Jamie Carpenter’s life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein.

Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein’s monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.

“Department 19” takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond – from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania.

Part modern thriller, part classic horror, it’s packed with mystery, mayhem, and a level of suspense that makes a Darren Shan novel look like a romantic comedy.

Hardcover, 489 pages Published March 1st 2011 by HarperCollins ISBN 0007354452 (ISBN13: 9780007354450)

After witnessing his father’s death, Jamie and his mother go on the run, until one day they are caught by two different groups. His mother is kidnapped by the enemy, and he is taken in by the same group his father belonged to, Department 19. Jaime is determined, not matter what it takes, and no matter who gets in his way, to rescue his mother.

Although Jamie is the main character and the story really revolves around him finding his mother, we do get to meet a lot of different character as it goes along. Jumping from perspectives and groups gives the reader a fully-rounded picture of what is happening on each side of this battle.

The author plays on real myths and stories from history to build this narrative, and by doing so, brings in a very classic storyline into a very modern story. The groups’ past, and their current day struggles are very well researched and there are a lot of interesting topics interwoven with a very believable take on what a modern vampire could be.

This book is rather large at just under 500 pages. It contains a lot of world building and is very much a book for those who enjoy detailed war stories; weapons, kidnappings, international travel, conspiracies, and the history behind the groups and wars of the past and current.

I think this book lived up 100% to my expectations of it.  I loved the vampires, the histories and how the departments have changed to today. The only thing that flawed the story was my connection to Jamie. His character felt a little flat, besides his determination to find his mother. I really didn’t get to see a developed character, or as much growth as I would have hoped for. What I did find is that Frankenstein had plenty of humour and personality to make up for Jamie’s lack!

Since we’ve been looking so much at amazing women abroad for the last few Mirror Mirror instalments, I thought it time to look to our own shores for a while. Today we look at the MOST influential Indigenous Australian woman, May O’Brien.

Born in Western Australia, in1933 to the Wongatha people May was part of ‘The Stolen Generation’, however, as she tells it she was not ‘stolen, but displaced by circumstances out of her control’. An abusive mother and an absent father, meant May spent plenty of time in institutions. She may not have been stolen, however, she would have been treated no differently than those who were.

Despite her disadvantages, May blossomed into an activist, an author, a teacher and a forward thinker. She was taken in by a part-Aboriginal couple, who were unable to adopt her because of the then ‘native welfare laws’. In turn, this lead her to the Mount Margaret Mission.

For a decade May worked and studied at Mount Margaret. She went onto school and then to college (which was almost unheard of for an Aboriginal woman) and returned to Mount Margaret Mission to teach in 1954. As the first female Aboriginal teacher in Western Australia, she has earned her title as a trail blazer.

She spent 25 years working in education, and was eventually given the chance to begin planning programs designed to benefit indigenous children in the education system.

In 1977 she was awarded the British Empire Medal, opening doors toward further recognition including the Churchill Fellowship in 1984. This particular medal allowed her to study other indigenous cultural issues in Canada, Great Britain and the USA.

Up to this point she had worked tirelessly against racism and sexism.

Retirement from the Education Department has not seen May slow down a whole lot. She is still an ambassador for Literacy and Numeracy, is involve in her community and has written many children’s books.

I encourage you to look more into the Stolen Generation, and have a little empathy for those who made the most of their situation and worked to change the laws, change society and fought to give the following generations a better chance of success.

Sources

http://www.filmaust.com.au/australianbio11/AUSbio11-TN_MO.pdf

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0135b.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Lorna_O’Brien

Some of May’s children’s books

The Legend of the Seven Sisters

Wunambi the Water Snake  

Bawoo Stories 

Have you ever read a book and loved it so much, that you wanted to read the next in the series before you’ve even finished the one you just fell in love with? This has never happened to me, until I was smack dab in the middle of listening to Tempest by Julie Cross. Before I was on the last CD of the set, I couldn’t get enough of the characters, the time travelling, the twists, the turns, and of Jackson’s relationship with Holly!

Once Vortex came out, I knew I had to get it on audio (I really liked the way it was read, making Vortex THAT much more AWESOME!) While I wasn’t too amazed by the cover picture I was extremely excited about the story inside of it; who cares about the cover, when the story kicks butt?

When I finally had the first CD in hand, and was waiting for my computer to boot up so I could jam in the disc and finally start listening, I had two enormous fears. First, that this book included more information dumping (I was already having a hard time keeping up with all the different time travelling, worlds and other technicalities in order in Tempest). Second, that it would suffer from middle book syndrome. I loved Tempest, and my heart would have been shattered to millions of pieces if I was lost throughout Vortex, or if it was just a stepping stone to the next book.

Because there is so much going on and so many twist, turns, secrets and just really good freakin’ parts, I’m honestly scared to summarize the story and end up giving too much away. I would rather talk about my thoughts on the book, instead of what happened inside of the book. Especially with all the information this book contains, I don’t think my summary would make very much sense anyway.

While Vortex did still have a lot of information dumping occurring, it wasn’t as tough to keep up with it all, like it was in Tempest. I feel that Cross did a much better job, stretching and spreading it out instead of throwing it at the reader all at once.

My favourite aspect of the second instalment is the character development! I loved all of the characters in the first book, and enjoyed them more in Vortex. Jackson isn’t the same boy that the reader was introduced to in the last book. He showed his strong love for Holly, his need for his family (especially his mother and sister), and that he stepped up to the plate by becoming an agent.

The reader is exposed to a completely different side of Holly. While we do still see the girl Jackson fell in love with, we also see a badass angle of her! New characters are also introduced, for example two spies named Kendrick and Stuart, who are strong female characters (LOVE!). The only character I missed was Adam, Jackson’s best friend; he didn’t make too many appearances in Vortex.

The ending was something I didn’t expect. I had to pick up my jaw from the floor, wipe my sweaty hands on my pants, and remember to breath. Vortex leaves off with a cliff hanger that does nothing but force you to go to the store and buy the third book once it comes out!

I had so much fun reading Vortex, and it was even better than Tempest; I know that’s really hard to believe!

We’ve always loved Patrick Stewart, but this puts him to the top of our list.

We’ve always loved Patrick Stewart, but this puts him to the top of our list.