Riverbend Bookclub Reads - October

RIVERBEND READERS + KNITS & NOVELS

THE EULOGY

by Jackie Bailey

It’s winter in Logan, south-east Queensland, and still warm enough to sleep in a car at night if you have nowhere else to go. But Kathy can’t sleep. Her husband is on her blocked caller list and she’s running from a kidnapping charge, a Tupperware container of 300 sleeping pills in her glovebox. She has driven from Sydney to plan a funeral with her five surviving siblings (most of whom she hardly speaks to) because their sister Annie is finally, blessedly, inconceivably dead from the brain tumour she was diagnosed with twenty-five years ago, the year everything changed.

Kathy wonders – she has always wondered – did Annie get sick to protect her? And if so, from what?

In writing Annie’s eulogy, Kathy attempts to understand the tangled story of the Bradley family: from their mother’s childhood during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War Two and their father’s experiences in the Malayan conflict and the Vietnam War, to Annie’s cancer and disability, and the events that have shaped the person that Kathy is today. Ultimately, Kathy needs Annie to help her decide whether she will allow herself to love and be loved.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

BABEL

by R.F. KUANG

 Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

THE TEACHER LIBRARIAN BOOKCLUB

PICTURE BOOK

TWO DOGS

by Ian Falconer

Dachshund brothers Perry and Augie are home alone and desperately want to get outside and have a good time. Augie is the cautious one, the worrier; Perry is pure joy and excitement. When they finally manage to open the back door, mischievous adventures begin! Soon they're diving into the swimming pool, digging an enormous hole, and more! Will all return to normal before their owners come home?

This witty and utterly heartwarming story plays perfectly off the exquisite illustrations. These are Ian Falconer's first all-new characters since Olivia, and Two Dogs is sure to equally capture the hearts of readers everywhere.

Perfect for fans of imaginative dog books like Bark, George and A Ball for Daisy!

JUNIOR FICTION BOOK

HOW TO BE… THE NEW PERSON

by Anna Bradford

Delightful and insightful story from the author of the Violet Mackerel series Hazel Morrison has a secret habit – pretending to make videos about everyday things. Eight important tips for successfully buttering toast! Putting your hair in a ponytail: a step-by-step guide! But when her family move to the outer suburbs, Hazel has to cope with starting at a new school where she doesn’t exactly feel welcomed. A school project inspires her to create a real video – a how-to guide for being “the new person” . . . because everyone, sometime, will meet one, or be one!

MIDDLE FICTION BOOK

A WALK IN THE DARK

by Jane Godwin

A gripping and suspenseful rite-of-passage novel about five teenagers and one night that will change them all, from award-winning author Jane Godwin. 'It's just a walk in the dark. What is there to worry about?' That's what the head teacher, Johan, says. And so the Year Nines from Otway Community School set out on an overnight hike, with no adults. But doesn't Johan know that a storm is coming? When five teenagers head in to the forest that late afternoon, none of them is aware what the night will bring. Each will have to draw on their particular strengths to survive. Each will have to face the unknown, battling the elements, events beyond their control, and their own demons. It's a night that will change everything. Set in the lush rainforest of Victoria's Otway Ranges, A Walk in the Dark is about friendship, trust, identity and family, consent and boundaries, wrapped in a compulsively readable, suspense-filled adventure. Five head into the forest, but will all five make it out?