Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Title: Guardian of the Dead



Author: Karen Healey



Published: NSW : Allen and Unwin, 2010



Pages: 347



Snippet: "The empty eyes stared straight back into mine."



Summary: Can Ellie discover a power she never knew she possessed? At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her essay deadline. Until everything changes... In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting. (Taken from Christchurch City Libraries Website)



Review: I'm not sure where to begin this review.  I liked some of the things in the book but not all.



Starting with the story itself, I really enjoyed that part.  I love fantasy books and this one was a pretty good fantasy.  It also involved a lot of mythology from Maori and Greek cultures, which I thought was quite good. This is the second book I have read which mentioned Maori mythology and it put a really interesting spin on it.



The characters were quite well-written characters.  I liked Mark, I have no idea why, he just seemed like a really likable character same as Ellie and Kevin.  I did not like Reka which was fine.  I like reading books where not all of the characters are completely lovable.



The setting was New Zealand.  Christchurch, New Zealand to be exact and well I felt it was maybe a little too close to home.  So much of the book was set in places where I spend the majority of my days and well, I felt it took away from the story a little bit.  Mostly because I had trouble imagining the events unfolding there.



I must say that Karen Healey did a brilliant job of describing most of the settings in the books because they do look like they did in the book.



The second problem I had with this book was that it was over-saturated with New Zealand. Well, it was in my mind anyway.  I just felt like a large part of the book was trying to push New Zealand and the culture of New Zealand on to people.  Some of it was there to tell the story which is fine.  But the rest of it just seemed like filler.  To be honest at times I felt like I was reading a tourists guide to New Zealand rather than a young adult fantasy novel.



I thought the book as a whole was pretty enjoyable.  I look forward to more from Karen Healey in the future.



Source: Library









Kiwi Spotlight







This kiwi indicates that this book is by a New Zealand author. It is also set in New Zealand.
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Brainjack by Brian Falkner

Title: Brainjack
Author: Brian Falkner
Published: Newton, Walker Books Australia, 2009
Pages: 438
Snippet: "In an instant the playful dolphins disappeared, replaced by a swarm of writhing, circling sharks."
Summary: Sam, a teenage computer genius, takes up an invitation to join a secret online convention for the best hackers in the world. The location for the convention? The White House. But Sam finds out that it is really a challenge to find expert hackers to protect the country. Sam is thrown into a world of international high-risk security and double crossing traitors where he must protect the world from a metasystem, connected to every computer terminal satellite and secuitry camera, that seeks to erase the human race.
Review: I found Brainjack to be a really interesting read. The beginning of the book had me hooked and I wanted to read it a lot because I really liked it and was really interested in what happened.
I love mysteries and I really wanted to know who was the cyber terrorists etc. Once I found out though I kind of struggled through the rest of the book. It was about three-quarters of the way through but I just found the ending to be quite slow going.
Brainjack was set in the future but we're not given a year at any point so I have no idea when it is but this is in a way a good thing because it means the year will never arrive.
I loved the little hints about futuristic things like USB3 and virtual reality headsets.
Brian Falkner did a brilliant job in describing what it's like using a headset and I loved reading ever part of it.
I liked Sam too. He's the kind of guy that I'd like to be friends with. He's cool but not cool to too many people. I liked knowing only a little bit about him. It made him seem a bit more mysterious.
Overall, Brainjack is a really cool book and if you ever get the chance to read it, go for it.
Source: Library
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The Screaming Tree by Tom Bradley

Title: The Screaming Tree
Author: Tom Bradley
Published: Auckland : HarperCollins, 1994
Pages: 116
Snippet: "I swear to you Karla, that blade went right into his back."
Summary: Brent Nichol, 16, often hears screaming in his head. When he goes to stay with his secretive grandfather and finds an old trunk in a lake, he discovers the terrifying source of the screaming.
Review: What started out as a really interesting read slowly petered out into a very fast-moving but boring story. From the cover and the summary I thought this would be a really creepy story that would have me on the edge of my seat but no.
I struggled to finish it to be honest because the ending was so rushed I felt like I missed a whole chunk. I think the story should've been longer and offered more of an explanation.
Unfortunately I can't think of much to say about this book thats positive. I was just slightly disappointed with The Screaming Tree.
All I can say is, it's a shame because the book did have a lot of potential.
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