Book Review: Albert of Adelaide

Graphic credit: Goodreads.com

"Is this the place?"

The wombat looked at the pieces of desert being blown around them and took the pipe out of his mouth. "I hope not."

"What I meant was, is this the place where things haven't changed and Australia is liked it used to be?"

The wombat thought for a long time before he answered. "If you mean somewhere animals run around without any clothes on while being chased by people with spears and boomerangs, the answer is no. It's not bloody likely that you'd find old Jack in a place like that.

Part Redwall, part Lord of the Rings, part Hunter S. Thompson: this is not your typical talking animal story. You can read my full review of this book over at the blog for Florissant Valley Community College's student newspaper, the Forum.

You can order your own copy of Albert of Adelaide online from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. There is also an e-book edition available.

The Best Reads Of Fall 2012

Most people reserve their spookiest, creepiest horror reads for fall and specfiically October - 'tis the season to be scary, after all. Not this blog. In fact, this blog promptly forgot it was the season for Halloween and ghosts as this autumn was fairly mild reading wise.

Below are some of the top picks that were being flipped through last month. All links lead to Goodreads.

1. Two Or Three Things I Forgot To Tell You by Joyce Carol Oates. Once again, Joyce Carol Oates dips into the young adult genre - and once again, she delivers. It covers the reaction of two girls when their best friend, Tink, dies - in fact, she kills herself. It's a story definitely written for high school girls who can understand what it's like to be rejected, to be accepted, to need to be loved by one's peers. It covers a lot of heavy subjects - suicide, self injury, sex, divorce, student/teacher relationships - but never becomes a heavy-handed PSA on any of these things. Would recommend to young women 16 years and older.