Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Ever had a friend who seems to be everything to you – companion, supporter  encourager? And even though they may not be perfect, you still love them because they love you with all your imperfections? Well that was Alice – a great friend but with some strange personality traits.

But Katherine likes her – she needs friends when she moves to Sydney to live with her aunt after shocking events have happened in her family. It’s just that as the story progresses, Katherine begins to doubt that the pluses are more than the minuses in her relationship with Alice.

It’s great to see a book set in Sydney. Katherine’s parents seem very realistic and Alice’s ability to twist most people around her little finger is almost scary to watch.

The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

Calder is a ‘Fetch’, a ‘being’ who takes souls from their body up to heaven once they die.  Calder is rather curious, and so switches places with a man; taking his body whilst the soul roams in the place between Earth and heaven. The body he takes is that of Rasputin’s, the religious healing man, and close friend of the Russian Tsarina. After the Russian Royal family is killed, Calder( as Rasputin) takes care of the Tsarevitch- Alexis and princess Anastasia, who have not been killed. The real issue I had with this book was not the writing (which was good) or the plot (which was really quite slow, but still interesting) but the idea of Calder/Rasputin falling in love with Anastasia. Ana is around 16 years old, and Calder himself is 19, however the mental image of a pretty teenage girl with an overweight, hairy, dirty and just plain creepy man in his late 40s was just too weird. I must admit I didn’t finish the book, and I don’t un-recommended it, I just personally was very disappointed and (whilst I persevered as long as I could) uninterested. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

 *note for Modern History girls – this book is set during the Russian revolution and studying the Romanov’s in year 11 adds further knowledge and extra interest  when reading!

 However I highly recommend Whitcomb’s other book A Certain Slant of Light – a lovely ghost/romance novel with lots of poetic allusions. (Probably for Young Adult, or even Senior Fiction)

Bad Monkeys by Mat Ruff

The New York Times calls it “A science fiction Catcher in the Rye” and it certainly has elements of a rebellious teenager and a bond (though not as close here) with a younger sibling. Otherwise, it is pretty weird, though certainly entertaining. Bad Monkeys are evil doers, crooks – and Jane Charlotte spends quite a bit of her life in a strange organisation which tries to defeat these people. The novel is basically an interview between Jane and a psychiatrist who is questioning her after she was arrested for murder. You will laugh, be confused, wonder what is happening – lots of actions and twists. For mature readers only.

Lady Macbeth’s Daughter by Lisa Klein

If  you have read Shakespeare’s Macbeth or heard of it, you might like this one. Supposedly, Macbeth  didn’t know of her existence as he told one of his men to kill her  (she was female and had a deformed leg). She is brought up among the witches and finds that she has second sight. From here, her story becomes entangled with the bloody deeds of Macbeth. Lots of treachery, love and betrayal.