Josepha and the Vu by Tulia Thompson

Josepha and the Vu
(Huia Publishers, 2007)

Josepha is the youngest of four boys. Overweight and unremarkable, he doesn't have his sibling's  sporting prowess. He is bullied at school by Jack Bucksworth who has stolen a sacred tabua from Josepha's house. When Josepha is determined to get the tabua back, bad things start happening and Josepha finds himself catching glimpses of supernatural beings. With the help of his friend Ming, Josepha confronts Jack on a school excursion with devastating consequences.
   The first chapter of this book was confusing as many characters were introduced quickly. But after a few chapters the characters became more solid and their relationships more obvious. The story really took off when Josepha left his home late at night to spy on the bully Jack.
   I enjoyed this book and found it suitable for late primary/early secondary school readers. It has a lot of action, an interesting plot and Josepha is an endearing character.

Trash by Andy Mulligan

In continuing on with a Philippino theme I have just finished Trash by Andy Mulligan. Although it doesn't mention where it's set it's clear by all the latino names and the reference to Smoky Mountain that this story is about children working in a Philippines rubbish dump. Two boys find a pouch containing some money, a map and a key. When the police come looking for the pouch, the action revs up a gear. Young Raph and Gardo enlist the help of street-wise 'Rat' to help them evade the corrupt policemen and find out more about their mysterious find.

Trash (David Fickling Books, 2010)

   The story moves along quickly and the reader can't help being drawn to the plight of these poor kids who literally have nothing but the clothes on their backs.
   Mulligan uses different viewpoints for each chapter which start simply with 'Rat here...' or 'Gardo now...'. It's an effective startegy as it means the reader doesn't have to grapple with working out who is telling the tale four sentences into the paragraph.
   I enjoyed this book as it has lots of action, good characterisation and themes of corruption, power and personal ethics are strong throughout. The book keeps asking the reader "When is it OK to steal?". Trash is published by David Fickling Books and it is suitable for middle grade readers through to older students.

Shadows Under the Sea by Sally Grindley

Sally Grindley obviously likes writing about far-away places and this book is no different. Set in the Philippines, Shadows Under the Sea is about a young boy called Joe who travels with his family to study seahorses. Whilst staying on one of the outer islands Joe discovers evidence of a criminal gang who threaten the reef with their activities. Joe and his friend Dario end up trying to expose the gang and that's when their lives are in danger.


Shadows Under the Sea
(Bloomsbury, 2012)

   Grindley sets the scene well, depicting the steamy tropical shores and colourful reef that the family explore in some detail. Although Grindley can write powerfully, I do feel this is not her best work. The plot seems to be a device to draw attention to environmental issues with very little conflict until half way through the story. Perhaps this is because the Zoological Society of London helped her to write the book.
   Younger emerging readers with an interest in animals and the environment may not notice the didactic overtones, and simply enjoy the story as an exotic adventure. The book is published by Bloomsbury.

In praise of mass weddings

The founder of the Moonies passed away recently and he was a big one for mass weddings. Where funds are hard to muster then mass weddings are a sensible solution.

Three couples married in Ysabel, July 2010.
Source: B. Montgomery

   When I last went to the Solomons my nephew was getting married and it was a giant day in the village. One of my daughters was selected to be a flowergirl and I assumed it would be a ceremony involving one groom and one bride. I was astonished to see three brides out the back of the church getting into their wedding dresses. Yes, the village was about to witness three couples getting married at once. What a terrific idea! 
   Each bride selected a dress from the wardrobe out the back which also had a range of flowergirl dresses, men's suits and white shirts. When the ceremony was over all the bridal parties put their 'dress-ups' back in the cupboard. This seemed so sensible because how many of us ever wear our wedding dresses a second time?
   The other thing that was fabulous about the day was that the whole village was invited and many folk from surrounding villages as well. No great aunts were snubbed, no-one was left out. Every family was involved in baking and preparing the wedding feast. A great day of celebration was had by all and it cost so little. I truly think my home village has its priorities set right and the Western ways of expensive showy weddings don't really grasp the true essence of the ritual.

Missionaries, Headhunters & Colonial Officers by Peter Maiden

Missionaries, Headhunters and
Colonial Officers (CQUni 2003)

I've been trying to do some research lately into the practice of cannibalism in the Pacific. I came across this interesting book on the topic in my local library. Missionaries, Headhunters and Colonial Officers tells about the posting of Rev. James Chalmers to PNG, or British New Guinea as it was then known, in the late 1800s.  Rev Chalmers, or Tamate as he was known throughout the Pacific, was murdered by Goaribari warriors in 1901 off the south coast of PNG.
   The work of this energetic, inspiring missionary and the daily dangers he faced in harrowing conditions is engrossing reading. Then there are the gruesome details of how the Papuans of old practiced various forms of cannibalism. Hideous stuff, but fascinating.
   There are a few black and white photographs of Chalmers and his colleagues and some of the Papuans through out the book but more would have been better.
   Maiden's style drags at times as he lists endless facts and dates but it's easy enough to skim over the dry bits and reach the juicy, human-interest parts of this biography of Chalmer's life. If you are interested in the history of PNG or of church missionaries in the South Pacific, then this book is a good one.

Torn Pages by Sally Grindley

Torn Pages (Bloomsbury, 2009)

   This book made me cry, over and over. But they weren't tears of hopelessness and despair at the young protagonist's miserable situation. They were tears where a smile shone through, with the promise of hope. Sally Grindley has done a terrific job of portraying the plight of children orphaned by AIDS in a village in rural Africa. Straight away we are taken into young Lydia's world of hardship, grief and hunger as she struggles to take on the role of parent to her two younger siblings. Lydia has little to remember her parents by, save for a diary in which her ailing mother wrote words of comfort and encouragement. 
   Poor Lydia has to give up school and outwit her proud and trecherous Grandmother who treats the children as pariahs. And then there is the new man to the village, Jabu, who keeps hanging around. What are his intensions?
   Torn Pages isn't an island story but it is a story about village life and family relationships. There is plenty here for Pacific Island students to relate to. There is water to fetch, a garden to tend and the all too familiar desperate search for transportation when loved ones are sick.
   Although this book is aimed at children in late primary school, I am sure older readers would enjoy it too.

Whale Pot Bay by Des Hunt

Whale Pot Bay
(Harper Collins, 2009)

Teenager Jake lives with his dad on a remote coastline in New Zealand where whales sometimes beach themselves. Their rich celebrity neighbour Milton Summer seeks seclusion, away from the media. Jake forms a friendship with Milton and teaches him to surf but the arrangement is shattered when a photographer tricks his way onto the property and reports the partnership in a trashy magazine. This is seemingly the end to the story but the plot takes off after this incident. A whale beaches itself in the bay and Milton, Jake and his family work together to rescue it and forge stronger ties. However they don't count on the deceitful tactics that the photographer uses to get information on tracking the whale.
   Kiwi author Des Hunt usually has a wildlife theme running through his books and Whale Pot Bay is no different. Hunt has obviously done a lot of research into not only current marine tracking technologies but also the history of whaling in New Zealand. 
   But this story isn't just a whale watching narrative. It is also action packed with both a photographer stalking Milton Summer and a menacing and violent gunman on the loose. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for secondary school students, particularly those interested in wildlife.

What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted by Alan Duff

What Becomes of the
Broken-Hearted
(Random House, 1996)

What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted is the sequel to Once Were Warriors and Alan Duff just doesn't let up in his portrayl of a drunken, violent and disfunctional family. The book follows the fortunes of Maori man Jake Heke and his estranged wife and kids after the tragic climax of Once Were Warriors. Jake ends up sleeping on the streets and the gang culture is still part of his sons' lives. This book is just as shocking as the first but Duff takes the reader to such a depth of understanding and compassion for this damaged family that I found myself totally captured by his writing.
   Again he uses an odd style of limited punctuation that takes a few pages to adjust to, but once you get the rhythm of the voice you are spell-bound, right to the end. If you can put up with the violence and grasp the small snippets of hope that Duff throws out, then you will make it to the end, breathless and satisfied.
   I wouldn't recommend this one to young readers, the content is just too confronting. But many adults would no doubt enjoy it.

Pacific Poets #3 Jully Makini

Jully Makini
(pidp.eastwestcenter.org)

Jully Makini is a poet from the Solomon Islands, also known by her maiden name Jully Sipolo. Her first collection Civilized Girl was published in 1981 and her second, Praying Parents in 1986. Her more recent collection Flotsam and Jetsam was published in 2007.
   The poem 'Civilized Girl' is a terrific one for PSSC students to memorise and use in the English exam. The six stanzas are short, compact and punchy. The images are clear and the narrator's confusion and loss of identity is obvious. I particularly like the tactile image of the girl's straightened hair ...Now soft as coconut husk/ held by a dozen clips...
   'Civilized Girl is an ideal poem to compare with Konai Helu Thaman's 'Island Fire.'