Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand-year-old demon. That doesn’t exactly help. But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much. Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

In the beginning pages Jael is turning 16; and for her birthday, her father has given her a necklace that once belonged to her demon mother. Jael is given this necklace with only one warning: to never wear it. After her very first fight with her father over this necklace, she looks deep into the Gem and can see things in it. The first vision is of her father, downstairs in the kitchen as he is contacting the demon world to relay the message that the necklace has been given to her. Jael becomes deeply hurt and confused as her father has always said that he no longer has contact with the demon world.

After some very interesting things happen at school, she ends up putting the necklace on and things only get weirder. In the description above it states that this book is “steeped in mythology” and I could not agree more. There are several places throughout the story where you will feel like you’re sitting in church being quoted the bible and Catholic beliefs and other mythology.

Throughout the story we also get to see into the underworld and the demon lives and world view. Some of the chapters are from Jael’s point of view and some of them are from people relaying the past through memories or the visions to Jael. She begins to really learn who she is, why they have to move around so much and really begins to see her father with new eyes. I think that the underworld and the demons’ view of our world was really what made the book worthwhile for me.

My favorite paragraph in the book is when her uncle is helping her understand what being a demon means. “Jael”- it still gives her a strange shiver when he says her name. Like she can almost get a sense of the person he believes she’s capable of becoming. A person who deserves an exotic name spoken with reverence. But now he looks a little sad. “If all you ever do is try to avoid pain, you’ll never create something truly worthwhile.” Of course this is only a small part of a very entertaining and best chapter of the book, in my opinion. Misfit has action, interesting creatures, magic and a little romance.

I give Misfit 4 stars. I found the view of the underworld and demons and their relationship to our world very fascinating and intriguing. I do realize that the religious concepts were necessary for this story to be told, but I personally felt it set a very heavy tone to an otherwise very fascinating story.

Misfit – Jon Skovron

Publication date: 1 August, 2011, by Harry N. Abrams

Hardcover, 382 Pages

This is one Supe I have put off focusing on mainly because I’m a big scardey cat. The Wendigo (or Windigo) and I don’t have the best history together, thanks mainly to the brilliant Stephen King and his Pet Sematary and the nightmares that followed afterwards. But then, I guess it isn’t really possible to feel all warm and fuzzy about a creature renowned for loving the taste of human flesh.

Now the Wendigo can trace its roots back to the mythology of the Algonquian people, and they didn’t get the warm and fuzzies for it either. According to their belief the Wendigo was a malevolent spirit whose main goal was cannibalism. Humans that partook in this particular hobby ran the risk of being transformed into one; or, the Wendigo could posses humans of its choosing, if no one wanted to play ball. If that wasn’t enough to have you running for the hills at the sight of one, they are also very, very greedy. Not one to have its dinner and leave the table, the Wendigo’s craving is so excessive it must devour one human after the other. Some variations of the myth state that the Wendigo grows larger with each feeding, making it even more formidable and never full.  There is also no documented fail-safe way to dispose of a Wendigo, putting it on top of the scariest, nastiest and strongest Supe list.

Now unlike other Supe’s, part of the Wendigo myth was used to explain and name some very frightening human actions.  The Wendigo Psychosis is the term given to explain the actions and feelings of those that crave cannibalism despite other food sources being readily available. Some believed that the perpetrators were, in fact, possessed by a Wendigo spirit  – I guess, by that reckoning, Hannibal Lecter really couldn’t help  himself.

So, even though the Wendigo gives most of us the creeps just by the mere mention of its name, he is amazingly popular in a lot of popular media; although, they usually bear little resemblance to the original Algonquian spirit. He’s popped up in popular shows, including Charmed and Supernatural. Video games including Final Fantasy and The World of Warcraft Universe have used his likeness, and he has his own Marvel Comics character “Wendigo” bearing his name. Then there is the fiction, including Rick Yancey’s The Curse of the Wendigo where he nabs the role as main antagonist, and the abovementioned Pet Sematary.

I guess sometimes the bad guy does come out on top. Now I’m off to imagine bunnies and rainbows and hope like heck my old foe doesn’t decide to stalk the halls of my dreams tonight [same here, Cels! – Ed.]

Chasers, the first book in James Phelan’s macabre Alone series, is a sad, yet thrilling, tale of the lengths a person will go to in order to survive in a hostile environment.

Jesse, the story’s protagonist, is on a subway ride through New York with his new friends from the UN Youth Ambassadors when their train is overturned in an explosion that shakes the city. When they climb out of the tunnel they emerge into a city that has been devastated by what seems like a massive terrorist attack.

Soon after they are accosted by a gang of people who have been infected with something that makes them forever thirsty; and it appears that their favourite drink is blood. They soon name these predators “Chasers”.

Survival becomes paramount for the four survivors. They hole up inside a restaurant in one of the few surviving skyscrapers, stockpiling supplies and awaiting rescue that looks never to come.

What sets Chasers apart from most post-apocalyptic novels is the focus on the characters as opposed to the setting. Jesse is made to come to terms with the prospect of sharing the city with only those around him, fear of the same thing happening to his own country (Australia), the impossibility of escape and dreams that hint at more going on than he suspects.

The writing in Chasers is simple yet effective; settings are described with little detail in order to let the reader build their own world. This both helps and hinders the story; those who have knowledge of New York will quickly build a mental image of the city as imagined by Phelan, those without will be forced to piece together somewhere completely alien.

Dialogue is more often internal than external, without punctuation to denote conversation versus thought. To begin with, this is a little confusing but makes sense as the story continues.

There is still plenty of story left to tell from this series. The second is already being published and the third is on its way. The first novel really just sets the scene for what is to come.

James Phelan—Chasers

Published 27 May 2010, by Hachette

Paperback, 272 pages

ISBN: 9780733624797

Make sure you all check out Aussie August which features giveaways and interviews at a bunch of different blogs. If you’re after Burn Bright swag you can check in to Tea Mouse OR read my interview with Nice Girls Read Books OR win the SUPER giveaway of Burn Bright and Angel Arias (bk 2) – autographed; and Angel Arias (CD signed by Yunyu) over at Book Probe. You can also read a review of Burn Bright at Irresistible Reads. Many great authors will be featured during the month, including Juliet Marillier, Rhiannon Hart, Nicole Murphy, Kim Falconer, Lili Wilkinson, Steph Bowe and a bunch of others.

Though I have been concentrating on Aussie-made TV for young adults in the 90s, there were some decent shows to come from other countries in the same era.  Made from 1989 through to 1993, The Press Gang gave many of us an edgy and humorous look at how the English view their teens.
“Originally aired on ABC TV, Press Gang was a BAFTA Award-winning series chronicling the world of youth newspaper the Junior Gazette, run by high school students in the fictional city of Norbridge.”

Lynda Day (played by Julia Sawalha) is a rather stressed editor and chief, and is begrudgingly backed up by bad boy, Spike (Dexter Fletcher). Paul Reynolds played the consummate sleaze bag, Collin Mathews, that you just can’t help feeling somewhat sorry for.

The writing credits go to Steven Moffat, based on an idea by Bill Moffat. It was filmed on location in Uxbridge and Hayes in England.

This series, besides getting the giggles with fast-paced wit and stereotypical character types, really took a swipe at the way teens were seen as being useless and lazy. The characters worked hard to get that newspaper on the shelves,  learning along the way about what makes a good news story and when to draw the line.

They tackled some really hard issues, from terrorism to teen suicide, drug addiction, and adultery, interpersonal relationships at work and a little bit about love along the way.

Here’s a clip from Season 1…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpaZcBoj-qY

and the complete series is available on DVD.

This really was a huge step towards treating teens as intelligent members of society. It was prior to the time when ‘youth’ started being used as a derogatory term to describe young delinquents. For so many in this decade the motto for the Junior Gazette really did describe the show: “A voice for today’s youth.”