Ashley Griffin Published in 1998 by Firebird SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES BY ALISON GOODMAN

Joss Aaronson is a rebel kid whose mother is a famous newscaster that doesn’t have time for her and her father is an unknown sperm donor. Joss is in a prestigious Centre(School) for time travel, when she is paired with an alien from the species called chorians. This specific chorian is named Mavkel. Mavkel scanned Joss’ mind and found she had a special resonance that is in no other human. Joss and Mavkel embark on a journey through time in order to save their lives and to find out Joss’s father. Through all of this they grow closer and become a true pair.

Protagonist- Joss is a spunky rebel that is not too keen on making friends with the “rich brats” that she meets in her boarding and private schools that her mother, a famous newscaster, puts her in even thought she always gets kicked out. Joss has brown cat eyes, dark black hair, and is very pale.

Antagonist- Camdem-Stone is Joss’ headmaster at the Centre that she is in for time travel. He does everything in his power to get her kicked out but now that she is paired with the only chorian student, he has no choise but to keep her. Camdem-Stone is strict which makes a rebel like Joss his worst enemy. Camdem- Stone hires an assassin to fully get rid of Joss.

Chorians are born with pairs. Mavkel’s pair died and Mavkel was supposed to die with him but didn’t. As a result of this broken pair, Mavkel later on becomes depressed and weak and near the end of his life. Joss wants to save him but doesn’t know how. The chanter(doctor) Refmol tries to heal Mavkel but it doesn’t seem to help much. There is only one way to save Mavkel and it is going to take both it and Joss and the time jumper to do so.

Ingrid is Joss’ mother and helps her solve the central conflict. Lisa is a 5 th year time jump student and she helps Mavkel and Joss jump back in time. Sunawa-Harrod was the headmaster of the Centre before Camdem-Stone took over. Sunawa-Harrod created the institute and won a Nobel-Takahini prize for science when he discovered the time-jumping field when actually he just stole the idea from Camdem-Stone.

“A mysterious story, thrilling, and a family drama, told in a vivid sardronic, constantly hilarious style… It is an exhilarating novel that escapes the limitation of genre.” –Australian Book Review (Back of Book). “This highly entertaining Australian novel is an unusual mixture of genres: time travel, comedic mystery thriller, and realistic portrayal of familial and alien relationships. Surprisingly, it works extremely well entirely due to the fact that the main character is so perfectly drawn. Joss Aaronson, 18, is an independent, spirited, and feisty young woman with a sarcastic mouth.” –Amazon book review( Goodman/dp/ X) Goodman/dp/ X

Singing The Dogstar Blues is a beautifully written novel. It is the perfect mixture of science fiction, comedy, and relationship conflicts. This book takes your imagination to the beyond and you never want to escape it. I give this book two thumbs up and definitely recommend you to read it. Mavkel Approves!