storyLines

by special guest blogger & author Doug MacLeod

Photo originally posted to flickr.com by Tantek

There’s a novel I’m writing. It’s about a boy called Adam and something terrible that happens in his life. He falls in love with a girl called Sam. That isn’t the terrible thing. His grandfather dies. Even that isn’t the terrible thing, though it’s certainly sad. The terrible thing is what happens at the funeral, which Sam attends with Adam. Soft music plays. The minister says some nice words about the grandfather. Then it is Adam’s mum’s turn to make a speech. She gets out of her seat. Only then does Adam notice that there is a bright pink ball stuck to her, adorning her backside like a bunny’s tail. The ball is one of those soft fabric ones with Velcro, and the mother has unknowingly sat on it. Before anyone else can see, Adam leaps up from his seat and lunges at the little ball, snatching it away. Unfortunately, he lunges too hard and knocks over his mother. At Grandpa’s funeral! Everyone is horrified, but no one is hurt. When Adam returns to his seat, deeply embarrassed, he finds that his girlfriend Sam is laughing. Really laughing. This is the terrible thing. Can Adam have a girlfriend who laughs at his grandpa’s funeral?

I like the beginning of this novel. Adam listens to his grandpa telling a story. (It’s an old story, so you might have heard it before.) A man was on the front porch of his house, working on his motorbike. The motorbike slipped into gear, ran over him then smashed through the front door of the house and ended up in the living room. The man’s wife took him to hospital. Meanwhile, the wife’s mother, who was staying in the house, remained behind and tried to tidy up the mess. When she saw that there was petrol on the floor, she mopped it up with paper towel then threw the towels in the toilet. The man wasn’t badly hurt, so they sent him home from the hospital. Depressed about his smashed-up motorbike, the man lit a cigarette then went to the toilet. He threw his lighted match into the bowl when he sat down. Ten seconds later there was an explosion and the man had to go into hospital again.

Now, I think that’s funny. You might think it’s funny too. But there will be a lot of people who don’t. In my novel, Adam’s girlfriend Sam does not think it’s funny. Will Adam and Sam have to break up because they laugh at different things? And is it okay to laugh at a funeral?

It’s very hard to write about what is funny and what isn’t. Everyone has a different opinion. Whenever I see my Uncle Jeff he always asks me what television shows I’m working on. Over the years I’ve been involved with shows like The Comedy Company, Fast Forward, Full Frontal, Big Girls’ Blouse, The Micallef Program, SeaChange and Kath and Kim. These shows have made quite a few people laugh. But whichever show I mention, Uncle Jeff always says, ‘I can’t stand that bleeping show.’ People have very strong opinions about comedy. If they don’t think it’s funny, they feel cheated. I’m sure Uncle Jeff doesn’t mean to be rude and upset me. He’s actually a kind man; a woodworker who makes candlesticks then gives them out as presents. But I confess that every now and then, I’m tempted to say, ‘I can’t stand your bleeping candlesticks.’

(Doug MacLeod’s next novel for young adults is The Life of a Teenage Body-snatcher, due from Penguin in June 2010. His most recent novel, which does seem to have made a few people laugh, is Siggy and Amber, another Penguin. For more information on jokes and books, please visit Doug’s website: dougmacleod.com.au)

~ Book One of the Travellers By D.J. MacHale

The Pendragon Series are excellent fantasy novels, which will unveil any teenager’s wild visions of civilizations beyond earth and bring them to life. The nine excellent adventures, each on different territories, exemplify D.J. MacHale’s great taste for rigorous action and adventure wherever your imagination will take you.

Bobby Pendragon is the chosen traveller from Earth and is the main protagonist in all of D.J.Machale’s traveller series. In his quest to prevent Saint Dane from destroying other territories Pendragon travels to other regions of the universe, each possessing their own civilization and unique race. During his travels Pendragon encounters other fellow travellers who possess the same responsibilities and powers as himself. However, as the main story revolves around Bobby Pendragon there is not much insight into the history and origins of the other travellers.

Pendragon Before the War explores the decades before the travellers were chosen and their incessant adventures that lead them to become the representatives for their territory and saviour for all of Halla. Although this particular book is a great read, to attain a deeper and more profound understanding of the characters that are being explored and described I would recommend reading the Pendragon traveller series first, as they go hand in hand.

            D.J. MacHale is a brilliant author, with his unrelenting adventures and ravishing description of worlds created purely out of his own imagination. His books are extremely popular among fantasy readers; however I recommend the Pendragon series to any teen that loves fast paced novels with guns, magic and adventures that would surpass any ordinary imagination.

For additional information on any other corresponding Pendragon books visit: http://www.thependragonadventure.com/

Reviewed by Ducky

The dog stared back at them. Most of the other dogs in the pen were howling and making noises that sounded quite like foreign words. They were rattling and stretching their chains. But this dog in front of them was different. he stood there in the dirty snow, as calm as anything, and looked at the boys, at Tom, and then at Johnny, at Tom, then Johnny.

They weren’t really like dog’s eyes at all. At least they weren’t like the eyes of any dogs the boys knew at home. Lots of their friends had dogs, and their aunt had two of them, but all of those dogs had proper dog eyes. But this dog looking at them had eyes that seemed to belong to a different animal, maybe even a human.

“It’s like there’s someone trapped in there,” said Tom.

Johnny nodded. He knew exactly what his brother meant.

Tom and Johnny are in Lapland on a great adventure with their mother, Sandra. They are about to travel fast across the snow, pulled by a team of these beautiful dogs with the glacial eyes. But in the wilderness anything can happen. Someone can be lost, and how are they to be found?

Their step-sister Grainne (pronounced ‘grow-nya’) is at home in Dublin. She knows what it is like to lose someone. Her mother left when Grainne was six, and now she is eighteen and they are about to meet again. Grainne has always loved her father but right now she doesn’t feel she belongs to anyone, certainly not to Sandra or the boys. She is in a wilderness of her own. But will facing her mother make things better or worse?

The two halves of this book are intertwined throughout the narrative, and bound with tension. This makes for a story based  strongly on the characters of the three siblings. Each has to endure pressures and make vital decisions. The boys are tested physically as well as emotionally, whilst in many ways Grainne is fighting for her very identity.

Doyle honours his young characters and has made a fabulous story which can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

by Mrs Thomson

If you are interested in some other cool, cold or icy books, take a look at our list here.

Photo credit: husky dog in lapland 01 Originally uploaded by ezioman

Ten Mile River is a novel written by Paul Griffin, who portrays America in a different light to what we see in movies and television shows.

‘Homeless Group with Dog’ by Franco Folini

Homeless people are a prevalent fact in America, but Jose and Raymond are different. They choose to be homeless because they can. They go through what no teenage boy should go through, killing dogs, stealing, moving bodies, falling in frozen rivers and getting arrested.

“Yo Ray! Let’s get us that Lincoln then I can get my bike!” is some of the unusual American colloquialism used by Raymond and Jose, in their strange yet amusing lives.

Ten Mile River is an interesting book that breaks some of the teen-writing barriers, such as dead bodies and murder. Griffin portrays Jose as tough and strong, the leader and strength of the two. He portrays Raymond as intelligent, lost in a world that isn’t his, wanting the freedom to do whatever he wants to be intelligent.

Reading the blurb makes you think of a classic river story of young boys, Huckleberry Finn. Although there is only that one similarity between the two, I believe that it was written as a comparitive study for Huckleberry Finn, as the original publishing of 1884 is too long ago for a sequel to be written.

This book is good at most points, but it just gets under your skin in others so that you don’t want to read it anymore, yet sometimes you get sad when you must put it down to go do another menial task. Overall, this is an interesting novel to read because it stirs your emotions, gives an insight into American Life and shows how misguided troubled youths can be.

I Strongly recommend this book to avid readers, but if you struggle with reading a whole book, The American slang and troubling events will make it hard for you to not finish it.

Rated: 8.5/10

I bought this game from GameTraders at Castle Towers. The Price was excellent, $69.95 when EB Games cost $79.95.

Quite an average game, a nice big place to venture through and explore, but it seriously lacks story content. This Harry Potter game brings back the flying minigame and introduces the first ever potions mini-game.

Potions is probably the most worthwile part of the game, as flying is quite boring, flying continuously in a path through rings, with no variation. The story is terrible, made up of mostly cinematics, with all major plot points being unplayable.

Another big part of the Harry Potter franchise which has returned is duelling. You get to use many of the spells you read about in the books or have seen in the movies…IT IS FUN! You have the opportunity to become champion dueller of Hogwarts, and it truly is the funnest part of the game. Some parts are quite pathetic though, such as killing an opponent with a stunning spell or being continually bombarded by a glitch so that you are killed.

Quite a reasonable game, but with more content, I would feel better about how I spent my Money. Something that I can’t get over is the untapped potential. They made a large area to play in, but an ill-defined storyboard destroyed the game’s greatness. Everything was in a smaller area than it should have been, meaning a player only had to go into the far-off corners of the map to get Xbox 360 Achievements.

The story was short; I finished the game in less than a day, which is quite sad when you have played all it’s predecessors. I would not recommend this game, unless you were borrowing it from a friend.

The 2009 Inky Awards, have created a creative reading competition. You can be any age to enter this competition and there will be prizes for all ages, although only those who are under the age of twenty can win the major prize.

The task is to submit a creative response to a book that you love. This can be in may different formats, including a short story, poem or video. It doesn’t have to be about one of the Inky list books.

The winner of the competition gets to chose between a digital still camera, a digital video camera and an iPod Touch. There are also a number or runner ups prizes, including T-shirts and books. You may enter as many times as you like, although entries close on the 20th of November. For more information and how to enter visit insideadog.

Some 2008 entries in the Inkys Creative Reading Prize

It can be in ANY FORMAT YOU CHOOSE , so surprise the judges, but here are some ideas from the website to get you started:

• write a short story using the characters/setting (feel free to add zombies)
• make a video trailer
• or a machinima trailer
• write a poem
• or a song
• illustrate your favourite scene/character
• make a quilt
• or a cupcake

Posted by Adam

The Inkys are international awards celebrating teenage literature across the world. Staff of the Centre for Youth Literature read hundreds of books submitted from around the world and reduce them into a long list of 20. Then the six judges (composed of authors and teens) read and confer to create a short list of the main contenders – 3 in each category.

The categories include the Golden Inky- an award for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky- an award for an international book. There is also a creative reading prize for submissions from teens themselves (more about that in another post). The whole project is set up by the Centre for Youth Literature and the Victorian State library to promote reading as an active, fun and essential activity for all. The Inkys promote Australian authors and their works as well as the very best works for teenagers from overseas.

Once the short list is decided then teens can vote for the best in each category. You must be aged between 12 and 18 to vote and can only vote twice – once in each category. Voting is by SMS or from the insideadog website.

And just which books made it to the longlist? Below is a quick view of the 10 Australian contenders for the Golden Inky. The full list of 20 is featured on our blog focus page: The 2009 Inkys Longlist

Have you read any of these books? We would love to hear what you think. (Go to comments below to add yours.)

posted by Curtis and Mrs Thomson

Images from the inky website

Recently the teachers have gotten together and recommended their all-time favourite books. Mrs Falconer has gathered these recommendations and created a slick and cool page with tiltviewer with a list of all the books that the staff of The King’s School enjoy. On this page you can have a look at all the books that your teachers find interesting. This page can be found on our intranet at Staff Picks.

Mr. Chadwick recommended one of my favourites, Eragon, and Mrs. Binet recommended Harry Potter (as if you haven’t finished it yet!) And I am sure you would be quite interested in what your teachers read or prefer to read and what teachers have the same taste as you. You can see the complete list on the TKS Teachers’ Reading Picks page.

Highlights from the list: The most recommended book is To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, with five listings. Books with three listings include The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The oldest book recommended is The Aeneid by Virgil (c. 30BC), described by Dr Bril as “..a haunting poem of regret for what might have been and of longing to get to the other side.” Miss Benz introduces us to the intriguing Syrian-born German writer, Rafik Schami. Mr Kitzinger broadens the language pool with a Spanish and a French selection. Mr Rainey gives us a hint of his own ’Renaissance man’ education with a long and eclectic list of literary treats.

Regarding The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, Mr Moulds says:

It is a very popular and very simple tale about a young man following his dream. The only way I can think to recommend it or suggest why I like it so much is by quoting the poet Rumi: ‘Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.’

How to operate Tiltviewer:

After you enter Staff Picks, 12 book covers will pop up. You can browse books by clicking the white arrow in the bottom right hand corner. After you find a book you found interesting and you are willing to learn more about it, just click on the cover (which would enlarge) and then click the flick symbol on the bottom right corner of the cover.

By Johnson S

o_X

~ Writer in Residence

Scot Gardner is a magnificent and wonderful author with inspirational thoughts and idea’s who taught hundreds of year 9 students to unlock their true potential in creativity as together they explored many different writing styles.

Scot Gardner was the first writer in residence at The King’s School. He was a hot topic for many of the students, as they were keen to get an idea of how this magnificent author came to be. Throughout his visit at the school he held many writing workshops and spoke at a formal dinner. During his workshops and classes, Scot Gardner taught many students about exploring different ideas, and writing from different angles. He taught us that any two words, which would never make any sense together, could lead to a whole new “other” idea.

 
Through his teachings the Year 9 students discovered that they were able to create a story from just about any event in their childhood. He was able to turn a simple answer to a simple question, such as “If you were a super hero, what would your power be?”, and pull it apart into more depth, to create a story. He taught them to explore deeper into situations and ask questions. For example, “Why would that particular person have chosen that super power? What would they do with it?” Adam

Scot Gardner’s ability to entertain students was put to the test when he was given over 150 students to entertain during a hot 6th period afternoon. He began explaining about his books and how he started his writing career, however he soon had us laughing and interested as he hit us with a story. It was similar to Jack and the Beanstalk. Actually it was the exact same story as Jack and the Beanstalk with a few “teen” modifications. With a slow start to the last period, by the end of his story we had been completely wrapped and entertained by his humour.

I was extremely lucky to have been chosen to attend dinner with Scot. Despite the formal proceedings, the dinner and speeches were very enjoyable. Scott ended the night by telling us another story. This story was about how a small grass seed got stuck behind his left eye for a whole month, with puss and infections; doctors or medical professionals weren’t able to pull it out. But when he was wrestling with his daughter, as she jumped on his body, his whole back shivered, his gut was yelling, and suddenly out came the grass seed.

The session was priceless. It was entertaining and I learned a lot from him. Johnson

by Frickson

 Do you have something to add about our visit from Scot Gardner? Please add your comments below. If you would like to review one of Scot’s books please use the contribute page at the top left.

by John Green

It is almost the end of the last year of high school. Quentin Jacobsen (known as Q) continues to admire his neighbour and classmate, Margo Roth Spiegelman, his best friend from when they were little. But Margo has been beyond him for years. He is a nerd and she is A-list. Then one night she turns up dressed in black ninja gear and convinces him to accompany her on a night of revenge. Okay, nobody dies, but plenty of Margo’s ‘friends’ will be rather pissed-off by morning. Quentin is happy to be Margo’s friend again. Then she disappears.

This novel aimed at older teens is a funny and tender story of friendship and (believe it or not) poetry. For Margo really has gone missing, leaving clues for Quentin and his friends to follow. A major clue is a copy of Walt Whitman’s long poem, Leaves of Grass. Margo has highlighted certain lines, but what do they mean? There is also her record collection. How did none of them know that she was such a fan of Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg? How do we really know anything about another person?

Paper towns on old maps, abandoned buildings, clues left on archane ‘Omnipedia’ entries, lead to Q. & co missing graduation to try to save a friend. How much do we miss in those around us, and how much of what we think we know is really true?

In Paper Towns John Green takes us on a merry ride across several American states, has us considering the wisdom of lines of poetry we wouldn’t have thought twice about yesterday, and introduces us to some odd, endearing and also some annoying young characters.

And what does John Green have to say about his book?

 Review by Mrs Thomson