Dim's Write Stuff

As a young tween, the closest phenomena I encountered resembling pestilence and epidemics was the odd mouse and locust plague. Both highly irregular, indescribably disturbing occurrences that eventually, mercifully passed. For the generations before me, war assumed similar levels of upheaval and unrest. Imagine though being born into an era of extreme disruption, disease and prolonged uncertainty as your 'new normal' as  recently experienced by many modern-day Gen Alphas. How would you function? What expectations of the future would you possess? Would you want to escape to a better place? This is the unspoken premise of Wendy Orr’s latest middle grade fiction, Honey and The Valley of Horses . ‘Horses’ was my immediate pull card as I’m sure it will be for hundreds of equine enthused fans but the horses in Honey’s tale are much more than decorative incidental whimsy. They inhabit an enchanted valley and hold the key to the family’s survival and subsequent escape. Beset by t...

Unless you’ve been to the afterlife, and successfully returned, chances are you are not super familiar with the supernatural. These next few YA novels ease maturing young adults into spine-tingling conjecture about spectres, the worlds they habitat and conditions of existence they are forced to abide by. It’s bewitching stuff. The Ghost Squad This thriller by Sophie Masson takes place in the not too distant future following a global cataclysmic event which renders the world virtually tech-free. Living in a world stripped of modern day conveniences, young Polly is thrust into a heart-racing quest of survival. Guided by her own instincts and a beguiling young teen by the name of, Swan, Polly grapples with new found knowledge about two opposing clandestine organisations, the government run Ghost Squad and the Base whose shared intent is for the control of information about the afterlife. Since what is commonly referred to as the Pulse (theoretically a massive solar flare disturbing e...

This is a curiously compelling thriller that sets your mind whirling with speculation. After an initial period of accustomization of where and why (and wrapping my head around a slew of acronyms I thought I had to remember), this YA thriller settled into a convincing mystery of deceit and apprehension. Sixteen-year-old Eila is shortlisted to be the face of a global marketing campaign for a new virtual reality skinsuit, the kind never before seen in her futuristic world of VR and AR commonality. These skinsuits have the ability to adhere to their wearers' thoughts and emotions with action, surpassing conventional VR 'normality'. In short, they are uber high tech units. K H Canobi has crafted an action imbued tale of suspenseful turmoil that crackles with tension and doubt. Once we are lured into Eila's world, one that is eerily easy to accept as our own; as it might be just a few years from now, we are swept along with her in a confusion of mind altering, siniste...

Bruce Whatley is one of Australia's more exemplary Kids' Lit creators. He writes, he draws, he explores techniques across a spectrum of media. And he masters them all exceptionally well. Yet after decades of producing highly marketable, best selling children's books, Whatley had a tale of his own he wanted to tell, in his own unique, unapologetic way. Ruben was that tale and through it, Whatley manifests his true skill as an accomplished storyteller. Here is a reprisal of my review of Ruben originally published on the Boomerang Books Blog . It took Bruce Whatley almost the same amount of time I have been plying my trade as an author to conceive and create this 96-page picture book (around 10 years that is). To call Ruben a masterpiece is a discredit to the complexity and intense beauty that harbours within each page. One might spend hours alone exploring the end pages, searching for clues and analysing the significances secreted within. This is not a p...