The topic of this book may seem a little dry but is actually interesting reading. Ann Beaglehole is a refugee immigrant herself (Hungary 1956), and here examines our country’s response to refugees and asylum seekers since 1840. She looks at…
Author: Naida Mulligan
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The Taming of the Tights
This completes a trilogy about the narrator Tallulah Casey, following Withering Tights and A Midsummer Tights Dream. Lullah attends some sort of drama school in the small village of Heckmondwike near Skipley in Yorkshire. I’m not sure about the significance…
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Enon
This was the second novel for Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Harding, and was published near the end of 2104. His debut novel is called Tinkers and, if this story is anything to go by, it is not surprising that it’s an…
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Raising Stress-Proof Kids
This is a must-read parenting guide by Australian author, teacher and expert in restorative practice, Shelley Davidow. Her award-winning books deal with a wide range of social issues. This book explains the importance of minimising stress for our children and gives…
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I Just Get So … Angry!
Giving teens tools to deal with anger: This is an amazing little graphic novel written to help teenagers combat anger and build resilience. The author and the illustrator are a husband and wife team and are both trained school counsellors…
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Cloudboy / Essential NZ Poems
Siobhan Harvey is an internationally recognised poet who has been critically acclaimed through receiving or being shortlisted for many awards. She won the Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award 2013 for her Cloudboy collection. These poems share what life is like with…
Not a page-turner but good enough
All Change, by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Pan Macmillan, RRP $30): The fact that this is No 5 in family saga The Cazalet Chronicles probably speaks for itself. In fact, Elizabeth Jane Howard was awarded a CBE in 2002, the same…
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The Perfect Match
This is Katie Fforde’s 20th novel and is a Sunday Times bestseller. One doesn’t have to read too many pages to discover why. It’s basically a light-hearted love story with 20-something real estate agent, Bella, as the protagonist. She’s been…
Bookmarks: short fiction reviews
A roundup of short general fiction reviews: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, by Rachel Joyce (Black Swan, RRP $35): This novel comes with a healthy critical reputation and is by an award-winning, internationally best-selling author. If you’ve read The Unlikely Pilgrimage…
Climate debate heats up
Living in a Warmer World: How a changing climate will affect our lives, edited by Jim Salinger (Bateman, RRP $40): Eighteen essays by chiefly Australian and Kiwi scientists detail what is happening as our planet gets warmer and examine both…