Star Light, Star Bright

Though I cannot entirely be sure, I think many of the stories I've liked about stars over the years may have held a special place in my heart because of this English nursery rhyme:

Star light, star bright,

The first star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight.

Review: Starry Starry Night by Sarah Kate Mitchell (Murdoch Books, November 2010 - Age group: 5-8 and adults)

Ahhh, picture books. I may not have any children (I do know a few), but this doesn't stop my insane, heartfelt love of picture books and all they represent. I remember being read to as a tiny one myself and enjoyed nothing more. If some twit proposes (at whatever point in the future) that there is no use for the printed picture book and parents should just read them to their children on the iPad, I will go postal. Seriously, if you are the unfortunate person (Nicholas Callaway, I'm watching you) who suggests such nonsense, I will hunt you down. If I have left this world, I will simply have to be content with haunting you for the rest of your miserable, iTwitty days.

Rant over. 

This, my good people, is the front cover. The image absolutely does not do it justice. Glossy, smooth, bright and yet incorporating a rich colour palette: this hardcover book is meant to held and looked at up close.

The premise for this story is such an important one in children's literature today. Starry Starry Night takes you on a true journey of the imagination: encourages thoughts, ideas, and ponderings. When young Jeffrey sees a star fall from the sky, his endless curiousity takes hold. Why did it fall? Where did it go? How can I put it back in the sky? So we begin our journey with Jeffrey; Jeffrey begins to travel on his own path, leafing through his own imaginings.

Debut writer/illustrator Sarah Kate Mitchell has produced work of astounding quality. The illustrations are whimsical, coloured in deep, varied hues of blue and purple and interspersed with the brightest, twinkliest stars you've ever seen. The message that the biggest, best sorts of magic can happen in your own head is very strong and beautifully put, built up over the course of the narrative.  

Starry Starry Night tells a story, whilst instilling the importance of storytelling in the young. As with all beautiful things, they're better experienced in the real. I highly suggest you take a trip to your local book store, pick up a copy, and see the magic for yourself.

This is Awkward

I mean my reasons for not posting anything for so long are awkward, not the book I'm about to review. I got a new job and moved interstate, blah de blah de blah and none of you care so let's move on to the review, shall we.

Review: This is Shyness by Leanne Hall (Text Publishing, August 2010)

Firstly, let us look at the purrrdy cover.

As you read the book, you will see how well this design captures the essence of This is Shyness: mysteriously hovering between the light and dark places in our heart and trying to find a balance in a strange, almost four-dimensional world.  

You know why it is nice to read Australian YA fiction? As much as I love the whole Mean Girls/American teen culture phenomenon, it is truly refreshing to be drawn to a universe away from malls, first-date prep, and college applications.  

This is Shyness follows Wildgirl in her quest for adventure and escape--from the kids at school, her job, her flighty Mother. Boring and normal aren't on the cards tonight for Wildgirl, Rosie, and Neil (who promptly get ditched when Wolfboy makes his presence known at the Diabetic Hotel in Shyness). Shyness is a place where the sun literally does not come up. Or go down. Under the cover of constant darkness, the people of Shyness conduct their lives. This sounds very Swedish and potentially depressing, but author Leanne Hall sets the scene with an equal amount of wide-eyed romance and gritty reality that it just ends up being Shyness: unlike anywhere you or I have ever been.

The novel also has one of the best meet-cutes in the history of a work involving romance:

She looks a hundred times better up close. I blink. Why did I come over here in the first place? In my panic I forget myself and do what I do best: I howl. Every shred of longing and despair in the front bar--and believe me, on a Friday night at the Diabetic there's plenty of it--gets sucked into my lungs. My body shakes as the sound runs through me. The pub stereo shudders to a halt. Every face in the room turns towards me.
I finish with a couple of short sharp yelps and then I'm quiet.
Someone from the City snorts nervously. The regulars turn back to watch the football on the telly mounted above the bar. It's not as if this is the first time this has happened.
 "You're a tool," the girl says, in a cold voice that could cut through my ribs to my heart. The diamond stud in the curve of her nose flashes.
I came to the pub tonight because the walls were closing in on me at home. I thought I'd run into Paul or Thom here. Howling at hot strangers wasn't on my schedule.
"It's in my nature," I reply, and incredibly she laughs. She brushes the guy's arm off like it's little more than a piece of lint.
"I was talking to Neil, not you," she says. "Are you going to help me up?"
Oh. I offer her a hand, and hoist her to her feet. She's light as anything.


So begins their wild night. What could have progressed as a casual flirtation, a night of innocent teen romance (innocent by anyone's standards - there is more raunch in that vampire book by the Mormon lady), turns into something far more real and frankly, far more interesting. Wildgirl and Wolfboy are well-developed, whole characters. The pair explore each other's problems (Wolfboy's dead brother and family estrangement: Wildgirl's school-yard torment as Slutty McSlut-a-lot) and become closer in one night than many people do in a lifetime.

Both characters have their stand-out moments of courage; Wildgirl faces off against a gang of ragamuffins dressed as pirates (winning over their leader with a kiss) and Wolfboy stops running from the memory of his brother, feeding off the strength Wildgirl has given him and seeking out people for once: people from his past, before the darkness became total in Shyness and everyone he loved was gone or on their way out. As far as personalities go, Wildgirl is pretty off the wall, but also pretty hilarious. She's the fifteen-year-old friend you wish you'd had in high school: no joke.

This is Shyness has been a true standout on the shelf of notable YA fiction this year. My greatest hope is for a sequel (my favourite type of ending is one of tentative possibility) and a U.S. rights sale. Isn't that what we all wish for? Also, I hope if someone makes this into a movie that Caitlin Stasey and the entire Neighbours cast are kept well away. To be sure, to be sure.