Angie's Reviews - Missing

Missing
By Sue Whiting
$17.99, paperback, Walker Books

Missing persons is a difficult subject matter in more ways than one. Not only is it heavy and heart-
breaking, but from a narrative point of view, it can be difficult to stop the story from getting bogged down and for the plot to stall. There are no such issues however in this early-YA novel by Sue Whiting, in which the mother of seventh grader Mackenzie da Luca fails to return from a working trip to Panama. Chapters alternate between a Sydney setting, from around the time Mackenzie’s mum goes missing, to present time when Mackenzie and her father fly to search in Panama. The sense of possibility in the Panama chapters provides balance for the more passive Sydney chapters and the hopelessness felt as Mackenzie tries to continue on with school and life in general, all the while internally speculating about what’s happened to her mother. There’s interaction between the sections too, with one providing insight into where Mackenzie and her father end up, emotionally and in their thinking. The picture Whiting paints of Panama is convincing, too (although note, I like her, have never been there!). A compelling read.
 

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Angie Schiavone has a Master of Arts in Children's Literature and is the former children's book reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald. She has been a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, a restaurant reviewer and editor for the Good Food Guide, and a cookbook editor. She's also a mum to two book and food-loving kids.   

If you are a SCBWI member and have a new book coming out soon make sure you CLICK HERE to submit your book to Angie’s Reviews.

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Angie's Reviews—How to Win a Nobel Prize

How to Win a Nobel Prize
By Barry Marshall and Lorna Hendry, with illustrator Bernard Caleo
$14.99, paperback, Piccolo Nero (Schwartz Publishing)

Anyone who has ever considered science a dry subject will change their tune after reading this action-packed time travel adventure complete with DIY experiments (strawberry DNA, Morse Code cracking, star counting and more) and introductions to some of history’s most accomplished and famous, or not as famous as they deserve to be, scientists. Author Lorna Hendry together with one of Australia’s own Nobel Prize winners, scientist Barry Marshall, has put together a brilliantly accessible and super engaging read that darts about covering a huge span of time periods and world-changing discoveries. It also touches on issues of gender inequality – the challenges women have historically faced being taken seriously in science, and acts of altruism in the name of science – scientists using themselves as test subjects, and choosing the good of others over profits. Hendry has done a terrific job keeping the plot moving, explaining scientific theories in a simple and concise way, and bringing the time periods and scientists to life – Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Gertrude Elion and more. A great discovery for readers about 9 years plus.

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Angie Schiavone has a Master of Arts in Children's Literature and is the former children's book reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald. She has been a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, a restaurant reviewer and editor for the Good Food Guide, and a cookbook editor. She's also a mum to two book and food-loving kids.   

If you are a SCBWI member and have a new book coming out soon make sure you CLICK HERE to submit your book to Angie’s Reviews.

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Launch of Angie’s Reviews

Launch of Angie’s Reviews
The SCBWI Committee are very excited to announce the official launch of Angie’s Reviews which will be happening at our Marketing Magic event in Sydney on the 20th April.

At this point you may be wondering ‘Who is Angie?’,  ‘What will she be reviewing?’ and ‘Where will these reviews be showcased?’ The exciting answers to these questions will be answered below.

Who is Angie?
Angie Schiavone has a Master of Arts in Children's Literature and is the former children's book reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald. She has been a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, a restaurant reviewer and editor for the Good Food Guide, and a cookbook editor. She's also a mum to two book and food-loving kids.   

Angie Schiavone

What will she be reviewing?
From this point onward, any SCBWI member who submits a notice of a new book on the SCBWI website will have the option to have their book considered by Angie for a review. Only new books by Australian and New Zealand SCBWI members will be considered. The information you supply about your book will be forwarded on to Angie who will make up a shortlist each month of books that she would like to read and consider for review. 

If your book is chosen you will be contacted and asked to organise for your publisher to forward a review copy to Angie. Those of you who have already submitted books this year have automatically been considered and the first group of authors/illustrators have already been notified. Please note that due to the large amount of books submitted not all books can be chosen for a review and once review copies have been forwarded it is entirely at the discretion of the reviewer as to whether and when they will be reviewed.

Where will the reviews be showcased?
Angie’s Reviews will be published on the SCBWI AusEast/NZ blog and publicised on both Facebook and Twitter.

So if you are a SCBWI member and have a new book coming out soon make sure you CLICK HERE to submit your book to Angie’s Reviews.

If you would like to know more or meet Angie in person why not come along to our Marketing Magic event? To book in simply CLICK HERE.