Author Archives: kyliecalwell

Ghostheart

July 25, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Black Dog Books Ananda Braxton-Smith Secrets of Carrick bk 3 ISBN: 9781742032184 RRP: $1895 Age : 12+ Key Words: Fantasy, Family, Fear, Loss Published: 1st May 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Mally is different from the rest of her family. Her brothers and sisters are brave, fearless, they will do what ever they want, when ever they want. Nothing holds them back. Mally is just the opposite, she has so many fears, so many secrets. She can’t go near the water and […]

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult • Tags: Ananda Braxton-Smith, family, fear, friendship, loss, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, Secrets of Carrick

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11

July 25, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Scholastic Australia James Phelan The Last 13 bk 3 ISBN: 9781742831862 RRP: $14.99 Age: 10+ Key Words: Action, Adventure, Dreams, Thriller Published: 1st February 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Sam reconnects with Xavier Dark and the two of them take the next part of the journey together to Berlin. Things are moving fast and having access to a private jet certainly helps when you have to journey all over the world. Through his dad Xavier has some good connections to information that […]

Categories: Middle Grade, Young Adult • Tags: Action. Adventure, James Phelan, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, The Last 13, Thriller

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10

July 25, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Scholastic Australia James Phelan The Last 13 bk 4 ISBN: 9781742831879 RRP: $14.99 Age: 10+ Key Words: Action, Adventure, Thriller Published: 1st March 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Sam and Xavier are in dire straights. Sam is convinced this is the end – his at the hands of Solaris. Then rescue comes in a very unexpected way. He was sure Alex was dead but now it looks as though he is working with The Enterprise and Sam doesn’t know what to make […]

Categories: Middle Grade, Young Adult • Tags: action, Adventure, Dreams, James Phelan, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, The Last 13, Thriller

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Machine Wars

May 27, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Michael Pryor Random House ISBN: 9780857982766 RRP: 10+ Age: $17.99 Key Words: Artificial Intelligence, Computers, Science Fiction Published: 1st April 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Bram was late home from music practice, these things happen but this time something is very wrong when he gets home. This is a moment he has been training for. For some reason a paranoid, super intelligence is out to get him. His mum always said she hoped this would never happen but she made sure he […]

Categories: Middle Grade • Tags: Artificial Intelligence., Computers, Michael Pryor, Recommended, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, science fiction

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Rock Mutant

May 27, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Mac Park Scholastic Boy vs beast bk 9 ISBN: 9781921931680 RRP: $7.99 Age: 5+ Key Words: Fantasy, Action Published: 1st March 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Kai Maters is a Border Guard, it is his goal to become a Border Captain then a Border Master. The rules seem to have changed in Beastium, the beasts have changed. It is no longer a simple case of one weapon to defeat the elemental creatures. The beasts have mutated. Kai’s first of these new challenges […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: action, Adventure, Boy vs Beast, fantasy, Games, Mac Park, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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Cave of Wonders

May 27, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Matthew J Kirby Scholastic Infinity Ring bk 5 ISBN: 9780545387002 RRP: $14.99 Age: 8+ Key Words: History, Adventure Published: 1st Nov 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Bagdad has become a centre of learning in the Dark Ages. As well as merchants and explorers from all over the city houses many scholars. It is here that Sera, Dak and Riq find themselves for their next fix. They determine that they have to find a way to save the great library that is there […]

Categories: Middle Grade • Tags: action, Adventure, history, Infinity Ring, Matthew J Kirby, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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Melody & Jackson’s Christmas Spell

May 4, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Vivian French Walker Books Stargirl Academy bk 7 ISBN: 9781406349382 RRP: $11.95 Age: 7+ Key Words: Magic, Friendship, Christmas Published: 1st Dec 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Melody and Jackson are still hoping to get their final star and graduate from Stargirl Academy, but with the other girls already having got their stars the best friends are wondering if they will get their chance. They are so glad when they get their chance and they know just what they want to do. […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: friendship, magic, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, School Stories, Stargirl Academy, Vivian French

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Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe

May 4, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Anna Feinberg Stephen Michael King Allen and Unwin Part of the Figaro and Rumba series ISBN: 9781743314883 RRP: $14.99 Age: 7+ Key Words: Friendship, Crime Published: 1st Jan 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Figaro and Rumba are strange best friends, Figaro is a dog who likes to run and Rumba is a cat for whom song and dance are part of his life. Figaro wants to catch the fast train to the beach but when a friend of theirs goes missing, plans […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: Anna Feinberg, crime, Figaro and Rumba, Friends, Fun, Highly Recommended, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, Stephen Michael King

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Meet The Piratesons

May 4, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Knife and Packer Scholastic Freak Street Series ISBN: 9781742836706 RRP: $10.99 Age: 7+ Key Words: Fun, Pirates, Adventure Published: 1st Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell When you live on Freak Street the Pirateson’s are pretty much an average family. Sure their house is a boat, and they have a pet piranha. Patty Pirateson is more interested in skateboarding than doing pirate things and their dad is certain he will be the one to find a long-lost treasure map leading to the […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: Adventure, Colourful, humour, Knife & Packer, pirates, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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Timmy Failure Now Look What You’ve Done

April 15, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Stephen Pastis Candlewick Press Timmy Failure bk 2 ISBN: 9781406356342 RRP: $17.95 Age: 7+ Key Words: Humour, School Stories, Detective Stories Published: 25th Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Timmy Failure believes himself to be the greatest detective ever and he is going to solve the biggest problem of the missing globe. There are many things he has to contend with along the way : a very lazy partner, a best friend with an abnormal interest in learning an arch nemesis who […]

Categories: Junior Novel, Middle Grade • Tags: Detective Stories, humour, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, School Stories, Stephan Pastis, Timmy Failure

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Curse of the Ancients

April 15, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Matt De la Pena Scholastic Infinity Ring bk 4 ISBN: 9780545386999 RRP: $14.99 Age: 8+ Key Words: History, Action, Adventure Published: 1st June 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Sera, Dak and Riq find themselves back with the ancient Maya people. The Maya’s are a people who seem to know a great deal about the future but that doesn’t prevent them from being involved in one of the breaks that the kids have to fix. The only problem is they aren’t sure exactly […]

Categories: Middle Grade • Tags: action, Adventure, history, Infinity Ring, Matt de la Pena, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, science fiction

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Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover

March 25, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Ally Carter Hyperion Books Gallagher Girls bk 3 ISBN: 9781423116608 RRP: $17.99 Age: 12+ Key Words: Espionage, School Stories Published: 11th May 2010 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Cammie Morgan’s holiday has just gotten fun, or so she thinks when she gets to join her friend Macey McHenry on her dad’s campaign trail. Fun takes on another meaning when she has to draw on all her skills to prevent her friend from being kidnapped off the roof of a building. Of course Cammie […]

Categories: Young Adult • Tags: action, Ally Carter, Espionage, friendship, Gallagher Girls, Highly Recommended, Politics, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, romance, School Stories

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Cross My Heart & Hope to Spy

March 25, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Ally Carter Hyperion Books Gallagher Girls bk 2 ISBN: 9781423100065 RRP: $17.99 Age: 12+ Key Words: Espionage, Romance Published: 1st Dec 2008 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell The Josh disaster of last semester has left Cammie just wanting to have a quiet semester, after all using her spy skills to get her first boyfriend then being forced to give him up was quite enough. She even promises her mother to stay out of trouble. That is way easier said than done when […]

Categories: Young Adult • Tags: Ally Carter, Espionage, friendship, Gallagher Girls, Recommended, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, School Stories

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I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You

March 18, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Ally Carter Hyperion Press Gallagher Girls bk 1 ISBN: 9781423100041 RRP: $19.99 Age: 12+ Key Words: Spy Story, Romance Published: 1st Apr 2007 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Cammie Morgan attends the exclusive Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a school that is not exactly what it appears to be. To the outside it looks like a snobby school for rich brats but behind the walls are classes on chemical warfare, covert operations, code cracking and advanced martial arts. Gallagher Academy is a […]

Categories: Young Adult • Tags: Ally Carter, Recommended, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, romance, School Stories, Spy Stories

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Annabelle & the Missing Turtles

March 18, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Rose Inserra Wombat Books Australian Girl Series ISBN: 9781921632389 RRP: $12.95 Age: 8+ Key Words: Environment, History, Friendship Published: 1st Nov 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Annabelle is very interested in turtles, in fact she is really determined to find the hatchlings that have gone missing. It’s a real mystery that no one seems to be able to figure out, not even the people at Marine World know where they went. Annabelle enlists the help of her friends Matilda, Emily, Amy and […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: animals, Environment, friendship, history, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, Rose Inserra

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Lilli-Pilli’s Sister

March 16, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Anna Branford & Linda Catchlove 9781921977589 ISBN: 9781921977589 RRP: $24.95 Age: 2+ Key Words: Family, Siblings, Pregnancy, Fairies Published: 1st Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Lilli-Pilli’s mother is going to have a baby. Lilli-Pilli is very excited about having a baby sister, she knows it is going to be a sister because she can feel it in her wings. Lilli-Pilli is helping her dad make the baby’s crib and he sends her out to collect some soft things to put in […]

Categories: Children's Books, Picture Books • Tags: Anna Branford, Fairies, family, Highly Recommended, Linda Catchlove, Pregnancy, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, Siblings

Shhh! We Have A Plan

March 16, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Chris Houghton Walker Books ISBN: 9781406342321 RRP: $24.95 Age: 3+ Key Words: Animal Stories Published: 1st March 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell There in the woods is a pretty bird, now Shh! because they have a plan to catch this bird. Unfortunately things don’t go quite according to plan. The three big companions think they know best, but sometimes it’s the little people that have the good ideas. This is a very simple little story accompanied by very stylised illustrations. The text […]

Categories: Picture Books • Tags: Animal Stories, Chris Haughton, family, Picture Books, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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Mystic

March 16, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Alyson Noel Pan Macmillan The Soul Seekers bk 3 ISBN: 9781447206835 RRP: $16.99 Age: 12+ Key Words: Mythology, Romance Published: 4th July 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Daire Santos tried to kill Cade Richter but things didn’t go according to plan and she finds herself separated from everyone she loves, she is in the Upperworld seemingly trapped. She comes up with a plan because there is no way she is going to be kept away from Dace and the others she cares […]

Categories: Mythology, Romance, Young Adult • Tags: Alyson Noel, Mythology, Native American Indian, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, romance, Soul Seekers

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Skateboard Stars

March 16, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Felicity Carter & Louis Shea Scholastic Double Trouble bk 2 ISBN: 9781742838571 RRP: $7.99 Age: 6+ Key Words: Skateboarding, Twins, Humour Published: 1st Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Tommy and Coop love skateboarding almost as much as they love pranking people. One day, Jed Michael’s, one of their skateboarding heroes announcing a competition where the winner gets to go on his show. The twins are so excited, they just have to enter. Then they realise only one might get chosen, so […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: Double Trouble, Felicity Carter, humour, Louis Shea, pranks, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, Skateboarding, Twins

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Prank Alert

March 9, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Fiona Regan & Louis Shea Scholastic Double Trouble bk 1 ISBN: 9781742838564 RRP: $3.99 Key Words: Pranks, Twins, Family, School Age: 6+ Published: 1st Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Tommy and Coop are twins who’s favourite thing to do is to pull pranks on people. They love pranking their parents, though it may sometimes have consequences they don’t like. They also love to prank at school, and this time they end up having to stay back afterwards to help clean up, […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: family, Fiona Regan, Louis Shea, pranks, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, School Stories

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Stink and the World’s Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers

February 28, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Megan McDonald & Peter H Reynolds Candlewick Press Stink bk 3 ISBN: 9780763664244 RRP: $9.99 Age: 6+ Key Words: Humour, Smelly Published: 12th Feb 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Stink is super excited to be going on the school excursion because they are going to the Everybody Stinks exhibit at the Science Museum. Whilst there Stink discovers he has an amazing gift, he has a really good nose, he can tell the difference between all sorts of super smelly things. Stink decides […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: family, Friends, Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds, Smelly Stuff

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Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker

February 28, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Megan McDonald & Peter H Reynolds Candlewick Press Stink bk 2 ISBN: 9780763664206 RRP: $9.99 Age: 6+ Key Words: Humour, Family, Friends Published: 12th Feb 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Stink uses his money to get himself a jawbreaker, but he soon finds himself disappointed as it doesn’t break his jaw. Stink decides his best course of action is to write a letter of complaint to the company that makes the jawbreakers. This turns out better than he hoped because he gets […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: family, Friends, humour, Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid

February 28, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Megan McDonald & Peter H Reynolds Candlewick Press Stink bk 1 ISBN: 9780763664268 RRP: $9.99 Age 6+ Key Words: School Stories, Humour Published : 12th Feb 2013 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Stink gets measured every morning, Stink is desperate to grow but the result is always the same. Until the one day it is different, the only problem is the difference is in the wrong direction, is it possible that Stink is shrinking? Stink gets to take the class newt home one […]

Categories: Junior Novel • Tags: family, humour, Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell, School Stories

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Ash Rover – Keeper of the Phoenix

February 21, 2014 by kyliecalwell

Aleesah Darlison Walker Books Ash Rover series bk 1 ISBN: 9781922179029 RRP: $14.95 Age: 8+ Key Words: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Published: 1st Feb 2014 Reviewer: Kylie Calwell Ash Rover doesn’t want to be just looking after the cows, which goes someway to explaining how he was asleep on his post. He is rudely awakened by a rock dropping on his head, though it is no ordinary rock, this rock generates warmth. He takes it home but his mother is not impressed […]

Categories: Middle Grade • Tags: action, Adventure, Aleesah Darlison, Ash Rover, fantasy, Mystical Creatures, Reviewer - Kylie Calwell

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← Older posts

Bug in a Book

Celebrating Literacy for Everyone

Author Archives: kyliecalwell

Ghostheart

11

10

Machine Wars

Rock Mutant

Cave of Wonders

Melody & Jackson’s Christmas Spell

Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe

Meet The Piratesons

Timmy Failure Now Look What You’ve Done

Curse of the Ancients

Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover

Cross My Heart & Hope to Spy

I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You

Annabelle & the Missing Turtles

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister

Shhh! We Have A Plan

Mystic

Skateboard Stars

Prank Alert

Stink and the World’s Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers

Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker

Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid

Ash Rover – Keeper of the Phoenix