BookieMonster

Book Review: The Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik

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Feb 222012
 

The Half Life of Ryan Davis coverThe Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik, Pear Jam Books, ISBN 9781927182406, RRP $19.99 paperback, $8.49 ebook, Available now.

You know how sometimes you get these ideas in your head for stories? Like “imagine writing a book about a unicorn… from the point of view of the unicorn!”¹ What I’m saying is, a great premise can make a book.

And in The Half Life of Ryan Davis, Melinda Szymanik has a great premise. What if you were the sibling of a missing child? Ryan Davis is 15 – the same age his older sister Mallory (shout out, 80s kids) was when she went missing. And she’s still missing, now presumed dead, only she looms over Ryan and his younger sister Gemma, particularly because their Mum now thinks of Mallory as the “perfect child”.

Part mystery, part family drama, part coming of age tale, The Half Life of Ryan Davis is unpredictable and a good read, and will have definite appeal to teen readers. I stayed engaged throughout and liked the genuine voices of the characters. It was a great, quick read with short chapters and action that persistently pushed the story forward.

In short, I will be lending this to one of the Teen Monsters to read. And you can’t get a better recommendation than that.

¹©BookieMonster.

Kia Kaha Christchurch. One year on.

Feb 222012
 

A year ago today Christchurch experienced a devastating 6.3 earthquake. I won’t overstate things but simply know that we send our best wishes to all our friends and readers in Christchurch.

And for a personal reflection on the year (well, longer really) that has been for Christchurch, we highly recommend reading Emma Hart’s post at Public Address:

One, Redux • Up Front • Public Address.

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Book Review: More Six Feet Down Under by Chris Mann

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Feb 112012
 

More Six Feet Down Under coverMore Six Feet Down Under by Chris Mann, ISBN 978047316325, RRP$24.95, Available now.

Ah, self publishing. I could write a whole post on the phenomenon… but it’s taken me a while to just get this post done, so one step at a time.

There’s self-publishing and then there’s self-publishing. Chris Mann has now managed to produce two books in the former category. Er, that’s the good one.

More Six Feet Down Under is a simple follow up to Six Feet Down Under (a book which I really enjoyed) and Mann uses the same formula to produce another interesting read. He writes reasonably well, he tells a good yarn and he knows a lot about an industry we all come in contact with in one way or another – that of death.

Yes, Mann was a funeral director for many years and More Six Feet Down Under answers many of the questions people have about funerals and death but, yes, were afraid to ask. Such as do you have to have a funeral? (No.) How do you move a body in rigor mortis? (Move their limbs around until they soften.) What temperature is needed for cremation? (Preheat to 650 degrees.) Can we bury Dad in the backyard? (No.) Do bodies fart? (Not really but you’ll never use the word “purge” the same way again.)

The great thing about More Six Feet Down Under is that Chris Mann approaches his subject forthrightly and pragmatically but also gently and with humour. Much like you imagine the best funeral directors would. As with Six Feet Down Under you might never want to let your loved ones in a car again and some of stories particularly regarding children will be pretty upsetting to most people.

But the truth is, despite our best efforts, death remains one of life’s certainties. I would definitely recommend More Six Feet Down Under and why not buy both titles? Mr Mann sells them both on TradeMe for a very respectable $24.95 (including postage) , or they’re also both available on Publish Me or The Copy Press website. There, you’ve got no excuse now.

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