Author: Schizanthus Nerd

Ghost Book – Remy Lai

Oxhead and Horseface had one job. I guess underworld training isn’t what it used to be…

We catch up with them twelve years later, when cause has had sufficient time to become effect. We join the effect during Hungry Ghost Month.

THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD ARE OPEN!

July Chen does her very best to pretend she can’t see ghosts, primarily because it upsets her father. July may as well be a ghost herself because she makes no lasting impression on anyone. Her classmates don’t even remember her.

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Then she meets ghost boy William Xiao and his floofy companion, Floof. Only ghost boy isn’t actually a ghost. He is a wandering soul and the “luckiest unluckiest boy”. On the plus side, he can remember July!

This was one of my most anticipated graphic novel reads of the year and it didn’t disappoint. I loved July and William as individuals but it was their friendship that sucked me in.

Sometimes I don’t connect as deeply with graphic novel characters as those I meet in novels. This wasn’t the case here. However, I didn’t realise how much I was invested in their friendship until I was surprised by a misty eyed moment.

Unacceptable. Anarchy.

I enjoyed my second read even more than my first. I teared up much earlier but I was also able to appreciate details I missed when I devoured the story the first time.

It was so much fun browsing with underworld inhabitants at the Dire Market. I had trouble choosing the best Hungry Ghost; my current favourite is Needle-throat Ghost. Floof stole my heart and can sit on my head whenever they want.

The illustrations are the perfect complement to the story. There’s some sweet and some creepy. The characters are expressive, particularly June.

This story explores loss, sacrifice and the bonds of friendship and family. I won’t forget my trip to the underworld anytime soon. I hold the author personally responsible for my ongoing craving for dumplings.

A broken heart is a heart that has loved and been loved.

Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Title: Ghost Book
Author: Remy Lai
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 1 August 2023
RRP: AUD $19.99

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Twelve years ago, the boy and the girl lived. But one was supposed to die …

July Chen sees ghosts. But her dad insists ghosts aren’t real. So she pretends they don’t exist. Which is incredibly difficult now as it’s Hungry Ghost month, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts run amok in the living world. When July saves a boy ghost from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first ever friend. Except William is not a ghost. He’s a wandering soul wavering between life and death. As the new friends embark on an adventure to return William to his body, they unearth a ghastly truth – for William to live, July must die.

Inspired by Chinese mythology, this resoundingly hopeful tale about friendship, sacrifice and the unseen world of ghosts is a dazzling heir to beloved Studio Ghibli classics.

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Rental Person Who Does Nothing – Shoji Morimoto

Translator – Don Knotting

Cover image of Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto

‘Hello, I’m Rental Person.’

The novelty was what drew me to this book. I wondered what a rental person would even do and had fun imagining what I would hire someone to do if I had the opportunity. I eventually settled on a bucket list item I haven’t managed to convince anyone in my life to do with me, a shark cage dive. The people in my life are so sensible… Anyway, the possibilities made this one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

Although I enjoy lazy days as much as the next person, I don’t understand “a wish to live without doing anything”. My interest in reading about people who see the world differently to me was a draw card as well.

I thought I’d caught Morimoto out because surely writing a book constitutes doing something. Although a part of me wishes he had written this book with the hope of gaining more insight into his life, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read that he provided simple answers to a writer and editor, who then wrote his book for him. Doing nothing? Goal achieved.

When I read about what people requested from Rental Person, I was struck by the simplicity of a lot of the requests: waving goodbye to them at a train station, helping them finish a drink, saving a place for them in a busy park. I also reconsidered my Rental Person wish; I’m pretty sure cage diving would constitute doing something unless Rental Person simply watched me do it. And where’s the fun in that?! I’d be wanting a shared experience with someone.

I began to marvel at the bravery of people sending a request to a stranger, asking them to be there with them as they did something that was important to them.

Every so often, I’d be struck by a gem like this:

Depth of discussion and depth of relationship don’t always go hand in hand.

Then I’d be puzzled by the detached vibe that came across elsewhere.

People might think I’m cold for saying this, but when I’m listening to clients, I’m thinking, That would be interesting to tweet, or Good, that’s great material. Maybe I’m less emotional than other people, or perhaps I’m simply not affected by other people’s emotions. I think this makes me suited to being Rental Person. I don’t get too involved in the client’s world.

I’m not naturally responsive. It doesn’t really matter to me what people do or say.

I’m not sure why this was the case but I had assumed Rental Person was a single man in his early 20’s. I was surprised to learn that when this book was written, he was 35 and had a wife and child.

When he started ‘Do-nothing Rental’ in June 2018, Morimoto charged train fare and the cost of food (if applicable). He mentioned he was living off his savings at the time and I wondered about the sustainability of this.

According to his Twitter profile, Morimoto now charges a request fee of 30,000 yen, transportation expenses from Kokubunji station and expenses such as food and drink (if applicable). For corporate use, the cost begins at 100,000 yen. I know he needs to make a living but if you’re asking him to help you finish a drink, that makes it a pretty expensive drink. I wonder if the introduction of the request fee has changed the types of things people are requesting.

In the book, I got the impression that Morimoto wasn’t especially keen on repeat business. A 2022 Fortune article changed my understanding of this as Morimoto said that “one in four of his clients were repeat customers, including one who had hired him 270 times”.

As someone who doesn’t understand small talk, I wondered why people would hire someone who only provides simple responses. It wasn’t until I made it to the section about how reciprocity works in Japanese society that I finally understood why it would be so valuable (no pun intended) to spend time with someone with no expectations attached to the interaction. I get it now.

After all of my musings about cage diving and other bucket list items, I’ve decided that making a Rental Person request isn’t for me. I can definitely see how this would be helpful for other people, though, if they can afford it.

I couldn’t do anything, so I started ‘doing nothing’.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Title: Rental Person Who Does Nothing

Author: Shoji Morimoto

Translator: Don Knotting

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Picador

Published: 11 July 2023

RRP: AUD $29.99 (trade paperback)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Today, I’m starting a ‘rent a person who does nothing‘ service … Except for very simple conversation, I’m afraid I can do nothing.

Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told that he was a ‘do-nothing’ because he lacked initiative. Dispirited and unemployed, it occurred to him that if he was so good at doing nothing, perhaps he could turn it into a business. And with one tweet, he began his business of renting himself out … to do nothing.

Morimoto, aka Rental Person, provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious. Sitting with a client undergoing surgery, accompanying a newly-divorced client to her favourite restaurant, visiting the site of a client’s suicide attempt are just a few of his thousands of true life adventures. He is dependable, non-judgemental and committed to remaining a stranger and the curious encounters he shares are revelatory about both Japanese society and human psychology.

In Rental Person Who Does Nothing, Morimoto chronicles his extraordinary experiences in his unique line of work and reflects on how we consider relationships, jobs and family in our search for meaningful connection and purpose in life.

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How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? – Leisa Stewart-Sharpe

Illustrations – Aaron Cushley

Cover image of How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe

This book transports you to some of the world’s most extreme places: hottest, longest river, darkest, most magical, highest, deepest, most secret, most electric, harshest, stinkiest and coldest, as well as somewhere that’s out of this world.

It invites you to use your imagination, casting you as the explorer. You pack your bag, use different modes of transport and experience each location via your senses.

Along the way, you get to read the postcards you send your parents. Not all readers will have a mother and father they’d be sending postcards to if they were on a round the world adventure, though, so I would have preferred it if the postcards were addressed to a friend instead.

You’ll find a glossary at the end of the book for the trickier words.

The second person point of view was engaging. It brought to mind the Choose Your Own Adventures of my childhood (minus all of the choices). It’s the type of book where your learning is accidental because you’re busy enjoying the ride.

This journey through the senses hooked me by including ‘chocolate’ in the title. I was most looking forward to learning some new fun facts. Because this non fiction book reads like a story, it wasn’t as chock-a-block with facts as I had hoped but, having said that, I was more entertained than I’d expected.

Because I can’t read fun facts without sharing some, here are my top five:

A dromedary, which is a camel, can drink 50 gallons of water in three minutes. That’s 189 litres!

When Russian priest Fedor Konyukhov flew his balloon around the world in 2016, he survived for eleven days with only half-hour naps. To keep himself awake and avoid crashing, he held a spoon between his fingers. If he dozed off, the spoon would clank onto the floor and wake him up!

Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei survived an avalanche before becoming the first woman to climb Everest in 1975.

Venezuela’s Catatumbo lightning “lasts around ten hours every night about 297 days a year.”

Pablo Signoret, Rafael Bridi, and Guilherme Coury set a record when they walked a 656-foot-long slackline between two peaks of the French Alps, 10,000 feet above ground!

The illustrations are colourful, the amount of text per page isn’t overwhelming and the layout is uncluttered.

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And the answer to the question the book’s title raises? Suffice to say, the summit of Everest may be the only place on Earth you won’t see me eating chocolate.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

An immersive round-the-world adventure, where YOU are the explorer experiencing the most extreme places on earth and doing it all through your five senses.

Have you ever wondered what the buzz of the rainforest sounds like on a trek through the Amazon? Or how it feels to experience the biting cold as you voyage across Antarctica? Or how chocolate tastes on Mount Everest? From every heart-bursting sight to tummy-lurching smell, you will experience them all – and do so without having to leave the comforts of your couch.

This funny and fast-paced interactive thrill ride that young adventure-seekers are sure to enjoy is chock-full of facts, history, and survival tips peppered on every page.

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Edinburgh Nights #3: The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle – T.L. Huchu

Cover image of The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T.L. Huchu

As part of her internship, Ropa finds herself playing host to a bunch of hoity-toity magicians at Dunvegan Castle. She’s not getting paid so she plans on liberating a little bit of something for her efforts. Before she can get her hands on anything shiny, the entire event turns into a locked room mystery: magic edition.

‘Everyone is a suspect.’

I absolutely adore Ropa. She has a distinctive voice, her education is pretty much courtesy of the school of hard knocks and she’s currently sporting orange dreadlocks and black lipstick.

One of the things I love about this series is Ropa’s relationships with her Gran and younger sister, Izwi. While both were mentioned in this book, neither had page time and I really missed their interactions. I also missed River, Ropa’s vulpine companion. Thankfully, Ropa’s friends, Priya and Jomo, are Under the Dome with her, as are the Hamster Squad, who we met in the second book.

They’re the admin gophers where I work.

Ropa is a ghostalker. She puts food on the table by delivering messages from ghosts to their loved ones. There was less ghostalking in this book than the previous ones.

Whenever there’s a list of who’s who in the zoo before you get to the first chapter, a part of my brain shuts down. I assume that if there are so many people I need to know about that I need a list to help me, I’m never going to be able to remember them all. This then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. I’m pretty sure I ignored the lists in the previous books and didn’t have a problem. Here, there were details of the principal magical institutions, places and characters. I read them all carefully. My brain then went into panic mode and never recovered.

There was a lot of discussion about the history of magic, which I found interesting, and I learned of the existence of the biblioparadise, where I’ll be spending my afterlife.

A realm within the astral plane where every book written and unwritten sits on shelves high enough to touch the sky.

This book felt like a bridge between what we already knew about Ropa’s world and something big that’s on the horizon. Ropa seemed to tread water a bit in this book and as a result I wasn’t as invested as I usually am in this series. I am absolutely ready for what’s coming, though, and am really looking forward to the next book.

Favourite no context quote:

Thing about kangaroo courts is, the conclusion’s baked in before the dough’s in the oven.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Ropa Moyo is no stranger to magic or mysteries. But she’s still stuck in an irksomely unpaid internship. So she’s thrilled to attend a magical convention at Dunvegan Castle, on the Isle of Skye, where she’ll rub elbows with eminent magicians.

For Ropa, it’s the perfect opportunity to finally prove her worth. Then a librarian is murdered and a precious scroll stolen. Suddenly, every magician is a suspect, and Ropa and her allies investigate. Trapped in a castle, with suspicions mounting, Ropa must contend with corruption, skulduggery and power plays. Time to ask for a raise?

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They Lurk – Ronald Malfi

They Lurk is a collection of five novellas, four previously published between 2009 and 2012, and one that’s brand new. All of the stories are of the strange and unusual variety, with a good dose of dread thrown in there.

Skullbelly

Three months ago, four teenagers went into the forest. One returned, and he’s not talking. The families, frustrated by the police’s lack of response, hire P.I. Jeffers to investigate. Wandering around in a forest looking for evidence of … something gave me Predator vibes. I love Predator! This was my favourite story.

“There’s animals, Mr. Jeffers. Things with claws and teeth.”

The Separation

Prizefighter Charlie hasn’t been himself since Gloria left him. Charlie’s psychotherapist friend, Marcus, hopes he can help. I guessed where this one was heading.

“She took a part of me with her when she left”

The Stranger

Someone’s sitting in David’s car. And they won’t get out. I had absolutely no idea where this story was going to take me. In hindsight, I would have been extremely surprised if I’d figured this one out ahead of time.

“God has laid a miserable fate upon us.”

After the Fade

Tommy was planning on breaking up with his girlfriend at The Fulcrum tonight. Then once upon a cheerleader Wendy Pratchett showed up and everything changed. Tommy probably should have stayed home instead.

“It’s still ringing. How can 911 still be ringing?”

Fierce

Connie and her mother survived the car accident but now they’re living a nightmare. There’s a fun connection between this and the first story.

Keep it together, Connie. Collect yourself.

I’m keen to read more books by this author. As this is only my third Ronald Malfi read, I’ve got some catching up to do.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

COME CLOSER…

Five terrifying collected horror novellas newly reissued from the “modern-day Algernon Blackwood”. 

Skullbelly
A private detective is hired after three teenagers disappear in a forest and uncovers a terrible local secret.

The Separation 
Marcus arrives in Germany to find his friend up-and-coming prizefighter Charlie in a deep depression. But soon Charlie’s behaviour grows increasingly bizarre. Is he suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work? 

The Stranger
Set a rural Florida parking lot, David returns to his car to find a stranger sat behind the wheel. The doors are locked and there’s a gun on the dashboard. And that was when then the insanity started… 

After the Fade 
A girl walked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn’t arrive alone.
Now, the patrons of The Fulcrum are trapped, held prisoner within the tavern’s walls by monstrous things, trying to find their way in.

Fierce
A teenage girl and her mum are in a car accident with another vehicle on a remote country road in the middle of a nightmarish snowstorm, which soon devolves into gruesome madness.

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Wolf Road – Alice Roberts

Illustrations – Keith Robinson

Twelve year old Tuuli is a member of a talo, a small tribe of connected families. She lives with her parents, ten year old brother and her cousins, aunts and their partners. Their talo are reindeer people, “sustained by the reindeer, connected with the reindeer”.

One day, Tuuli meets a boy who doesn’t look like anyone she’s ever seen before.

I’m a sucker for an eye catching cover image but usually rely on the blurb to decide for sure if a book is going to be for me. My decision to read this book, though, was based solely on the fact that I saw Keith Robinson’s name on the cover. Keith is one of my favourite illustrators and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see more of his work. I was not disappointed.

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I only wish there had been more illustrations.

It’s obvious how much research has gone into this book. As I tagged along with Tuuli and her talo while they travelled through the seasons, I saw how they lived and was able to get to know them through their beliefs and customs. While I learned a lot reading this book, my emotions never really engaged.

I absolutely adored Lupa, Tuuli’s wolf, but didn’t form a connection with any of the humans. Andar was the one I was most intrigued by but I’m left with unanswered questions about his past. I thought I should be reaching for a tissue a couple of times but I experienced those events as an observer, looking on from a distance, rather than feeling them.

Kid me would have had difficulties with the hunting and the sad events. Adult me was too busy worrying that something bad would happen to Lupa.

While this story would work as a standalone, an opening is definitely left for a sequel. I would be interested to find out what happens next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The greatest adventure of all begins here, in the epic new prehistoric children’s novel from bestselling author, academic and broadcaster, Professor Alice Roberts.

Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards that the climate throws at them. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises that he might hold the adventure she is looking for. 

He is a Neanderthal, sent by his tribe to find safer ground and as he and Tuuli strike up an unlikely friendship, they set out on a journey that will impact the rest of human history. 

A vast adventure with a very human heart, full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping danger and inspired by real anthropological discoveries. For fans of His Dark Materials, Wolf Brother and The Last Bear, join Tuuli on the adventure of a lifetime and uncover the start of all our histories.

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The Skull – Jon Klassen

When Otilla runs away, she travels through a dense forest before coming across a house that looks abandoned. When she knocks on the door, Otilla discovers the house is inhabited after all.

Otilla looked up to where the voice had come from. In a window above the door, she saw a skull looking at her.

By a skull that is haunted by a secret.

I’m not quite sure how Otilla managed to get the fire hot enough for one of its purposes. I want to know why Otilla ran away and need to invent more of a backstory for the skull because my macabre-o-meter needs more juice.

This is a beautiful book. A retelling of a Tyrolean folktale, it’s such an odd little story and I have no idea yet if I will fall in love with it during a reread or if the question marks are going to remain above my head.

What I’m absolutely certain of is that I loved the dance and the masks. I adored the quirky illustrations.

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I really enjoyed the author’s note, where they explain how this retelling came about.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit – with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author’s note – The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.

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How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell

How to Train Your Dragon was first published in 2003, when I was too old to read children’s books. This twentieth anniversary edition finds me when I’m old enough to appreciate children’s books anew. I may be one of the only people on the planet who has never read How to Train Your Dragon or watched the movies or the TV series. Until now.

I was not a natural at the Heroism business. I had to work at it. This is the story of becoming a Hero the Hard Way.

I don’t know that it’s wise to call a Viking a sweetheart but that’s the first word I think of when I think of secret Dragonwatcher Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

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Ten and a half year old Hiccup is the son of the Chief of the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans and the tribe is expecting big things from him. Only, Hiccup isn’t like other Vikings.

‘You can’t put Hiccup in charge, sir, he’s USELESS.’

Hiccup is hoping to prove himself useful by passing the Dragon Initiation Programme. Considering the alternative is exile, let’s cheer him on.

First, he’ll need to choose a dragon from thousands of sleeping ones, preferably without waking them all. Then he’ll need to train it. Fortunately for Hiccup, Professor Yobbish’s seminal work, How to Train Your Dragon, is included here in its entirety. That’ll help him out.

Be on the lookout for a Fiendishly Clever Plan and singing supper.

I’m most looking forward to getting to know Fishlegs better, if only because they named their dragon Horrorcow. Toothless, Hiccup’s exceptionally rare dragon, manages to steal the show.

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‘I’ve often thought that that book needs a little something extra … I can’t quite put my finger on it…’

‘WORDS,’ said Hiccup. ‘That book needs a lot more words.’

Ask and you shall receive. In this twentieth anniversary edition, more words is exactly what you get. An entire new story even!

In How to Train Your Hogfly, Hiccup needs to train a Hogfly called Hellsbells to prevent a BLOOD FEUD. Hellsbells the lapdragon is just as entertaining as Toothless but for an entirely different reason.

‘That is the most untrainable dragon I have ever seen in my entire life’

No pressure, Hiccup.

The first thing I did when I finished reading this book was buy a signed copy. The second thing I did was order the next five books in the series from the library.

I fell in love with the characters. I looked forward to the next illustration. I laughed. I wished there was a kid in earshot while I was reading so I’d have a legitimate reason to read aloud.

This book is so much fun! I might be twenty years late to the party but I get it now!

For when the world needs a Hero …

… it might as well be YOU.

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

‘The world will need a Hero, and it might as well be you …’

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is a smallish Viking with a longish name.

The Hairy Hooligan tribe think he’s totally useless, but Hiccup is about to face his destiny … with one tiny dragon.Can he prove his worth and become a HERO or will he be banished from his tribe for ever?

In celebration of 20 years of How to Train Your Dragon, this special commemorative edition features the original – now classic – How to Train Your Dragon story with exclusive content, including some rare Viking material (featuring Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III’s birth certificate!) and a hilarious brand new adventure called How to Train Your Hogfly starring fan favourites as well as exciting new dragons. 

Fully illustrated with Cressida Cowell’s artwork, this is a MUST HAVE for anyone who grew up reading and loving How to Train Your Dragon, as well as the perfect introduction for new readers to this beloved, classic series.

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Fat Witch Summer – Lizzy Ives

“Will you run away with us? And choose your own destiny?”

A group of teenage witches go on a road trip… That’s all I needed to know to pick up this book. I was ready for the bonding that comes from shared experiences and the hope our four witches would meet some interesting people along the way.

Thrash really wants the Gift of Sight. Her mother wants Thrash to have the Gift of Glamour. This is a problem for Thrash because, in this matriarchal society, mothers get to choose which Gift their children receive. What’s a girl to do?!

Well, if you’re Thrash, this is the perfect opportunity to go on a road trip with three witches from school she barely knows. They’re on a mission to liberate the Gifts they want. They didn’t expect things to spiral this much out of control.

I was entirely on board with learning how magic works in Thrash’s world. I thought some bonding time between myself and the girls was inevitable but didn’t connect with any of the characters. There were also fewer scenes involving Thrash, Saki, Em and Cresca bonding and more with a bunch of people chasing them across the Thirteen States than I expected.

This is marketed as a body positive novel and there are some elements of that. This was offset for me by many of the characters having significant struggles with their bodies, though, including those who use magic to change their appearance.

While this was an entertaining read, I wasn’t captivated by it like I’d hoped. I’m left with quite a few unanswered questions, the most pressing of which is, did Takoda survive?

I definitely need a magical bottomless trunk to store all of my books.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sword & Rose Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Sixteen year old Thrash doesn’t enchant eyeliner over her lids or clear her acne with magic. She is plus-size, but she doesn’t hate what she sees in the mirror – that’s the realm of her mother, Osmarra, a slim and elegant Glamour witch. When Thrash unexpectedly breaks a mirror with her mind, she discovers she has a knack for magic and will receive one of the three sanctioned Gifts: Glamour, Growth, or Sight. The only problem is that mothers choose the Gifts, and Osmarra is convinced that the Gift of Glamour will fix her daughter’s looks.

When Thrash fails to persuade Osmarra to accept her as she is, a trio of cool witches who call themselves The Lunes offer her an out. Their leader, fiery and charismatic Cresca, recruits Thrash for a road trip to New Salem University, where the girls plan to steal their own Gifts. As Thrash crosses the magical Thirteen States of America, Osmarra hot on her heels, she discovers bewitched diners, haunted tourist traps, and a secret about the Gifts that will change the Thirteen States forever.

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We Need to Talk About Ageing – Melissa Levi

In a society that fetishises youth, the prospect of ageing is, at best, daunting. At worst, it’s terrifying. Verging on superstition, society clings to the belief that if we can deny and conceal ageing by focusing solely on youth, relegating the aged to live behind closed doors (often literally), then we can deny ageing itself.

It’s all too easy to put off difficult conversations. In this book, clinical psychologist Melissa Levi makes a really good case for having conversations about ageing early and often.

This book covers what Melissa calls the three trajectories of ageing: successful ageing, normal ageing and compromised ageing. Along the way, she demystifies common reversible and chronic conditions and their treatments, highlighting that even when a condition is not treatable, there are still ways you can manage it.

I found the chapter about carers particularly helpful. Despite rounding out the book discussing the Grim Reaper, this book is surprisingly hopeful. A lot of time is spent providing information and encouraging you to have conversations with your loved ones to ensure older people are given the choices and dignity they deserve.

While readers beginning to think about ageing will find plenty of information, the stories of older people and their families were what I most looked forward to. It’s one thing to read suggestions for managing a condition but being a fly on the wall when people are applying these to their lives makes them feel more doable.

Every so often, I was reminded that I was reading a book written by a clinical psychologist. After telling a loved one you have concerns, the author invites the reader to ask questions, one of which was ‘How does this information align with your experience of how things are going?’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sentence like this from anyone other than a psychologist. Thankfully, the majority of the book is written in a down to earth, relatable way.

I lost count of the number of times I was referred to a specific page on the author’s website. Sometimes this is so you can access downloadable versions of information covered in the book, including checklists. Other times, though, such as in the case of sleep hygiene strategies, the only way for you to access this information is to visit the author’s website. I didn’t want to have to consistently stop reading to visit a website. I wanted the book to contain all of the information, as appendices if necessary.

When I visited the author’s website, I discovered that some of the promised information hasn’t been uploaded yet. Granted, the book was published less than two weeks before I read it but after having been annoyed by how many times I was referred to it, I expected the website to be a fount of supplemental knowledge.

There’s an index so you can easily find information about a specific topic and a list of resources (primarily Australian) you can contact for further information or support. The summaries at the end of the chapters are very helpful. I wish I’d had the opportunity to meet Melissa’s Zaida.

I learned that the losses that often come with age (loss of health, memory, friends, roles, independence) was not the loss of joy, the loss of quality of life, or the loss of one’s inextinguishable will to live.

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Do you get the sense that something’s just not quite right with Mum, Grandpa or yourself?

Does your family avoid having the big conversations about ageing?

Are you confused and overwhelmed?

You are not alone.

With over a decade of experience specialising in older people’s mental health and dementia in Australia, clinical psychologist Melissa Levi has helped more than a thousand older people, and their families, navigate the ageing journey. While every family’s story is unique, Melissa has come to know that we all share common fears and questions about ageing – the same questions that her own family had when her grandfather was diagnosed with dementia.

In We Need to Talk About Ageing, Melissa encourages us to understand that while getting older is inevitable, the experience doesn’t need to be overwhelming, or clouded with uncertainty or confusion. Melissa provides expert information on what to expect as you get older, how to identify symptoms of common medical and psychiatric conditions in later life, and, most importantly, what you can do and where to go for help.

Melissa also shares practical strategies, tips and discussion prompts, so you and your family are equipped to have the big conversations about ageing and are empowered to plan for the future. This book will help you to clarify your options, find your way through the aged-care maze, make informed, values-aligned decisions, and ultimately experience greater meaning, joy and connection.

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