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Just Kids by Patti Smith, $39.99
A fascinating memoir about Patti Smith’s evolution from the gawky teenager who, freshly arrived in New York City lived on the streets for months, to the renowned poet and performer she is known as today. Stuck to her side in those first hard years was Robert Mapplethorpe, a curly haired angel with secrets of his own that would colour his experiences, and also help produce his highly successful and provocative photography. Together they traversed Brooklyn to Coney Island via way of the Chelsea Hotel and Max’s Kansas City. On the fringes of the artistic circle, Patti recounts meetings with the Andy Warhol set, Janis Joplin and fellow poet Allen Ginsberg. This is a bohemian love story – not just between two kids, but between them and art, and one that could only happen in NYC at that time.
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Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan, $19.99
Meet Will Grayson – your typical teenage boy; he goes to school, does his homework, listens to loud and fast music and generally likes to stay out of trouble. His best friend Tiny Cooper, is anything but typical. Big, loud and proudly gay he is putting the finishing touches on his musical Tiny Dancer, based on his (and Will’s) life, which is a slight cause of angst in Will's otherwise typical life. Another spanner in the works is Jane, who with her encyclopaedic knowledge of music, also isn’t typical, and who he is kind of into, except that she has a perfect ex-boyfriend who wants her back.
Now meet the other Will Grayson. Uptight, moody and not so proud and out about being gay. He has an annoying best friend, and he is hopelessly in love with someone he has never met, and may or may not be real.
So what happens when Tiny, Will and Will get thrown together one night? Well, there are plenty of laughs, some truly spectacular musical numbers, and a lot of home truths, with some romance thrown in too.
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Little Gods by Anna Richards $24.99
Jean was born to be larger than life - literally and otherwise. Born to a withered, hateful hag who diminshes her self confidence with a wave of a hand, Jean is finally set free by the war that comes to her seaside English town, and the bomb that destroys her mother. Tagged an Amazon and set to work cleaning sites whilst the men are away, Jean blossoms in her dungarees, flirting with danger, men and drink. With her best friend Gloria, the impossibly sweet daughter of a candy store owner, she marries an American GI and is sent to the USA, where she fails and picks herself up, time and again. Told with a beautiful and light deft of hand, Richards manages to describe the mundane with painstaking beauty; her eloquence, the cast of characters and the sprawling plot make this a must-read, perfect to curl up with and be transported, far far away.
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When Dogs Cry by Markus Zusak $16.99
This is Zusak's second novel (before The Book Thief) and was written for an adolescent audience. But its poetry and achingly true to life representation of youth can be appreciated by any age. When Dogs Cry tells the story of Cameron Wolfe, a loner in a family of fighters. He spends his days haunting the streets of Sydney, looking for something to shake him and awaken him. But most of all, he is looking for someone to hold and understand him. Beautifully crafted and simultaneously tough and tender, just like its charcters.
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Young Zeus by G. Brian Karas $26.99
A fun and entertaining way to introduce youngsters to the Greek Myths! Young Zeus is living on Crete when he discovers his evil father Cronus has eaten his brothers and sisters, and only he was spared. Zeus decides to rescue them so that he can finally have someone to play with, and so traverses the spiritual lands and even to the Underworld to defeat his father, save his siblings and restore order. With engaging illustrations to support the text, this is a great book parent and child can enjoy together.
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The Kingdom of the Lost: The Red Wind by Isobelle Carmody $19.99
The first book in this new series by celebrated children's author Isobelle Carmody is a rich and highly imaginative story of two brothers, who having hatched from an egg one day must learn to survive on the plain in which they make their home. They quickly establish a routine: Zluty is fearless and travels to the Northern Forest to collect honey and mushrooms for the bitter winters whilst Bily stays at their cottage and prepares the house. Until one year a red wind appears, bringing destruction and a monster to their doorstep and Bily and Zutly must change and adapt to survive. Wonderfully illustrated throughout, The Red Wind is an exciting and engaging book which would make a great gift for ages 8 and up.
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