Lament

Lament (PB $20) is the story of Dee, a talented but nervous harpist and part-time ice cream scooper. She also happens to be a cloverhand – a human who can see faeries. In between bouts of stage fright and despite her mother’s strict rules, Dee is blown away when she meets the irresistible Luke. What with the continuous stream of four leaf clovers and mysterious iron jewellery that follow him, it doesn’t take Dee long to figure out there is something otherworldly, something sinister afoot. Luke is forbidden to tell Dee anything about himself but as Dee discovers her incredible gifts, the pair realise he doesn’t have to. Unbelievable though it is, Dee can simply read Luke’s mind. But perhaps delving into a past, a world, like Luke’s is not such a good idea…

This new series, Books of Faerie, from Maggie Stiefvater is sure to keep fans of her best-selling The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy [Shiver (PB $20), Linger (HB $30), with Forever to come] more than happy!

Great entertaining summer reading. Recommended for girls 13+

First we Shiver, then we Linger

Grace loves the winter. It is during winter that her wolf lives, barely hidden, in the forest just outside her house. Most people would be wary of a wolf so close to home but Grace finds his golden eyes, watching her, reassuring.

When Sam and his golden eyes turn up on her doorstep, hurt, Grace is not as surprised as she should be that he is a werewolf.

Shiver (PB $20) is a haunting love story about the love between Sam, a werewolf, and Grace, a human. Written alternately from both characters point of view, the story follows their struggle to win against the winter and keep Sam in his human form.

Just out is the sequel, Linger (HB $30), and with Shiver one of our top ten teen picks, we expected big things. Thankfully, Linger does not disappoint.

Sam is finally getting everything he ever wanted. He has Grace, and though he finds it hard to get his head around it, it might even be forever. But then their story changes, again – Linger is the story of a boy trying not to be a wolf and a girl who needs to be one.

Maggie Stiefvater’s fantastic The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy is recommended for 13+. The final installment, Forever, is forthcoming.

Ten Books Teens Need – Girls

The Fairfield Books staff have been gathering our favourite children’s books, divided into categories according to age with 10 books in each. So far we have blogged about our top 10 books for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, first readers, juniors and tweens. We have finally arrived at the category we found most difficult – teens. With so much great literature out there for the 15+ age groups, reducing the choices down to just 10 sparked heated debates and in the end was just too hard! So we have 20 best books for teens, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Don’t be limited to one category however, while the books in each might be slightly more boy or girl orientated, all are fantastic reads.

So here are the first 10, our top picks for teenage girls – enjoy!

The Year the Gypsies Came by Linzi Glass

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Emma by Jane Austen

So Much to Tell You by John Marsden

Peeling the Onion by Wendy Orr

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

When You Wake and Find Me Gone by Maureen McCarthy

Touch Me by James Moloney

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver

Grace loves the winter. It is during winter that her wolf lives, barely hidden, in the forest just outside her house. Most people would be wary of a wolf so close to home but Grace finds his golden eyes, watching her, reassuring. When Sam and his golden eyes turn up on her doorstep, hurt, Grace is not as surprised as she should be that he is a werewolf.

Shiver (HB $30) is a haunting story about the love between Sam, a werewolf, and Grace, a human. Written alternately from both characters point of view, the story follows their struggle to win against the winter and keep Sam in his human form. It is the cold that makes Sam transform into a wolf, a form that makes being Grace’s boyfriend difficult. Retaining only his beautiful golden eyes, as a wolf, he can communicate only in images, and only with other wolves. While Sam always comes back to her, Grace knows werewolves only have a limited amount of changes in them – Sam’s time as a human is running out.

Recommended for boys and girls 15+

Jess