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Sherryl says, "I hope through my books to bring to young people something that is positive, uplifting and joyful." Her first book Rocco won the prestigious 1991 AIM Book of the Year Award, and her second book, The Juniper Game, was runner-up the following year. Two other books for young readers, The Wednesday Wizard and its sequel, Denzil's Dilemma, were also shortlisted in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Secret Sacrament was shortlisted for the 1997 NZ Post Children's Book Awards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sign of the Lion A haunting tale of ambition and the power of faith. On a bleak and moonless night an unborn child is pledged in return for its mother's life. Twelve years later a mysterious woman returns to claim her prize. And Minstrel is no ordinary child. Torn from her loving family she fights her loneliness with the knowledge that destiny has chosen her for a mysterious task. Minstrel learns all she can from Griselda until the depth of Griselda's cruel ambition is finally revealed; a choice must be made. The course of her country's history may be altered by that choice - if only Minstrel can realise the strength of the gift she possesses. The Juniper Game Runner-up, 1992 AIM Book of the Year Award. He gave a cry, "Juniper!" And then he covered his face with his arms, leaning forward over the running water and the swirl of blood in the sink, and he screamed. Dylan has never seen anyone as beautiful as Juniper. There is something magical about her. Something unreal. And he would do anything for her. Anything. But Dylan doesn't exist in Juniper's perfect world. Until the day when Juniper does notice Dylan. Sees him for the person he really is - and for his special gifts. What Dylan doesn't know is that Juniper wants to play a game. A powerful game that alters the future and the past. A game where there are only two rules: life and death. Wolf-Woman A powerful and unusual love story, set in ancient times, that vividly contrasts the ways of human beings with the harmony on the animal world. Wolf-woman. It is the name given to Tanith by Ahearn's people, with whom she has lived for the past thirteen summers. It is a name they use mockingly, as an insult, for although she is the adopted daughter of Ahearn's wife, Tanith is an outsider to their clan. When she was a tiny child, she was found in the company of wolves, the most feared and reviled of all animals. Tanith's dim memories of the wolves who once protected her have always filled her with longing, and she dreams that one day she will return to them. But when that time comes, she finds that she must choose what her life will be - and the choice is painful. Rocco Alone ... His room was gone. He was on a bare rocky hillside, brown and harsh under a wintry sky. He lifted his eyes, astounded, and saw mountains all around; a vast ring of mountains, sharp and bleak, with slashes of snow in the ravines. He could see black birds circling the peaks, and in the wind their cries carried to him, solitary and wild ... Rocco Makepeace just made an unexpected trip - one with no return ticket, Now he is alone in a primitive world, one as dark and frightening as any described in his history books. Where is he? When is he? Can he ever go home again? Or will he die ... lost forever? Secret Sacrament Shortlisted for the 1997 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, senior fiction section. By day he comforts the sick and dying; by night his dreams are haunted by a devastating childhood memory. Who are the despised Shinali people and why does he feel spiritually linked with them? When he falls in love with a Shinali woman, Gabriel glimpses his true destiny. It is going to demand all his courage. Denzil's Great Bear Burglary Then Denzil saw the bear. It was a young bear, brown and huge-pawed, with a gleaming black snout and round fluffy ears... The bear did an amazing thing. It rose up on its hind paws and danced! Denzil has never seen anything as wonderful in his medieval village before. But his enjoyment turns to horror when he discovers what makes the bear dance Denzil must find Wimpy, the dancing bear a safer home - but this lands him in the most terrible kind of trouble with Valvasor. There is only one thing for it; Denzil and Wimpy will have to go and live with Sam MacAllister and her family, seven centuries into the future... The Raging Quiet Sherryl says, "All my life I have felt a great affinity with deaf people, and have loved sign language. For several years I worked with profoundly deaf children in schools, and spoke with them through signs. Marnie's dealings with Raven - her difficulties, frustration, despair, joy, and triumph - are all things I have experienced." Set in Medieval times, this is the story of Marnie, a fifteen-year-old girl forced to face human cruelty and discrimination at its worst. When her father (the overseer on a nobleman's estate) is unable to work due to illness, it seems that her family will be have to be evicted from their house. However, one of the lord's sons has taken a liking to Marnie and offers a solution to the family's problems; if Marnie will marry him, the family can keep the house. Isake is twice her age and a heavy drinker, but, reluctantly, and for the sake of her family, Marnie agrees to the marriage. Leaving her beloved family and home behind, she finds herself having to adapt to an alien life in a remote village, with a suspicious and less than welcoming community. When her husband dies only days after their arrival in the village, the suspicions increase and she finds herself accused of witchcraft. Her only ally other than the local priest is 'Raver', a strange young man considered by the village to be possessed by the devil. This is a vivid and exquisitely-delivered story of a human strength and friendship. It tackles the issues of bigotry, social exclusion and sexual discovery with power and sensitivity. The Medieval backdrop is convincing but unobtrusive, and the characterisation superb. Marnie in particular is a headstrong and stubborn but eminently likeable character, to whom the contemporary reader cannot fail to relate. As the suspense builds, so does her determination to stand up to the prejudice and cruelty of society, and to understand her fellow outcast Raver, whose strange behaviour and inability to communicate she soon discovers is actually due to profound deafness. Winter of Fire An Australian Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Elsha's fire... Elsha is a child of the Quelled - a branded people, doomed always to mine coal to warm the ruling class, the Chosen. But she is also a rebel - a rebel with a vision. And on her sixteenth birthday she dreams of haw the world might be - at the risk of her life. Can she escape the penalty of the Chosen? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
