Amra Pajalic
  • Home
    • Blog
    • About Me >
      • My Newsletter
      • Press Kit >
        • Alma's Loyalty Media Kit
        • Sabiha's Dilemma Media Kit
        • The Climb Media Kit
        • The Cuckoo's Song Media Kit
      • Articles
      • Book Me >
        • Aspiring writers >
          • Six things writers should do
          • Young Adult Books
          • Writing tips for young people
      • News & Events
      • Za Bosance
      • Resources for Teachers >
        • Remote Learning >
          • Narrative Writing
          • Poetry Writing
          • Fun activities
          • Spelling activities
    • My Books >
      • Young Adult >
        • Cuckoos Song
        • Sassy Saints Series >
          • Sabiha's Dilemma >
            • The Good Daughter
          • Alma's Loyalty
          • Jesse's Triumph
        • The Climb
      • Memoir >
        • Things Nobody Knows But Me
        • Growing up Muslim in Australia
        • Meet Me at the Intersection
        • Rebellious Daughters
      • Romance >
        • Return to Me
        • Hollywood Dreams
      • Dark Fiction Horror >
        • WomanOnTheEdgeShortStory
    • Contact
    • Pishukin Press
    • Grant Writing Course

what I'm reading: every breath & burial rites

22/9/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
I love Sherlock Holmes and when I heard about this series which is a young adult imagining of this character, I had to read it.

His name is James Mycroft and he is the boy next door with a troubled past and a brilliant mind. His Watson is Rachel Watts, a country girl at heart who is making a new life in Melbourne after her family's farm is repossessed. 

This book has it all: romance, danger and twists. I loved everything about it from the humorous references to Sherlock Holmes's world, the character development-Rachel and James were really interesting and well developed, and the murder mystery element was riveting. 

As I was reading this book I was admiring not only Marney's writing and the action on the page, but also that she came up with the idea. Sherlock Holmes as a character has been reinterpreted so many times and I love that now there is a young adult version.

The other character that must be mentioned is Melbourne. Marney makes my home city come to life in all its multicultural glory and I loved seeing it shine on the page.

Best of all the second in the series is being published June 2014 so not too long to wait.

Picture
Hannah Kent made international headlines when her novel Burial Rites was sold in a bidding war. It is a recreation of the true life story of the Agnes who is accussed of murdering of her former master and who was the last person executed in Iceland in 1830,  .
Sometimes reading a book that has been hyped can be dissapointing. The hype just can't meet expectations, but in this instance I found that the build up was well deserved.

A friend said that this novel had a 'noir' feel to it and I have to agree. One of the fascinating things was the structure. Because Kent is basing this book on real events we already know Anges' fate so there is the challenge of how to develop conflict and tension.

Kent sets the story a few months before Anges' execution when she lives with a family in the area she grew up. We slowly find out about her life and about that fateful night when her master died. There are also primary documents inserted within the manuscript that provide a fascinating insight into her case. 

This book is a successful murder mystery novel and has such a great atmosphere. It's also a great historical fiction novel that gives insight into Iceland in the 1800s. Kent has a lyrical turn of phrase and I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel. I highly recommend this novel.

0 Comments

premier's reading challenge

19/9/2013

2 Comments

 
PictureBeautiful flowers I received from the school
I have been knocked out sick for a week now. While I'm getting better, I still have very little energy. The hardest part is getting back into the swing of things.

Yesterday I had a lovely moment though. Was invited to be guest speaker at Keilor Downs College Premier's Reading Challenge celebration. 

It was so beautiful to look out to the faces of the years 7s and 8s who had participated in the challenge and see a new generation of readers. My heart melted.

All together the students read over 5900 books. How amazing. There were a few who were truly dedicated readers and won specials awards, a student read over 100 books, another 80. 

The principal spoke about their Naplan results and the school had 99 per cent of students were reading at or above the literacy levels. Proof that a school's dedication to developing a culture of reading pays dividends in so many ways.

So happy that this program has been introduced and that schools are taking the role of being literacy ambassadors by making reading fun.

2 Comments

    Author

    Amra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer.

    Remote Learning
    Sign up and receive free books.
    Picture

    Subscribe to My Newsletter

    * indicates required

    Twitter feed

    Tweets by @AmraPajalic
    Follow Amra's board On Teaching on Pinterest.
    Follow Amra's board Memoir Blog Post series on Pinterest.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Author Feature
    Book Review
    Essay
    Memoir
    My Life
    My News
    Pishukin Press
    Plugs
    Poetry
    Publication
    Publishing
    Teaching
    Writing

Copyright Amra Pajalic 2023
  • Home
    • Blog
    • About Me >
      • My Newsletter
      • Press Kit >
        • Alma's Loyalty Media Kit
        • Sabiha's Dilemma Media Kit
        • The Climb Media Kit
        • The Cuckoo's Song Media Kit
      • Articles
      • Book Me >
        • Aspiring writers >
          • Six things writers should do
          • Young Adult Books
          • Writing tips for young people
      • News & Events
      • Za Bosance
      • Resources for Teachers >
        • Remote Learning >
          • Narrative Writing
          • Poetry Writing
          • Fun activities
          • Spelling activities
    • My Books >
      • Young Adult >
        • Cuckoos Song
        • Sassy Saints Series >
          • Sabiha's Dilemma >
            • The Good Daughter
          • Alma's Loyalty
          • Jesse's Triumph
        • The Climb
      • Memoir >
        • Things Nobody Knows But Me
        • Growing up Muslim in Australia
        • Meet Me at the Intersection
        • Rebellious Daughters
      • Romance >
        • Return to Me
        • Hollywood Dreams
      • Dark Fiction Horror >
        • WomanOnTheEdgeShortStory
    • Contact
    • Pishukin Press
    • Grant Writing Course