Make a Hard Fist
Tina Shaw
OneTree House
2018
April 26, 2022
Make a Hard Fist by Tina Shaw is about a teenager called Lizzie, who starts getting creepy letters in the mail. One day, while on a run, she is attacked in a reserve. From then on, she must deal with her trauma, learning how to defend herself and the possibility that her attacker is still out to find her.
I think the aim of this book is to spread awareness of situations like Lizzie’s. Unfortunately, the world we live in today is full of regular teenagers like Lizzie who end up in these dangerous situations even though they’ve done nothing wrong. Read more
Make a Hard Fist
Tina Shaw
OneTree House
Pub. 2019
July 05, 2021
Make a Hard Fist by Tina Shaw is an amazing, spooky story. I had shivers going up my spine as I got deeper into the book.
This book is about a young girl called Lizzie but she starts getting these letters. At first, she thinks it’s her friends sending them, but as more arrive, she realises she might just have a stalker.
I think the author’s aim is to warn people that stalking should not be seen as a joke and to be more careful.
I can relate quite a lot to Lizzie. Read more
Ursa
Tina Shaw
Walker Books Australia
pub. 2019
05 March, 2021
‘Cerels, you are of inferior blood, you must not taint those of superior breeding…’
Fifteen-year-old Leho is a boy of ‘inferior blood’ in the city of Ursa. And it sure is a scary way to live. But that’s how it is in Ursa by Tina Shaw. The city, which has the same name as the title of the book, is ruled over by a cruel Director, who has been the leader of Ursa for nearly as long as Leho can remember. Ruled over as in strict segregation. That’s where the inferior blood thing comes in. Read more
Make a Hard Fist
Tina Shaw
OneTree House
pub. 2018
22 December, 2020
Published in 2018, Tina Shaw’s second YA novel, Make a Hard Fist is a compelling narrative portraying the trauma and recovery of 16-year-old Lizzie Quinn. Although this book is YA fiction, it shows something that many people have had to live through. It strives to drive the point home that victims of trauma – in this case of mugging, stalkers, physical assault and attempted sexual assault – shouldn’t be expected to be grateful since ‘it could’ve been so much worse’. Shaw uses this book to tell the story of Lizzie Quinn, a teenage girl like any other. Read more
Ursa
Tina Shaw
Walker Books
pub: 2019
29 September 2020
As soon as I received my edition of Ursa, I at once began to read the back of the book. ‘It’s the YA successor to The Book Thief, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.’ I have read and loved Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, so I know that I will love this book too.
One thing easily noticeable right away is the cover image. A heavy black boot, crushing a lonely flower. After reading the book, to me it is a symbol of the Director crushing the hope out of the Cerels living in Ursa. Read more
