13 Hours

13 Hours by Narinder Dhami

Book of the Week: 11 October 2015

13 Hours

Anni has not long started secondary school but has to rush home every day to the crumbling old house she shares with her mum Jamila, because her mother is an invalid who gets anxious if she is a minute late. Anni’s dad died when she was young, leaving the two of them struggling to pay the bills and cope with her mother’s disability and agoraphobia. One evening after school, she finds Jamila in a worried state because her persistent fear of intruders makes her think someone has broken in to their house; only this time it’s real. Four people in balaclavas take Anni and Jamila hostage and Anni thinks it is something to do with a visit to their town the next day from the Prime Minister. What are they planning and how can she find out and stop them?

This is not only a tense page-turner but an insight into the life of a young carer who is clever and resourceful but who doesn’t realise just how tough her life is.

One of Narinder Dhami’s other books: Bang, Bang, You’re Dead!, has been borrowed many times from the School Library, perhaps this one will follow suit.

The Boundless

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The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

Book of the Week: 4 October 2015
BIBLIO_-_Boundless_front_cover

“Will Everett has always wished for an adventure.

Little does he know his started the moment he boarded The Boundless. The longest, most glamorous locomotive in the world, it stretches more than eleven kilometres long and pulls an astounding 987 cars: passenger cars, shooting galleries, gardens, an onboard swimming pool, cinema and much more. But its maiden voyage won’t be a smooth ride for Will. After witnessing a murder during a station stop, he barely makes it back onto the train (with a running leap!), then must work his way from the caboose forward to his father in first class – with the murderer and his cronies on his tail. Luckily, a clever and nimble friend is perfecting her act in The Boundless’s circus car, and there the real thrill ride begins. Sasquatches, bog-dwelling hags and illusions abound in this outsized adventure aboard the Titanic of trains!”

Source: Author’s website here