or lines but here’s one – “My parents are a little unusual, Georges. My mom is into table manners. But other than that, they’re not vey bossy.”

I give this book 4/5 ReadOn Stars.

ReadOn Book Review by Mrs Redwin:

North of Beautiful, by Justine Chen Headley, is about a teenage girl called Terra who has a port wine birth mark over one side of her face which she covers with layers of makeup. She has kept up a punishing schedule at High School so she can graduate a whole year earlier and leave home to go to a distant university in order to escape her bullying father.  Her father, Grant, not only terrorises Terra with his acid tongue, but also her mother Lois who has sought refuge in food and is quite obese. A chance meeting with a Goth boy called Jacob changes Terra’s idea of herself and what is true beauty.

If you like books that are about the trials of growing up, love and how people cannot be judged on appearances then you will enjoy this book.

If you liked Looking for Alaska then you might like this book too.

One of my favourite quotes from this book is “You know… I’ve seen a run over deer look better than you.” This is one of the cutting insults Terra has to endure from her father.

I rate this book 5/5 ReadOn Stars.

I recommend this book to teenagers and adults about 15+.

Other realistic teen fiction books I would highly recommend include Go Ask Alice and The Perks of being a Wallflower.

ReadOn Book Review by Katrina S:

Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield, is a bitter sweet, heart breaking modern day tragedy. With a very character driven story, the flaw of what has led each character to become astray and to not belong to anyone in particular is revealed. Friday has a strong voice throughout, even in moments of doubt and loss, providing a charming and provoking narration to follow.

The relationship between Friday and Silence, a broken, battered boy who befriends her on the streets and helps her through her first real hardship of losing her mother, is one of remarkable companionship. The relentlessness of the streets and of the city, which these young teenage characters dwell in, is reflected in the harsh outer skin and heavy hearts of each from the trouble that they have faced in the short beginnings of their lives. They seem like they have lived through ages beyond their years. With no adults in sight, they have learnt to grow up fast, some choosing to, others pretending to. Even though these characters may seem distant from some realistic fiction novels due to the extreme issues they face, there is a certain reality for readers that this could be someone else’s harsh reality.

The physical and mental abuse in the book is somewhat extremely confronting but it is what drives the suspense and the awakening and development of the characters, some being the cause and others displaying the effect. There is a theme of power play portrayed in many of the characters, especially Friday and Arden. When Friday figures out the mind games Arden has been playing with her and the rest of the group, she is able to take control and realise the confidence that is hidden within her which later enables her to save herself and her true friends.

All the characters, even the ones that are blatantly cruel at certain points in the novel, gain the empathy of the reader because it is almost impossible to not slightly empathise with each one and their situation because even through the intense ups and downs, they each portray a refreshing voice of reason towards all of their own perspectives, right or wrong.

Friday Brown rather than being lost is more confused by the many paths and choices that she could take in her life and the overshadowing voice of her mother when trying to make life decisions on her own. In this confusion she becomes off track and vulnerable for Arden to subtly prey on and soon learns the downside of running from her past and the importance of some kind of family, whether blood or formed with true friendships.

The weaving of helplessly fragile yet uplifting moments with the poignant musings of Friday Brown and the intriguing silence of Silence, creates a wonderfully written, unforgettably touching world of light, dark and faded but fighting hope.

If you like books that are poignant, breathtaking, uplifting, dark, moody, hope filled, different, provide a different outlook of another life, emotionally draining but in a good way, character driven, dialogue-rich, beautifully tragic, refreshing, not clichéd, confronting, page turning then you will enjoy this book.

If you liked Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson or The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak then you might like this book too.

One of my favourite quotes from this book is “The way I see it, you have two options. Run, run like hell. Or dive in.”

I rate this book 4.5/5 ReadOn Stars.

I recommend this book to Year 10 up.

Other realistic teen fiction books I would highly recommend include “All rivers flow to the sea” by Alison Mcghee and “This is Shyness” by Leanne Hall.