The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

We will be reading this in school next year so I was doing a bit of research. A boy moves to a lonely old house in a bleak place, far from his friends. But he enjoys exploring, and eventually follows the fence that goes for miles until he finds another boy. The strength of this book lies in what is not said. I'm not sure how I'll manage this with my class; I surely have read this as an adult, and fear talking about it before we get to the end may spoil it!

Apache: Girl Warrior by Tanya Landman

I borrowed this from the school library on the recommendation of the librarian. To be honest, I didn't really fancy it too much, and as I was reading it, the "tell" rather than "show" writing sometimes niggled me a bit. However, it was a very haunting and insightful tale of the life of the Apaches in North America, facing conflict from the Mexicans and then the white settlers. Some of the twists could be seen from over the hill, unlike a good Apache warrior, but all in all this was an enjoyable if sad story.