Pieces of You
Eileen Merriman
Penguin Books
pub: 2017

21 October 2020

“It was one of those books where you had to read one more chapter, then one more.”

 Pieces of You, Eileen Merriman’s first published novel, is exactly as Rebecca McQuilten puts it when talking about one of the books in her extensive collection. After reading one of her other novels, Catch Me When You Fall, I had high expectations for Pieces of You that Merriman did not fail to meet. Easily my favourite book by Eileen Merriman, Pieces of You deserves all of the praise it receives; it is a beautifully told, undeniably raw, and extremely emotional read.  Read more

Bad Oil and the Animals
L P Hansen
Onepoto Press
pub: 2016

21 October 2020

Bad Oil and the Animals is an astounding novel/novella with themes of global warming, the environment and self-discovery. Centered around sixteen-year-old Heidi and her new-found friends, it explores the horrific effects of palm oil.

Palm oil is something that sure has a bad reputation now, with everyone now alert and aware of global warming. Harvested mostly from the African Oil Palm, palm oil is in everything, food, cosmetics and even chocolate!

Although we might not see the effects of palm oil firsthand in New Zealand, we can still educate ourselves on the topic.  Read more

Time Twins
Sally Astridge and Arne Norlin
Mākaro Press
pub: 2017

14 October 2020

When Tamati’s grandfather tells him about the magic of your time twin and how you can magically travel to the person who was born on the exact same day, exact same hour, exact same minute and exact same second as you, he finds himself eager to find out more about his own twin. When he ‘travels’ to visit his, he finds himself in a young girl’s bedroom in a large city.

As Tamati and Astrid get to know each other they develop a close bond. As they talk, this bond grows stronger and stronger.  Read more

The Fire Keeper’s Girls
L P Hansen
Onepoto Press
pub: 2018

13 October 2020

The Fire Keeper’s Girls is an intriguing coming of age story by L P Hansen that explores the lives of teenage cousins Gemma and Alice as they embark on a journey to understand themselves and their place in the world.

Forced by their parents to spend the summer on an isolated beach with a mysterious woman named Samantha, both girls become players in what is known as The Game, meeting and learning about inspirational women, understanding the social pressures that affect this present generation of women and acquiring the determination to fight their own battles in their troubled lives back home.  Read more

Catch Me When You Fall
Eileen Merriman
Penguin Books
pub: 2018

13 October 2020

“‘Promise me you won’t try to die,’ I said. ‘Ever.’

‘Promise me you won’t either,’ he countered.

‘It’s not really something I can control.’”

Catch Me When You Fall, the second novel written by Eileen Merriman, is an extremely emotional read. Though the novel may have a classic, clichéd storyline of two young teens finding love for the first time, Eileen Merriman succeeds in hooking the reader with a plot twist of two common, severe diseases that have the opportunity to interfere with the young and irrational love between the teens.  Read more

The Mapmakers Race 
Eirlys Hunter
Gecko Press
pub: 2018

29 September 2020

Brilliant. Mystical. Absolutely fabulous. These three things describe The Mapmaker’s Race perfectly. This book takes the reader on a brilliant adventure, as it recounts the fantastical journey of the Santander kids.

This book is about a race – a race to see who can find the best route to Grand Prospect. The Santander team intended on entering with their expert mapmaker mother, but she’s gone missing! They have no choice but to enter the race; four kids, alone, against a bunch of unfair, cheating adults. It is on this journey that they need to stick together, play by the rules, and most importantly, work as a team.  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

The Inkberg Enigma
Johnathan King
Gecko Press
pub: 2020

29 September 2020

This is a review of The Inkberg Enigma by New Zealand film maker Johnathan King.  It is a new mystery graphic novel aimed at (I think) ages 10 – 14. It is a bit scary in places so if younger readers are brave, they will probably enjoy it too.

The story follows the adventures of our heroes Miro and Zia, two ordinary kids living in the fishing town called Aurora. Miro is a serious book lover and collector. He becomes friends with Zia when she saves him from some bullies.   Read more

The Great Chocolate Cake Bake Off
Philippa Werry
Pipi Press
pub 2020

16 September, 2020

This book is about a boy called Nicholas Scott who loves cooking.

The story starts when a girl (Ruby) and her Mum (Bella) move into the house next to Nicholas and his family.  Ruby is about Nicholas’s age. Ruby, Nicholas, and Nicholas’s baby brother Zac all go to the same school. One day at school, their teacher Miss Winsome (known as Winsome-Losesome by the kids) brings along leaflets that she hands out to everyone in the class. The class start murmuring with interest. Nicholas silently reads the leaflet: “The Great Chocolate Bake Off.”  Read more

Royal Orchid: Death Hunters
Denika Mead
Scribble Ink
Pub, 2019

September 16, 2020

“Then she was falling. Tumbling, flipping around and around as she plummeted through space.”

Ivy is just a normal girl who lives in New Zealand at an orphanage after she was left by her parents. All she has left of them is a penguin bookmark that mysteriously keeps calling her. But there is more to this bookmark than meets the eye. When she falls through the portal opened by this bookmark, she is enveloped into a world of dragons, Death Hunters and the Birds of Hope. But whose side should she be on?  Read more