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Pam Macintyre

Pam Macintyre

Pam Macintyre is the editor of Viewpoint: On Books For Young Adults and teaches in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne.

 

Pam MacIntyre reviews four books

May 2005, no. 271 01 May 2005
Most of us have a good bit of ego wrapped up in our children. We want them to do well so that we feel good about ourselves as well as them,’ says the wise and frank Jackie French. Parents walk a fine line between encouragement and pressure. Each of the above books is careful not to let itself fall over that line. Is Your Child Ready for School? (Sandra Heriot and Ivan Beale, ACER Press, $19.95 ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews eleven books

June-July 2006, no. 282 01 June 2008
This splash of books demonstrates that the vigorous publishing for the young adult market embraces subjects as varied as mental illness, bullying, sleuthing in medieval times, crime in the present, defending an occupied Australia and two dead mothers; and is written across the genres of realism, fantasy and historical fiction. But how much is enticing to the adolescent reader? ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews four Young Adult books

March 2008, no. 299 01 March 2008
What a pleasure it is be transported from mundane life and traverse the realms of the imaginary with a good guide. Mind you, some guides and imaginations are better than others, and so it is for these four journeys into the fantastic, which cover a variety of treatments, from Isobelle Carmody’s quest fantasy of small creatures, to the parodic melodrama of Gary Crew, to Emily Rodda’s intertwini ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'Cloudland' by Lisa Gorton

October 2008, no. 305 01 October 2008
Lucy’s parents have separated, and she is off to London to visit her mother and her new family. She is fortunate to be able to fly: the world is in the grip of perpetual rain, and travel is restricted. Some inhabitants have become amphibians; others live in government camps. But Lucy’s fate is rather more intriguing. A cloud boy (seen only by Lucy) appears outside the plane window before being ... (read more)

Young adult non-fiction survey by Pam Macintyre

October 2009, no. 315 01 October 2009
Learning about the world is one of the great fruits of reading. It can be as much fun as solving a puzzle, provided the information is presented to invite questioning and interpretation. These five attractively produced, accessible books are designed to appeal to their intended audiences, but how well do they avoid the over-simplification that is an inherent danger in tailoring ‘facts’ to the ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'The Piper’s Son' by Melina Marchetta

May 2010, no. 321 01 May 2010
Not really? Tom Mackee? That boorish, pervy, smart-mouthed Year Eleven boy from Saving Francesca (2004), who offended Tara Finke whenever he opened his mouth, is the central character in Melina Marchetta’s new book. At least he loved music and was not a bad guitarist. Last time we met him, Tom became part of Francesca’s circle at school. Occasionally charming, a dab hand at witty repartee, he ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'Joy Ride' by Tony Shillitoe and 'Straggler’s Reef' by Elaine Forrestal

July 1999, no. 212 01 July 1999
One story about a young disaffected male, and another about a sacrificial female, typify the extremes of the range of material currently being published for young people. Straggler’s Reef, for the younger end of the readership, is a conventional story of the past intersecting with the present to resolve events in both time frames. Karri, her brother Jarrad, and their father are sailing off the c ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'Chloe's Wish' by Diane Chase and 'Jaleesa the Emu' by Noal Kerr and Susannah Brindle and 'The Lenski Kids and Dracula' by Libby Hathorn

April 2001, no. 229 01 April 2001
Lively and cheerful, these three books aimed at young readers are sure to persuade their potential audience that reading is fun, language can be powerful and magical, and life in books is more exciting than the lived version. What more enticing motivations to read can there be for those starting out? The Lenski Kids and Dracula, originally published in 1992 makes a welcome return in this Aussie B ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'The Keeper' by Rosanne Hawke, 'Wolf on the Fold' by Judith Clarke, and 'Closed, Stranger' by Kate De Goldi

April 2000, no. 219 19 September 2022
The Keeper by Rosanne Hawke Lothian, $12.95 pb, 160 pp Blyton got rid of them, Dahl demonised or mocked them but adults are definitely central in  the lives of young people in this recent trio of books for the emerging to the retiring adolescent. The Keeper (Lothian, $12.95 pb, 160 pp) is aimed at the younger end of adolescence, perhaps written with the view that such readers will be willin ... (read more)

Pam Macintyre reviews 'Burning for Revenge' by John Marsden

December 1997–January 1998, no. 197 01 December 1997
The fifth book in a planned series of seven would not be surprising if it were science fiction or fantasy. But Burning for Revenge is neither, rather its connections are with the much more currently unfashionable genres of adventure and war stories. And what a war adventure series it is. This fifth volume, in hardback, has been on the bestseller lists in this journal and daily newspapers since its ... (read more)
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