Neands
Dan Salmon
OneTree House
pub. 2020
12 April, 2021
Neands, a gripping YA novel by Dan Salmon, tells the story of Charlie Rutherford, a teenage boy living in a world full of chaos. A DNA-altering virus is spreading throughout the world infecting the majority of the population. Human genes seem to be reversing with people evolving backwards until they appear very similar to Neanderthals.
Charlie’s father was a scientist, as was his mother, who tried to alert everyone to what was going on. He was immediately accused of lying and trying to cause chaos. Everywhere scientists are disappearing, along with information about the virus. Read more
The Calling
Fleur Beale
Penguin NZ
pub. 2021
14 April, 2021
There is something to be said for sticking with what you know, and doing it well.
Exceptionally well, in Fleur Beale’s case. The acclaimed author of the I am not Esther series has just released a new young adult novel dealing with religious bigotry, questioning faith, and a coming-of-age girl’s place in it. These are running themes in her young adult books. Unlike I am not Esther, which has some political undertones on religious cults, this book feels more mainstream and uncomplicated.
Set in 1895, Molly lives with her brothers and Dad in small-town New Zealand, where family, hard work, and religion reign. Read more
Sherryl Jordan is one of our best-loved YA authors here at Hooked on NZ Books, with her books being constantly requested by our readers and reviewers.
Since we re-launched the site late last year, we’ve published reviews of The Anger of Angels (Zahra), Wynter’s Thief (Ashika) and The King’s Nightingale (Amber and Natalya) and we have more in the works!
Natalya loved The King’s Nightingale, and in her review describes it as an ‘’emotionally binding read.” Thanks to Sherryl’s publisher Scholastic, Natalya had the opportunity to ask the author some wider questions about her work. Natalya says:
“When I was given the opportunity to interview Sherryl Jordan, the author of The King’s Nightingale and many other incredible books, I could not help but accept! Read more
These Violent Delights
Chloe Gong
Hodder & Stoughton
pub. 2021
April 07, 2021
In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens…
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is the author’s debut novel and a modern take on William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, centering on heirs of two rival gangs who had a past relationship when they were fourteen but betrayed one another through revengeful acts of violence.
Juliette, one of the two main characters, is sent away to America by her parents. The novel is set in Shanghai in the 1920s, four years after Juliette is sent away, and follows her return to Shanghai at the age of eighteen. Read more
Deadhead
Glenn Wood
OneTree House
pub. 2020
April 07, 2021
Deadhead by Glenn Wood is about a boy named Spencer Langley, who is 13, and his not-so-pleasant holiday.
Spencer is really smart. He can make or fix anything, and I mean anything. He gets into some trouble with a high school Yukuza gang, who are planning to raid Spencer’s house in a couple of nights. Spencer and his best friend, Regan, need to do something about it. Out of the blue, they decide to build a bodyguard. Actually, it is more like rebuilding a bodyguard. The next minute, they are robbing the grave of Garret, a dead police-officer. Read more
2020
Ben Spies
Spies Publishing
pub. 2019
April 06, 2021
2020, a young adult science fiction book by Ben Spies, is about the journey of a mother and her son around the world.
Jacob and Susan are the main characters. Jacob is a very sweet, sometimes shy, nice boy with a very smart attitude. I found him easy to relate to, with his calm but bubbly personality. Susan is a very smart and independent lady with a very strong personality.
Susan is high up in the space organisation NASA when the US President tells the world that it only has a few months left to live. Read more
Wedlock
Denis Wright
One Tree House
pub. 2018
April 01, 2021
If you want something that is romantic yet still mysterious, you should pick Wedlock by Denis Wright. It had me captured from the first word. It catches your attention and makes you want to read it until one o’clock in the morning. The protagonist Lucy Sorrenson is someone that so many people can relate to. She is hardworking and too mature for her own age. She will captivate you from the moment she first makes an appearance in this book.
The storyline follows a girl who lives with her dad and boxing champion grandpa. Read more
The Queen and the Nobody Boy
Barbara Else
Gecko Press
pub. 2012
April 01, 2021
The Queen and the Nobody Boy, a book by Barbara Else, is about a boy around the age of 12 called Hodie. Hodie is a servant who has never been paid a day in his life; he hardly ever gets any food and when he does it’s ice-cold and days old. He wants to run away to the neighbouring kingdom of Um’Binnia.
The other main character in the story is a little girl, also 12, named Queen Sibilla. She is the ruler of a magical kingdom called Fontania, but she has not yet come into her own powers. Read more
Child Power: Book 2 of the Amazon Series
Raewyn Dawson
Mary Egan Publishing
pub. 2018
April 01, 2021
Child Power is the second out of a series of two, written by Raewyn Dawson.
It features a gripping tale of love, adventure and revenge. The book is set in 300 BC where slave owners are secretly kidnapping children around the black sea and forcing them into a life of deprivation and captivity.
The slaves and tribal people all face tremendous challenges as their world crumbles before them. Most slaves spend their time at a place called Plains and working on farms, while the tribal people spend their time in a city or fighting for other people’s freedom. Read more
Medar
R. Manssen
Ark House
pub. 2017
30 March, 2021
In S.R. Manssen’s Medar, Freya is a young girl who is half-blind and lives in a poor area of the land of Medar. Freya finds a curious tablet which tells her about something she never thought was possible – a land and life beyond The Wall, along with freedom from the wicked Master who controls Medar. On the same day, Freya’s family finds out they have been chosen to live in the Golden City, which is ruled by the Master. However, Freya isn’t able to go to the city with her family, and is condemned to death by the Guards. Read more
