2008 Clayton’s Older Readers List
Last night I presented the Older Reader’s section at the Victorian Clayton’s. Here are the five books that I picked as the best of 2008.
The Last Days
The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld is a sequel to Peeps, but not really. It’s set in the same world – New York City, around the same time – vampire apocalypse. But it’s a completely different story about completely different people.
This is a novel that is soaked in music. The chapter titles are taken from the names of rock bands, and the characters live and breathe music.
It’s summer in New York – a hot, disgusting summer, and weird things are happening. Black water is spewing out of fire hydrants, and there seem to be more rats than usual. Moz and Zahler are looking for bandmates. They find an autistic street drummer called Alana Ray; Pearl, a no less strange musical genius, and Pearl’s talented singer friend Minerva, who may or may not be a vampire.
As the danger escalates, the band’s sound comes together. And they rock. They rock so hard that they wake some things up. Things that probably should have stayed asleep. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and no one’s really sure if the music is going to save the world or destroy it.
As usual, Westerfeld’s dialogue is crisp, funny and scattered with references to pop culture, science and generally fascinating geekery.
Dare Devils by Bill Condon
Onto devils of a different kind. Dare devils. There’s a bit of a zeitgeist around at the moment with lists of things to do before you die. There’s Dare Devils, UK writer Jenny Downham’s astonishing debut before I die, and of course The Bucket List, a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Of course, there are two things that separate before I die and Dare Devils from The Bucket List – the first is that they are books, the second is that they don’t completely suck.
Bill Condon shot onto our radars a couple of years ago with No Worries, and he’s keeping the bar high with Dare Devils. It’s real, funny, sad, and emotional without being overdramatic. It’s the story of Jack, a quiet, unremarkable kind of boy. That is, until Thorns comes along. Thorns is bad and fun and loud and talks back and gets into fights. Thorns has a dodgy heart, and could basically drop dead at any second. And he has a list. He wants to get into a fight, be chased, ride a racehorse, swim with dolphins.
Thorns and Jack don’t seem like the most obvious match for a friendship – and that’s one of the reasons why the book works so well. By spending time with Thorns, Jack realises how little he’s living his own life. Dare Devils is a moving novel with gentle humour and some very genuine teenage voices.
Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight by Nick Earls and Rebecca Sparrow
If you’re like me, and liked Monica Bloom but wished there were more funny bits, you’ll appreciate Joel and Cat.
It’s a tandem novel about a tandem story. Joel Hedges and Cat Davis are thrown together for a school assignment – a tandem story that they have to pass back and forward over the school term. Joel would rather be hanging out with his friends and avoiding his mother’s allegedly Spanish boyfriend. Cat Davis would rather be avoiding her annoying best friend and indulging her hatred of Joel, who she refers to as “that total cheating man-whoreâ€.
It’s a classic love-hate relationship (with more hate, less love), and there are enough miscommunications and misunderstandings to make Jane Austen proud. Nick and Rebecca are a perfect writing match, and the book just sparkles with energy and witty banter. The boy/girl voice makes it equally suited to male and female readers (although the romantic aspects will probably appeal more to girls, or particularly sensitive boys).
Tomorrow All Will be Beautiful by Brigid Lowry
This is a whimsical collection of stories, poems and letters. There are bad hair days, divorces, moving out of home – all things that touch the lives of the average teenage girl.
My two favourite bits are a story about working in a café called ‘Coffee, Love, Everything’, and a sequence of emails between Brigid and Grace, a young fan. It’s a real exchange, and it’s funny, beautiful, eccentric and, at one point, heartbreaking. It’s an amazing insight into the lives of writers and teenagers alike.
Town by James Roy
This kind of book has been written before – a series of connected short stories about young people and their lives. But I have never seen it done so well, as it is in Town.
Thirteen young people, thirteen stories. And I recognised every single one of those people, and every one of those experiences.
There’s Belinda, getting to grips with the kind of responsibility that comes with having a job.
There’s Veronica Bennett, who gets called “Carbo†after a science teacher explained that Carbon goes with all the other elements.
Mark, who draws dragons.
There’s Robbie Blair, who thinks he’s a motorbike (there was a kid like that at my primary school, except he thought he was a Lamborghini).
Town explores issues of love, friendship, family death, rape, refugees and anorexia. But none of these issues read like ‘capital I Issues’. This is not an Issues novel, or indeed, a book of Issues short stories. The stories are beautifully crafted yet organic, and if they touch on politically sensitive or relevant ideas it’s because these are the things that your average teenager encounters, not because the author was trying to tick a box or fit into a syllabus. The various voices are often very different, but equally genuine.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Well done, Lili!
It is lovely to see some reviews of the great books that the CBC judges have read during the last year. With only 10 days to go until ‘lock down’, it is interesting to see how others view books from 2007.
I am really looking forward to the Judges’ Conference!
Cheers
Mif
March 17th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Awesome Lili!
I love reading what other people have to say about the books. With only 10 days to go until the Judges’ Conference, it is great to get some alternative feedback.
Cheers
Mif
March 20th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
It’s a shame ‘Last Days’ was excluded - it certainly a visceral experience with the music being a character all of its own. Someone needs to tell Westerfeld’s US publishers to submit his stuff earlier.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I haven’t read nearly enough Australian YA from last year! But I am totally with you on “Town” and “Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight”, plus I’m hoping Rose Moxham will be recognised for “Teeth Marks”.
Here’s fingers crossed for tomorrow,
Judith