I don't know the work of Vincenzo Perrella and Dan Osborn in
their other spheres of film/television/live performance but I'd certainly like
to see some of it. I don't dwell on plot details if I can help it and
realistically, this one is so convoluted and intricate, I'd have no hope of
putting much of it in a review but I'm going to try to give you an oversight.
Imagine an isolated uninhabited island far from any other
kind of land or humankind.
Next, imagine that island was literally stumbled upon by the survivors of a shipwreck.
Behind the elegance, discipline and applause of the ballet world lies a demanding culture of perfection, and Ariane Beeston's Don't Forget to Smile offers an honest and compelling glimpse behind the curtain.
Told through the alternating perspectives of Clara, Elle and Ben, three talented young dancers competing for a coveted place at the International Ballet Grand Prix, the novel explores what it truly costs to pursue excellence. Each protagonist faces their own personal battle: Clara struggles with the expectations of fitting the traditional ballet mould, while Elle and Ben challenge outdated attitudes and entrenched power structures within the dance world. As their individual journeys unfold, an unexpected scandal draws the trio together in surprising ways.
Her stepfather Alex has set up the cot in her room. Now it is hers no longer. Mum is always tired and going to appointments. All the things they use to do, they can’t do anymore.
Quinn doesn’t want a baby brother. Experiencing the behaviour of her friend Mem’s baby brother, has her believing babies are destructive and bothersome.
Quinn’s only interest now is her determination to win the Grade Five story competition consisting of three rounds.
When Mum goes to hospital to give birth prematurely, Quinn mulls over the changes that have occurred in her life, and the ones that will come with Otto’s entrance into the family.
Which pretty much sums up this extraordinary picture book. With no preamble, the Giant’s story begins, at the ending, with a premise that could easily reflect a reoccurring dilemma for many creators; a stymie of creative flow.
When the picture book
maker, with a strong resemblance to the author himself, experiences this impasse,
his trusty pencil inexplicably springs to life.
The
wee stub shows him her life’s journey from germinating seed to grand dame of
her forest kingdom. We are taken through life cycle after life cycle. From a
sapling’s view point to that of a towering giant’s, residence to a whole
eco-system of invertebrates, animals and birds. It is a wondrous and all-encompassing
experience to stand before this giant and gaze skyward at her unfathomable brilliance,
so strong, so assured, so steadfast.
Readers
often wonder where story ideas come from. They come from many places, but
rarely from as deep a place as Gilbert’s Cake.
As author Emily Mir explains, ‘Our first baby, Gilbert, was
stillborn in 2010. Two years later, we welcomed Gilbert’s twin siblings. As
young children, the twins wanted a party, complete with balloons and a cake, to
mark Gilbert's birthday. It was painful at first, but an annual tradition
began. Gilbert’s Cake is the story of our story.’
After working with families who have experienced miscarriage and stillbirth, Emily was inspired to share her family’s story of love, loss . . . and pelicans.
Emily is both a counsellor and a bereaved
mother, and hopes her story sparks joy and love as well as evoking holistic ways
of healing in the face of loss and trauma.
For a long time, I believed life had already thrown every curveball it could at me. I grew up marked by losses, first my parents and grandparents, all passing when I was very young, and later the grandmother who raised my siblings and me after we lost our parents.
From
childhood, I understood resilience not as a choice but as a necessity. I
dreamed of creating the kind of loving family I never had the chance to grow up
with, one full of warmth, stability, and affection.
And, for a while, I had it. I married a wonderful man and we were blessed with our beautiful daughter, Sophie. Life felt whole.
She lost two parents on that day, as her grief-strcken father took off shortly after his wife’s death.
Pippi, broken and filled with anger, is left with Uncle Isaac, her last family member.
Isaac, worn by life, has become befuddled. But Pippi is always ready to fill his empty mind's thoughts and his mouth's forgotten words for him.
But for how long will she be able to do so?
When she falls off the bow of their fishing boat, she is saved by the giant octopus, Octavia.
Uncle Isaac decides that it is time to tell Pippi that with her mother’s death, she has inherited the burden of Keeper of the Octopus.
Moving further down on the path through beautiful bent and twisted trees, they follow their normal route to the place where the blackbird sings.
They look everywhere for the bird, but he can’t be found.
They come across it lying under the dark, curving tree trunks on the yellow ground.
So much life pulses around them, but the bird is still.
They move closer.
They assume it must be sleeping. They stand still and quiet, just looking. Waiting for it to awaken.
Immie’s father, a firefighter in the Rural Fire Service, lost his life.
The decision to investigate the probability of arson, is activated by an anonymous call to police.
Who could the person be?
Was it a male or female voice?
The police are keeping silent.
When further calls are made to police, and a local podcast begins to follow the proceedings, the town becomes reactive.
Fletch is Immie’s best friend.
His elder brother, Cooper is accused, then arrested as the arsonist. An additional charge is also considered against him for the death of Immie’s dad.
Dad secretly realizes that she needs be taught girl things that he is unable to explain, as her mum died years ago but is still alive in Willow’s daily thoughts.
There is no warm welcome at her aunt’s place.
Fleur resents having to share a room with Willow, whom she views as a country bumpkin, so mostly ignores her.
At school, she must stand against the bully Miles, and his band of followers, that have the power to make her feel more alienated than Fleur does.
Raised on a cattle farm, Willow is the total opposite to her cousin. She is vocal, active, intuitive and raw in her approach to city life and its expectations.
It’s a book full of colour and beauty; a salute to family, friends and friendships.
Deep emotive prose takes the reader on a journey
through sadness, grief, recovery, reinvention and love.
There is a split in Eddie’s family.
Her mother
lives alone elsewhere. Elder sister Viv has been swallowed by grief and also
lives alone.
Somehow Eddie has alienated her friends and become socially inept.
She has distanced herself from her twin brother, Pat, and is hostile to George, the girl she works with at the juice bar.
She is resentful and angry and at times aggressive towards people who were once close to her.
The day the river first speaks to Bo and she sees the first vision.
It is a day of revelations. She meets Billy River and notices someone watching her through binoculars from the ridge.
The day a stranger chases her through the lanes to steal the jewel from her.
Bo and Billy’s lives will become entwined. Both changed forever.
With great celebration, her impoverished family lists the things they could buy with the money when the jewel is sold.
But Bo
cannot be parted from the precious item which becomes the centre of hers and
Billy’s world, with its magical purpose that slowly reveals itself.
Then, together, Bo and Billy find the second jewel, the Brightest Sun, which will fulfill a promise on the night of the eclipse, a few weeks away.
There are many that will do anything to get their hands on the Jewels of the Eclipse, and the secrets that come with them.
A brilliant story, written in emotive and immersive prose about grief, love, friendship, sacrifice and redemption from the author of The Miniaturist.
Another
complex, carefully designed plot takes the reader on a journey through the
impossible, using twists and turns that will magnetize.
The descriptions are magical pictures created by a writer who paints with words. Her use of language is extraordinary.
This is a book readers will never forget. The
characters are outstanding. People are not who they first appear to be. This does not become apparent until the curves in the story are all set.
The settings are so descriptive that at times it feels like the reader is in the story, watching things happen from up close.
You can
almost hear the crashing of the waves, the whistling and sighing of the wind.
This is the best thing I have read this year. Don’t miss it!
Title: Hidden Treasure
Author:
Jessie Burton
Publisher: Bloomsbury, $17.99
Publication Date: 13 March 2025
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781526662897
For ages: 12+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction
