This week I have read 2 novels.
Title: The Red Wind
Author: Isobelle Carmody
The Red Wind is a story about two brothers. They live off the land by foraging and growing what they can. The conflict of the story is the red wind which slowly descends on their home and destroys their way of life. The two brothers are not human, they are furry, have tails, and hatched from an egg. Their origin isn’t explained and the question of where they came from is an underlying question to the whole story. This would lend itself well to exploring inferred information. This story also has obvious links to the issues around the environment, which could be explored. The novel also includes illustrations. Students could explore how these affect the reader’s feelings and interpretations of the story, and why the author has included them.
Title: The Fall
Author: Garth Nix
The Fall is the first book in a series of 6. It has a very definite Quest plot. In the novel Tal needs to find a new sunstone, a source of magic and power, for his family. This will keep them in the elite society. Complications of this quest result in Tal being rescued by an unknown society. He is then forced to agree to gain a sunstone for them as well. There are many different this in the book that could be analysed. For example; how the author builds the story while also including points to continue with in further books, or, the issues of class, cultures, and merit as explored in the book.
