review : little sister

Little Sister, Aimee Said (Walker Books)

Aimee Said's second book covers a lot of ground - there's the rampant use of social media and how it impacts on your life during high school, there's sibling rivalry, lusting after the hottest guy in school and a kickin' battle of the bands. When the rumour and the secret about Al's perfect, overachieving big sister Larry are revealed, everyone's prejudices come to the surface and tension runs high.

Little Sister is a very engaging story with a plethora of great characters - as well as multiple scenes in a cheese shop that will certainly get you drooling (if cheese be your thing...mmmm...cheese...). At times Al comes across as unsympathetic and a little bit blind to what her actions are doing to her friends, making her sometimes unlikable...but honestly, quite a true depiction of teenage behaviour. As a teenager it often is as though you're the one the world revolves around.* And in the end, you'll find yourself cheering for her.

I am the big sister in my family. The evil sister had a little bit more rage than I did when we were growing up. Perhaps she just has a lot to say. I hope she never felt overshadowed, because I was definitely not an over-achiever. Never have been, never intend to be. Just pleasantly average.


You can come to a Little Sister party this Saturday if you would like to. Information here.
You can read my review of Aimee's first book, Finding Freia Lockhart, here.
*only sometimes, and not everyone. but, on the other hand, often and lots of teens.

the looking for alibrandi syndrome

as far as ailments go, this is absolutely the best one to have. there are a number of YA books that i diagnose as having the LFAS and it does not mean that these books are any less important, any less well-written or deserving of praise. all i mean is that if you liked looking for alibrandi by melina marchetta, you'll like these two books i read recently:

finding freia lockhart by aimee said

freia is your average sort of girl - lives with her fairly strict parents and her slightly annoying little brother, has a best friend in kate and wants to be popular and to do well at school. but freia doesn't take to the Bs (that's belinda, bethanee and brianna) easily - 'how much fake tan, lip gloss and boy talk can (she) stand?' freia is pushed into being involved in the school play first by the girls and then - surprisingly - by her parents. but because she can't sing, her role is relegated to lighting, where she's stuck with the kind of freaky daniel (rumours are he's a druggie). i loved the way that the things freia thought her parents expected of her wasn't necessarily what they had intended, showing the common miscommunications between parent and child. said has created some nice characters, they felt very human. there was good dialogue and some funny, as well as some more heartfelt, scenes. and while i knew where the story was going from pretty much the start, i really enjoyed the tale.

dancing in the dark by robyn bavati

i was immediately fascinated by this book - i am drawn to stories of young people brought up in extreme religious sects (though am not sure what this says about me) and this is the first i've read about haredi judaism. ditty (full name: yehudit) is twelve and her family are part of the tight-knit, ultra-orthodox jewish community in melbourne. she is not allowed to watch television, read secular newspapers or attend a secular (or even modern orthodox) school. one afternoon sara, ditty's best friend, reveals that her mother has a secret television hidden in her bedroom. curious, the girls watch. it becomes a guilty pleasure and one day they catch a preview for a ballet. entranced, ditty begins to dream of being a dancer; and although her parents fiercely disapprove, she begins to take lessons, paying for them with babysitting money and some help from her freewheeling cousin linda. and she is very good. and as she disobeys her family more and more, ditty begins to question their way of life. i won't go any further at the risk of giving the plot away. bavati did a great job at maintaining the suspense - i couldn't see how ditty would get away with it. she also managed to explore this young girl's quavering faith without being heavy-handed or didactic. exceeds expectations - don't judge this book by its cover.