THE RED NECKLACE BY SALLY GARDNER

It is 1789. The French revolution is in its early stages and Yann Margoza is living with the dwarf Tetu and a magician in Paris. After the magician is murdered by the evil Count Kalliovski while the entertainers are performing at the house of the selfish Marquis de Villeduval, the Marquis' unloved daughter Sido helps Yann to escape. Yann and Tetu must flee Kalliovski, but while they are fleeing, Tetu is shot. Yann goes to London and there he is educated over the next two years, but the Revolution is gathering steam and France is becoming increasingly dangerous. Sido is trapped and Count Kalliovski is scheming, and Yann must face danger and return to France to rescue Sido and discover the secrets of the Marquis and Kalliovski.

This book is historical, romantic and mysterious. The plot is complex but very clever and the characters are well-developed and realistic. The fantasy elements of the book make it appeal to a wide range of readers.

The history in the book is particularly intriguing, involving both the events surrounding the start of the French Revolution and the stories of the gypsies in France and England. A perspective on the Revolution is given from both sides of the Channel.

The romance in the novel is not overused but still touching. Yann and Sido share a fascinating bond - though they barely know each other they long for each other like well-acquainted lovers and their relationship is almost spiritual in the way it is described. This makes it a refreshing change from the overused, extreme passion often present in young adult books.

The mystery, however, is what makes this book. The backgrounds of the characters and Kalliovski's evil deeds are revealed as the book goes on, and although the reader can sometimes guess what is coming some plot twists are unexpected and fascinating.

The book does have a few flaws, however. Sometimes the plot is difficult to follow and some characters were confusing. I lost track of who everybody was, even though I only read the book over a few days. I found I could not remember some characters. The book was also fairly long for the story, and contains a lot of detail that, although it is interesting, is not necessarily relevant to the plot.

Overall, however, this was an enjoyable and exciting read and I am intrigued to read what happens in the sequel.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 11
Warnings: the book is set in the French Revolution and there is a fair amount of violence, particularly at the end of the book. There are also references to the occult and spirits, so that is also something to consider if you are an adult buying this book for a child.

MIRROR BY JEANNIE BAKER

They say a picture tells a thousand words, and in the case of Jeannie Baker, it is so true.

Mirror is Jeannie Baker's latest amazing collage picture book. The images in it are painstakingly prepared, with figures replicated many many times and diverse landscapes created using both natural and synthetic materials.

Two stories are told in the book of two journeys - one of a young Sydney boy and his father going to buy supplies to decorate their newly-renovated house, and one of a young Morrocan boy and his father going to market to tell handmade rugs. Both stories are different, but the amazing thing about the book is that it is really two books in one. When you open the cover, one story opens out conventionall from the back cover, to be read from left to right. This is the story of the young Australian boy. The other opens from the front cover, and reads from right to left, just like the language spoken in Morroco.

The stories are commonplace in their societies, but vibrantly different when compared. The book is designed so that both stories are read at once. I went to the exhibition of the artworks when they were displayed, but did not get to see both stories at once. It is not until you read them side by side that you realise how clever they are, and all the little motifs and similarities between the two stories.

I found myself amazed at the detail in the images and the beauty in the story. I particularly loved the places in Sydney I could recognise - driving through Balmain and Drummoyne near the Tiger's club, crossing the ANZAC bridge and many more. The Morrocan landscapes created were beautiful as well.

So although this was not a book with words, it was a story (really two stories!) that I really enjoyed. I love Jeannie Baker's work and this book was no exception. However, I do find that I enjoy the books that take place over a longer timeframe more, so that is why I am not giving it 9 or 10.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for: anyone! Can be read on many levels.
Warnings: nothing at all!

TOBY ALONE BY TIMOTHEE DE FOMBELLE

Toby Alone is a novel about a 13-year-old boy on the run from the law. The thing is, he's one and a half millimetres tall and lives in a tree.

When the novel opens the reader has no idea why Toby is on the run, but as the book progresses, through a series of flashbacks it is revealed why Toby is running. More and more information about Toby's childhood is also revealed, and characters are introduced both in the flashbacks and the story of Toby running.

The book was clever in it's descriptions of the tree and the author has created a whole world in the Tree. But there were so many characters I found it hard to keep track of them all, and so many of them were evil that I just got the bad guys all mixed up.

Toby's friend Elisha is one of the more interesting characters, as are his parents. There is a strong environmental/conservation theme in the book which both adds and detracts to the story - for older readers this adds interest but it could easily bore younger readers.

Overall the book was a good story but I thought it had too many characters and the plot was overly-complicated. I'm still really trying to figure out some aspects of it.

Butterflies: 6 out of 10

Recommended for: children over 11

Warnings: references to violence and death but nothing much really!

(apologies for lack of cover, I will upload it later but right now blogger is not letting me!)

HALO BY ALEXANDRA ADORNETTO

This book was one I've wanted to read ever since I heard it was being published. Alexandra Adornetto was first published when she was 15, and now she is 18 and Halo is her fourth book, the first in her second series.

Halo is the story of an angel named Bethany, who, with her siblings Gabriel and Ivy, are sent to earth to combat evil forces in the town of Venus Cove. They have to hide their true identities, and their wings. But it isn't long before Bethany falls in love with the school captain, Xavier Woods. Xavier is perfect, and it isn't long from then until they are an item. Then Bethany reveals to him her secret. All is wonderful for the couple even though they know they have limited time together, until a new person arrives, and starts to shake things up.

I loved The Strangest Adventures series, and this book was good, but I have to say it didn't amaze me like those other ones. The character Xavier was a little TOO perfect to be believable, and it all felt a lot like Twilight because of the supernatural being falling in love with a human theme.

That said, it was still a good book, and much better paced than Twilight. Xavier and Bethany are super cute together, so if you like that kind of thing then it's a great read.

And the fantasy side of it was very interesting, as it was based on facts found in the Bible.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: teenagers over 14 (particularly girls, but guys could learn something from Xavier!)

Warnings: a bit of language, drinking and sexual stuff

THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD BY JK ROWLING

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a companion book the the immensely popular Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, that I happen to adore. The book is the very same one mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and is said to be translated by Hermione Granger from the original runes (Hermione being one of the three main characters in Harry Potter) and featuring comments from Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.

The stories are reminiscent of the fairytales of the Grimm Brothers, in that they are fairly gruesome in their 'original form' and are apparently still told to wizarding children today. There are five short stories, each teaching a wizarding moral or lesson to wizarding children.

The highlight of the book for me was the notes, said to be written by Dumbledore. His notes are detailed and provide an excellent insight into the world of Harry Potter and the history of the wizarding world. Dumbledore is not writing for a Muggle audience, though, so JK Rowling has added her own notes to explain some things, like for example, the difference between a wizard and warlock.

I valued this book for it's contribution to Harry Potter, not for what it was alone. The stories themselves were good, but not amazing, but the book as a book was clever and an interesting read, particularly for a far of Harry Potter.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: people who have read all 7 Harry Potter books. There are spoilers and it won't make sense otherwise!

Warnings: one of the stories is particularly gruesome, but it's meant to be a fairytale, so it's not very believable.

THE THIRD DAY THE FROST BY JOHN MARSDEN

Tomorrow When the War Began, the first book in this series, was made into a movie released a few months ago, and it's easy to see why when you're reading any of the books in this series. The action-packed story translates very well to the screen.

Ellie Linton and her friends Fi, Robyn, Lee, Homer, Kevin and Corrie were on a camping trip when Australia was invaded and they found themselves as some of the only free people in an occupied area. They started blowing up enemy camps and machinery, and throughout the first two books cause some major damage to enemy forces. But they also suffer lots of losses and their lives are constantly terrifying.

The Third Day, The Frost is the third novel in the series. It opens with the group with a very low morale after making a tragic discovery at the end of the second book. But they soon decide that they have to do something more to fight the enemy (which is a country that is never named in the novels). After being reunited with one of their friends, they plan a major attack on a port that has been taken over.

The book is fast-paced, at times heart-racing and terrifying, at other times very sad, and even sometimes funny. Although it sometimes seems very unrealistic the action elements and the well-developed characters make up for that. It's also a highly imaginative story, and because it was set in Australia I found myself able to relate to the characters' anger about their country being invaded and colonised.

This book was a quick, exciting read and I would really recommend the series. I don't normally read a lot of action but these books are different, possibly because of the interesting political aspects and the realistic aspects (ie this could actually happen, however unlikely!)

Butterflies: 7.5 out of 10

Recommended for: teenagers

Warnings: references to sex (though there isn't any actual sex in this book, there is in other books), swearing and lots of violence (including the main characters killing and injuring enemy soldiers)

THE WINDS OF HEAVEN BY JUDITH CLARKE

The Winds of Heaven is a story of two cousins, Clementine and Fan. They live a long way away from each other but they share a deep bond that stretches for many many years. Fan is beautiful, but her family is dysfunctional. Clementine can't decide if she envies or pities Fan, but over time as they grow older she realises that Fan's life is a lot more complicated than she first thought. And Fan realises that Clementine is one of the only people that ever understood her.

Both Clementine and Fan are very believable characters. Judith Clarke is a very talented writer, and both girls are distinct enough to not get them confused, but similar enough for the reader to understand why they are friends. As the book spans many years it could have failed in maintaining the personalities of the girls over the years, by making them change too much over time, but it didn't. The girls changed, but only as much as real people do.

I found the book to be a tragically beautiful read. It wasn't too full-on, but it really made me love the characters, especially Clementine and Fan. It's also historical, which I personally love. It was a bit slow at the beginning but I would recommend sticking with it because it turns out to be a really memorable and beautiful story.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 14
Warnings: a bit of language, references to sex (including teenage sex), domestic violence and a fairly disturbing ending.

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER BY STEPHENIE MEYER

(Another surprise book! I got this out of the library yesterday and read it last night. It was a quick read!)

Some people say you have to either passionately love or hate the Twilight saga, but I am lukewarm. I got this book because it looked like an interesting new way to look at the story in Eclipse, and it didn't let me down, but it didn't shock me either.

Running off the success of the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer released this book, marketed as an 'Eclipse novella' earlier this year. Although it did not have much publicity in Australia, the book has sold over 1.5 million copies. It is called a novella, however it's a long novella, almost the length of a novel. Though compared to the other Twilight books, which are roughly the same size as large bricks, I guess it is a novella!

The book is the story of Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire involved in the army of Riley, who is a slave of Victoria. Twilight readers (or movie-goers) will know Victoria as the redhead vampire who is out to get Bella, the narrator of all the other Twilight books. Bree is a young vampire, but she strangely has more control over her senses than the other vampires. She meets up with Diego, another newborn, who also has more control than the others, and they try and find out why Riley created them and what they are being kept for.

Overall, the book was... average. The story was, like the other Twilight books, could have been condensed into a much shorter format, and Bree was a lot like Bella. Diego was a lot like Edward. There wasn't much that was new, except that the violence was more graphically described, sometimes to the point of being actually quite disturbing.

I think next time Stephenie Meyer should try a new story. There are only so many spin-offs she can write and while this was good it also hinted at the fact that she was a bit over the characters. I could be wrong, though.

Butterflies: 6.5 out of 10 (sorry Twihards)
Recommended for: teenagers who have read the Twilight series. Or, if you want to just get a taste of Stephenie Meyer before plunging in to all the books, I guess you could read it, though you might get confused and it will spoil the story of Eclipse
Warnings: vampire violence (it's from Bree's perspective so it's a lot more graphic than the other Twilight novels)

A COMPANY OF SWANS BY EVA IBBOTSON

This book is about ballet, but it wasn't really what I expected with the cover featuring what appeared to be a fairly young girl and lots of shiny foil and floral designs.

I expected another, fairly cliched read about a young girl who overcomes poverty/oppression/injury to achieve her dreams but really, it was quite different to that.

Harriet is seventeen, older than the typical main character of these ballet novels. Her father is a professor who only allows her to dance for her health. She's a quiet character, described as quite plain but strangely beautiful when she dances. She is invited to join the Dubrov Ballet Company who are travelling to the Amazonian city of Manaus, but knows that her father will not let her go, partly because she is about to get engaged to Edward Finch-Dutton. She meets a young boy, Henry, at a large estate near her home, who, upon discovering her dream to travel to Manaus, asks that she search for a Boy who used to live at Stavely who he wants to meet. Harriet promises to do so.

She eventually decides to run away and she joins the ballet company. Once in Manaus she meets Rom, a wealthy Englishman, who she quickly realises is the Boy, and the two are instantly attracted to one another. When Harriet is pursued by Edward Rom rescues her, but their relationship is disrupted by a surprise arrival in Manaus.

I found that although some of the characters were well-developed and described (including Rom and Harriet's friend Marie-Claude), Harriet herself was not very well-developed. She had no interesting quirks that made her unique from any other girl, so it was hard, as the reader, to understand why Rom fell for her.

The book was also full of a lot of coincidences, so many so that it was slightly unbelievable. In a whole city, how likely is it that the director of the Opera House where Harriet and the ballet performs just happens to be the Boy who Harriet is searching for?

However I appreciated how ballet was not overused in the book. Harriet loves ballet, but the plot really isn't about her running away, it's about love and adventure. And a little bit about overcoming problems to follow your dreams, but not too much.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: girls over 14. Boys can read it, but I really don't think they'll be that interested.

Warnings: unexpectedly, sex. It is treated very nicely (mostly), and not graphic in any way, but it's most definitely there, and any reader would be able to pick it up. Rom is widely regarded as a seductor who has had many partners, and the night they first meet Harriet believes he is going to rape her, though he does not. Also Harriet ends up involved in a seductive dance routine when she fills in for her friend (who cannot perform it because of a coincidental encounter) which is described in a fair amount of detail, though it's really not that bad.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS BY LEWIS CARROLL

(This one is a bit of a surprise but I remembered that I read this as a break from Wuthering Heights and never blogged about it!)

Through the Looking Glass is another story about Alice's adventures in Wonderland. I was surprised to discover that many of the events in the two movie adaptations of Alice in Wonderland I have seen were actually in Through the Looking Glass.

Basically Alice returns to Wonderland (although it is called Looking-Glass Land in this book), but this time through a mirror, not down the rabbit hole. It's a very complicated, whimsical plot based on a chess game, not on a deck of cards like the first book. Alice journeys through Wonderland along the chess board. I'm not going to try and explain the plot because it is just too complicated and the whole point of the book is for the reader to be surprised at every turn and very confused the whole way through. The book features many poems by Carroll, including the famous poem 'Jabberwocky'.

It is characteristically weird, just like Alice in Wonderland. Carroll was reportedly a highly interesting person and his books certainly reflect that.

This book makes you think a lot, but it was also an easy read, so it can be read on many levels.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 10
Warnings: nothing, except it is a bit confusing!

LIAR BY JUSTINE LARBALESTIER

This book is so hard to describe. It's probably one of the weirdest books I've ever read, but I can't help but be completely in awe of Justine Larbalestier.

Micah is a compulsive liar. She can't help but lie at every opportunity she gets. Some of the lies are small, but some are massive. Some have serious consequences. The book starts when Micah discovers her boyfriend Zach has been found dead. Nobody knows what has happened to him. Micah (a first person narrator) swears to tell the truth of the story to the reader, but it quickly becomes evident that she is not telling the whole truth at all, and that she has many secrets to hide.

And then, a shocking twist leaves the reader wondering can I trust her?

Larbalestier is exploring the fascinating concept of the unreliable narrator in this novel, and she does it fantastically. Every page turn revealed a new facet of Micah's personality, and simultaneously destroyed something I thought I knew about her. I found myself hating Micah and loving her at the same time. Whatever the truth is, her life has not been easy, but she kept lying to me throughout the novel and I found that infurating.

When I closed the book I felt very frustrated. What was the truth of Micah's story? What really happened to Zach? Is there any truth in the book at all? (I mean, I know it's a novel, but what did the author mean for me to think was the real story?)

Larbalestier definitely wrote this novel for the reader, not for herself. It is a novel that is meant to be discussed and theorised about, and all over the internet people have joined conversations about the book and what it means and how it has affected them.

But I must say: DO NOT LOOK UP SPOILERS OR FORUMS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT UNTIL AFTER YOU READ THE BOOK. You don't want to spoil any of the surprises.

So basically, this book drove me crazy. It messed with my head, it made me hate Micah then love Micah then nearly yell because the story was so unbelievable yet so logical at the same time. I can't say I enjoyed the book, but I think it's incredible. I've never read anything like it.

Butterflies: 8.5 out of 10

Recommended for: people over 15 who can bear it!

Warnings: sexual references, swearing and violence. This book is a book for mature readers. Read it, yes, but be warned it will mess with your head and leave you with so many questions you won't be able to sleep. It did that to me.

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED BY ROALD DAHL

Roald Dahl is famous for his classic childrens' books... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox and many more... but Tales of the Unexpected, a book of short stories for adults, is VERY different to these light-hearted, fun stories.

All the stories contain at least one shocking twist, many of them being of a violent or disturbing nature. I am going to review one of the stories from the book (there are 16) to give you a taste of what it's like.

Lamb to the Slaughter is the story of Mary Maloney. She is a pregnant young woman married to a policeman. One night her husband comes home and tells her he is going to leave her. Mary, as if in a trance, tries to act normally and gets a leg of lamb from the freezer to make for her husband's dinner. But he becomes very angry with her. In a fit of rage and terror about her future, Mary strike her husband over the back of his head with the leg of lamb and kills him.

She then goes to great lengths to cover up her crime, including doing away with the evidence in an ingenious but horrible way.

The story is shocking, like all in the book, but the character Mary is very well-developed in the short story format. She displays varying emotions and character facets and Dahl's amazing story telling abilities and his apparent sixth sense for when to end a story leave the reader gasping and flipping eagerly to the next story.

That said, the stories are disturbing and shocking, and it is amazing to think that the same man who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory managed to think of these violent ideas.

Butterflies: 6.5 out of 10
Recommended for: teenagers and adults who are not too easily shocked!
Warnings: where do I begin... violence and very shocking moments. Not for the faint hearted!

THE CARDTURNER BY LOUIS SACHAR

Louis Sachar is the author of the bestselling novel Holes, but this book is very different to Holes.

The Cardturner is the story of Alton Richards, who is forced to drive his blind, dying uncle Lester Trapp to bridge games, and then act as his 'cardturner'. This means he plays the cards that Trapp asks him to play. Trapp believes Alton has no idea how to play bridge, but secretly Alton learns with the help of Toni, a girl whose grandmother shared an interesting past with Trapp. As Alton learns how to play bridge, he also learns more and more about Toni and about the secrets in Trapp's past. The book takes a slightly supernatural turn towards the end, which is an unprecedented and slightly weird twist.

The characters in this book are the highlight. Trapp, in particularly, is a vivid and fascinating character and although he is not the narrator of the book the whole plot revolves around him. Alton is a fairly boring character comparatively, but Toni is very interesting and there are a host of bridge players and other family members as well.

The main problem with this book is the fact that it is filled with bridge terminology and long accounts of bridge games. While there are frequently very detailed explanations of how different bridge techniques work these are quite boring and very, very complicated. I found myself skipping these sections, but then having trouble understanding later sections of the book.

The supernatural twist is also fairly bizarre and unexpected, but Sachar pulls it off quite well. The book has a good mix of humour and seriousness and is overall a well-crafted, if not slightly complicated concept.

Butterflies: 6.5 out of 10
Recommended for: patient people over 13 who will be able to stick with a book that they may not always understand. Or bridge players, I guess.
Warnings: boring bridge chapters, but no sex, swearing or drugs.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE

To Kill A Mockingbird has been called the best book of the 20th century by many individuals and groups, and it's not hard to see why.

Harper Lee's iconic novel was published in 1960 and tells the story of the events in a small town in the Deep South of America called Maycomb. It is narrated in the first person by eight-year-old Scout, the daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch. When Atticus is assigned to a case defending a black man who is accused of raping a white girl, the whole town is affected. Scout sees the case and the surrounding incidents with both innocence and a sense of wisdom that many adults today would envy. She, and her older brother, see the case for what it is: a result of the racism in the town.

The Finch children also are very interested in their mysterious neighbours, the Radleys. Why does Boo never come outside? And who is leaving them secret gifts in the hole in the tree? All these events will come to a climax on one night, where many secrets are finally revealed.

This is such a clever book, as having a young child narrate the story shows the court case for what it really is without the bias of pre-conceived adult ideas: unfair and racist. Scout is a likeable, clever narrator and her brother Jem is also very endearing. Neither of the children are perfect, but they are very realistic characters. The other characters in the novel, including Atticus, his sister Aunt Alexandra, the Finch's Negro cook Calpurnia and the townsfolk, are all wonderfully created and believable. Atticus is an amazing character, being both a loving father and an accomplished lawyer, and his actions affect everyone in the town.

The way the many plot lines in the story interlock is also admirable. The novel is a rich tapestry of stories that weave in and out of one another effortlessly and realistically. While the events in the book are far from commonplace these days, Lee's writing ensures the reader instantly gets caught up in the story and feels like they are viewing the story just as the townsfolk did.

One crticism is that Scout, as an eight-year-old, speaks in a very mature way. However as it seems she may be telling the story as an adult looking back on her childhood, this issue is not a large one.

Overall, this book is absolutely brilliant and everyone should read it at least once in their life, if not more than once.

Butterflies: 9 out of 10
Recommended for: EVERYONE over the age of 12. Younger people may not pick up all the aspects of the story but it will still have a lasting, positive effect.
Warnings: references to the rape of Mayella Ewell, slightly graphic, and violence, but this is all counteracted by the wonderful social messages in the book.

A BIT OF EARTH BY REBECCA SMITH

A Bit of Earth opens, tragically, with the death in a car crash of Susannah Misselthwaite, the wife of botany professor Guy and mother of little Felix. Guy is left wondering why Susannah was in a car with another man and Felix has to grow up without a mother to take care of him. Guy has troubles coping with the death of his wife, and retreats into the botanical garden at the university for most of the time. Felix, too, seeks comfort in the garden, liking to sit in the trees and watch the students go about their business. But just when Guy and Felix start to get their lives back on track, the garden is threatened by developers.

The book features the two main characters, Guy and Felix, and a host of other lovable people including Erica, a PhD student at the university, Judy Lovage, another professor, a range of students and Felix's teachers. These characters all help Guy and Felix get through the tough time they have after Susannah's death and also the subsequent years.

The book ends without tying up all loose ends in great detail, which is both infuriating and nice. The characters were well-developed and the setting was believable and quaint. Not knowing much of England, however, I had troubles understanding the distances between and the locations of certain places in the book, and the book was VERY English, so a little hard for an Aussie teenager to relate to.

Overall it was a very pleasant read, touching and heartfelt.

Butterflies: 7.5 out of 10
Recommended for: it's an adult book but could be read by teenagers. 14+
Warnings: a tiny bit of swearing and references to sex

THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER BY SARAH DESSEN

(I said I'd not write reviews without telling you I'd started a book, so I'm sorry, but I read this book rather speedily on the weekend - started Saturday night, finished Sunday night - so I need to quickly review it because I'm speeding through my next book! I'll write a more topical entry soon, I've got a few ideas...)

The Truth About Forever is the story of Macy Queen. She's about to start her last year of school, but before then she's got 8 weeks of summer to get through. And it's eight weeks without her perfect boyfriend Jason, who is super-smart and very goal-oriented. But Macy's got an even bigger problem: dealing with the shock death of her father. Macy is pretending she's fine, but it takes meeting new friends and a heartbreaking email from Jason for her to realise that she's not actually fine, and that no matter how hard she tries she'll never be perfect. And the most important contributing factor to her realisation is Wes, Jason's polar opposite and exactly what Macy needs.

Sarah Dessen is clever. She knows what teenage girls dream about (boys, being perfect and a happy life) and what they struggle with (boys, impossible standards and family problems) and she's managed to turn her knowledge into a book with a likeable, realistic protagonist. I think that's why books like this do so well: girls have problems, and they wish the solutions to their problems were as romantic/easy/exciting as the solutions in books like this one.

This book is, really and truly, cute. Wes and Macy play a game together that is really quite gorgeous, and there are moments in the book that just make you say 'awwwwwwwwwwwww...'. Again, Sarah Dessen is playing on the desires of girls to have amazing encounters like that in real life in order to appeal to her market. And it works. I found the book very likeable and easy to read.

The best thing is that, despite the book being teenage chick lit, the characters are really not 2-dimensional or predictable. Macy is slightly cliched, but her new friends have really interesting back stories and they are nicely flawed, giving the book a certain maturity.

All in all, a really nice read, and very easy. It's not challenging or particularly deep, but it's sweet and it was a great antidote to both Wuthering Heights and The Piper's Son

Butterflies: 7.5 out of 10
Recommended for: girls over 14. (Or boys, if you want to pick up some tips on how to impress girls! Seriously, this book is full of them.)
Warnings: very very minimal swearing

THE PIPER'S SON BY MELINA MARCHETTA

I guess I should start by saying that Saving Francesca, to which this book is a sequel, is one of my favourite books ever, so I went into this book with high expectations.

Thomas Mackee, one of Francesca's close friends in the previous book, has finished school and has fallen off the rails after the death of his uncle in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London. Thomas has been involved with drugs and drinking and has had a variety of one-night stands but all he can really think about is Tara Finke, the girl he loved at high school, and his friends that he left behind and his family who all fell apart and are now scattered all over the country.

It's only when Francesca saves him from a difficult situation that he starts to move back towards his family and friends, and starts to wonder if maybe he can fix his life and start again and get back Tara Finke.

Saving Francesca was brilliant, and although I didn't enjoy On the Jellicoe Road I had high hopes for this book. For starters, every character in Saving Francesca was brilliantly developed with just the right amount of intrigue, so a book about any of them would have been brilliant. I'm glad Marchetta picked Tom to focus on, because there were so many unanswered questions about him at the end of Saving Francesca. The book also answered questions about other characters too, such as Francesca and Tara.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Again, the characters were brilliantly developed, particularly Tom's aunt Georgie (a new character) and the back story was both moving and realistic.

It was a great book and Melina Marchetta deserves praise for following up Saving Francesca with such a wonderful new novel.

Butterflies: 9 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 15 who have read Saving Francesca. Although the book can be read as a stand alone novel, I think it will be better appreciated if you read Saving Francesca first.
Warnings: sex, swearing, drugs and alcohol, but the story is brilliant so please don't let that stop you if you think you're old enough to read it!!

WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY EMILY BRONTE

Wuthering Heights is one of the most well-known novels of the Gothic genre. Emily Bronte only ever wrote one novel, but if your one novel is something like Wuthering Heights, you shouldn't be too worried.

Catherine Earnshaw is growing up at Wuthering Heights, the child of a wealthy landowner. One day, her father Mr Earnshaw brings home a young waif, who he names Heathcliff. Catherine and Heathcliff grow up together, like brother and sister, with Catherine's brother Hindley hating Heathcliff for being favoured by his father. Catherine and Heathcliff start to fall in love. Mr Earnshaw dies, and Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights. He marries, but his wife dies shortly after giving birth to a child, Hareton. Hindley becomes violent and abusive towards Heathcliff. Catherine starts to spend time with her neighbors, the Lintons, and is attracted to Edgar Linton, a young man around her own age. She tells the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, that she wishes to marry Edgar so that she can be rich and comfortable in her life, but Heathcliff overhears the conversation.

Once Catherine and Edgar marry, Heathcliff becomes jealous and angry because of all-consuming love for Catherine. He marries Isabella Linton, Edgar's brother, out of spite towards the Lintons, but cannot deny his feelings for Catherine, and their passionate love has effects for years to come.

Bronte has undoubtedly written an amazing book. It is incredibly complex, with all the characters, so much so that I found referring to a family tree very useful (you can find one here however I warn it spoils the story). But it's clever, oh so clever, and haunting and terrifying and really quite amazing.

I think it is strange, though, that people refer to it as a great romantic novel (EDIT: I do mean romantic in the 'lovey dovey' sense, because people do actually say that, not the style of romanticism, just to clear that up). It's romantic, yes, but it's terrifying too! There are ghosts, references to demons, violence, and some seriously scary weather, and the relationships involved are so turbulent and abusive that I really don't understand how it could be considered "romantic" in the same sense that books such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are considered "romantic". Sure, it was passionate, but romantic? Not exactly...

That said, the book is quite incredible, and very different to the conservative novels of Jane Austen with which I am more familiar. It was quite riveting in some places, though in others, a bit slow, but if you choose to read it, stick with it, because it's worth it in the end!

Butterflies: 7 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 14 who can endure difficult language and will not be too disturbed by the supernatural and abusive aspects of the novel.
Warnings: a bit violent, but not too bad. A hard read!

LORD OF THE FLIES BY WILLIAM GOLDING

It's done, and once this review is posted, let us never speak of it again because I have to study it in English at the moment and it is NOT FUN.

Lord of the Flies is the story of  the survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island in the Pacific. They are being evacuated from England sometime during WW2. The only survivors on the island are boys, none older than 12, some as young as five or six.

Amongst them is Ralph and Piggy, and the book opens with these two characters meeting for the first time. Ralph is quickly established as being leadership potential, though not necessarily very enthusiastic about that possibility. Piggy, a fat, smart boy, discovers a conch shell. He tells Ralph they should use it to summon the other boys and try and work out how they are going to survive. Piggy is probably one of the wisest characters in the book. So the boys all meet, and Ralph is made chief, with Jack (the head of a choir involved in the crash and an arrogant, bossy boy) in charge of a group of boys who will hunt for feral pigs on the island and keep a signal fire going.

But things don't go smoothly. Some boys are lazy, and Jack and Ralph start to fight. There is also something lurking on the island, scaring the littleuns, and while Ralph and Jack try to brush off their fears, soon they too are afraid of the beast on the island.

Only one boy seems to know what is going on: Simon, a very wise young boy, suggests that the beast is perhaps inside them, rather than an actual beast.

But it's too late. The beast is already rearing its ugly head.

Lord of the Flies was published in the 1950s, so the language is complex and at times difficult to read. However there are some excellent descriptions of the landscape on the island which makes up for this.

The real issue in this book, for me, is the reason it is so widely studied. Lord of the Flies is an allegory for how, when unchecked, human cruelty (particularly in young boys) can get out of hand. However, the brutal events in this novel seem... perhaps... a little TOO extreme. The boys are twelve, but they are capable of murder. Although real life events prove that this is true, the circumstances under which the deaths occur are, in my opinion, not extreme enough for the boys to have been driven to murder. Some may disagree, but in my experience of boys, they are not the cruel beasts that Golding depicts them as.

Almost all the characters were, for me, pretty unlikeable. They were all a bit pompous, thinking that because they were British they'd be able to sort everything out (how wrong they were!) and were hasty in their decisions, arrogant, self-centred and immature (Piggy and Simon being the exceptions, although they too have faults that ensure that they do not save the book).

On the other hand, while the characters made immature decisions, I think sometimes Golding depicted them as TOO mature for their age. At twelve, I would not know many boys who could organise a (while admittedly dysfunctional and ultimately doomed) society of sorts and survive for weeks on a deserted island. Also, what twelve-year-old speaks like they speak? None these days, and probably none back then either! (Well I don't know that for certain, but judging on how kids speak today, I think we can safely assume that.)

So while the book had some good points, I just found the situation, characters and dialogue a bit tiresome and unrealistic, so I can't give it a good review. Apologies to all those who think this is a classic!

Butterflies: 5 out of 10
Recommended for: Year 10 English at my school, so you pass! Also to people over 14 who will be able to appreciate the descriptions and also understand that this is not just an adventure story.
Warnings: complex language, and fairly violent. Not a light read, in any way!

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES BY JOHN GREEN

John Green won a Printz award for Looking for Alaska, and his second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was an honour book for the same award, and again, the award was well-deserved.

An Abundance of Katherines is the story of Colin Singleton, a child prodigy past his prime who has just graduated from high school and has just been dumped by the 19th girl he has ever dated. The weird thing is, all 19 of the girls have been named Katherine.

Colin is heartbroken, so he sets off on a roadtrip with his best friends Hassan. They end up staying in a tiny town called Gutshot, with a girl named Lindsey Lee Wells and her mother Hollis. Lindsey is unlike any other girl Colin has met, and it doesn't take Colin and Hassan long to meet and get involved with all the quirky characters in Gutshot. At the same time, Colin is trying to work out a mathematical formula that will be able to predict how long a relationship will last and, when it ends, who will be the dumper and who will be the dumpee. As the story progresses, Colin starts to realise that sometimes things can't be predicted, and that maybe he will never be able to fix his formula.

John Green seems to always write books with a male, first-person narrator. Colin, in this book, is realistic, appropriately flawed and also just a little bit mysterious, keeping the reader reading until the last pages. Lindsey Lee Wells is also an intriguing character, so much more than the outgoing, slightly immature teenager that Colin first meets.

This book was well-written, and actually very interesting to me, despite the maths! There is an appendix at the end explaining all the maths in the book (which is actually real and does work, though results obviously may vary) written by Daniel Biss, a mathematician. If you have any moderate understanding of maths, then I would actually highly recommend reading the appendix as it is very interesting, despite the topic.

Unfortunately, An Abundance of Katherines is difficult, if not impossible to get in Australia, but it is cheap from Amazon (where I got my copy) and it is worth paying the postage to get such a book.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for people: over 14 who have at least a moderate understanding of maths and enjoy books about roadtrips and friendships and love
Warnings: swearing, sex (not graphic) and a bit of drinking, but they are not major plot features.