Old tales in new bottles

Rump: The True Story Of Rumpelstiltskin author: Liesl Shurtliff Publisher: yearling, 272 pages, fiction

THE classic fairytale about the power in a name is given a new spin in this funny take on Rumplestiltskin.

When your destiny is determined by your name, and your name is Rump ... well, you can guess the cruel jokes 12-yearold Rump has to put up with! So when he discovers a magic spinning wheel that allows him to make gold from straw, Rump believes his troubles are over, little realising that every spin of the wheel pulls him deeper into a curse. To break the curse, young Rump must go on a perilous quest with nothing but courage, friendship and a cheeky sense of humour to aid him.

Mojo

author: Tim Tharp

Publisher: ember, 288 pages, fiction ALL Dylan wants in life is mojo – aka ability to command respect, something he just can’t get at school. Then a rich girl goes missing and Dylan thinks this is his chance to show off his crime drama skills, rescue her, and get some of that mojo.

But as Dylan, along with faithful friends Audrey and Randy, begins investigating the lifestyles of the rich and famous kids, he finds himself being seduced by the power of privilege and begins to lose himself – even as the stakes of the game keep getting higher.

The Sky So Heavy

author: Claire Zorn

Publisher: university of Queensland Press, 304 pages, fiction ONE moment, it’s all about bluffing his way through class and trying to remain cool in front the girl he’s crushing on, and the next, it’s about trying to cope with no Internet, no phone, no power and no parents. With dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother, Max, must find a way to survive on their own in the wake of a nuclear war.

Told from an Australian perspective, this dystopian novel sheds light on a nuclear winter and what happens after the missiles have landed. —