Little Paradise - Gabrielle Wang

Simply put, I loved this book.  Being a history student with an interest in WW2 probably helped but seeing WW2 through the eyes of a Chinese-Australian woman in Melbourne was something i'd never seen.  I have to admit this made me realise how little I knew about China during and after the war apart from the Japanese invasion so this book was eye-opening. 

Little Paradise is about Mirabel, a Chinese-Australian girl who begins the story as a student and grows to become a woman who will risk her life searching for her lover in war ravaged China.  It's a fabulous story and Mirabel, her family, friends and lover JJ are three dimensional characters who have flaws and strengths and their interactions make for compelling reading. All of this made for a book that was nearly impossible to put down.

Considering the main focus of my reading is to find new and differing perspectives this was a great novel that I will be making sure to include in teaching and future classrooms that i'm a part of.

About A Girl - Joanne Horniman

I chose this as my first book to read in the Australian Women Writers Challenge.  Mostly because I know i'll be doing a high school placement again this year so i'm looking for YA novels that have different perspectives that I can take into schools. 


About A Girl is the story of Anna, the girl who thinks she's unlovable and Flynn the girl she meets and falls for.  It's a nice "coming out" story and a good quick read for the more adult members of the YA readership.  I can see why it was commended by the Children's Book Council Awards because it is a well written and strong story.  It's not a particularly happy story but the characters are well drawn and developed and the plot feels real. 

In terms of new voices for teens I think this is the first Australian lesbian YA novel I have read and I enjoyed it a lot.  Next up will be Alexis Wright's Carpentaria (for a major shift) and Gabrielle Wang's Little Paradise.