When Mr Dog Bites, by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury, RRP $29): Life for the average 16-year-old can be pretty tough, and for Dylan Mint, it is tougher than most. Dylan isn’t particularly average. In fact, he has Tourette’s and his life…
Category: Younger readers
Grylls delivers – and some
True Grit Junior Edition, by Bear Grylls (Corgi Juvenile, RRP $20): I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy this book but am pleased to say I was proved wrong. Let me begin by owning up to one thing in particular: I’m not…
10 out of 10
Morgan Goes to Nowhere, by Richard Fairgray, Tara Black and Terry Jones (Square Planet): It’s about a boy called Morgan who can’t find his toy rabbit, so he thinks it has gone nowhere so he goes nowhere as well. So that’s…
■ REVIEW
Snake Bite
Not-so-gentle coming-of-age story: Jez is 17, bored in a downtrodden Canberra suburb, and coming to realise she’s in love with her best friend, Lukey. It’s summertime and Jez has little to do but hang out, get high and argue with…
Engaging tale set in China
Blood Brothers, by Carole Wilkinson (Black Dog Books): As a young novice monk in a Buddhist monastery, Tao’s life is simple, ordered and inward looking. All that changes when Kai enters his life. Kai is a young dragon whose arrival…
Good pace in author’s first novel
A Necklace of Souls, by R L Stedman (HarperCollins, RRP $25): Dana is a princess in the hidden Kingdom of the Rose, a sheltered, magical land that allows no war or disease to penetrate its borders. Protected by the Guardian…
Columnist’s early life a fun read
The Chronicles of Narmo, by Caitlin Moran (Random House, RRP $20): First published by Corgi in 1992 and republished in January 2014, this delightful home-school romp was written by 16-year-old Caitlin Moran who is now an award-winning The Times critic,…
Excellent teen fiction from NZ author
Broken, by Elizabeth Pulford, illustrated by Angus Gomes (Walker Books): Zara is in a coma, immersed in a subconscious world where she has to come to terms both with the terrible accident that took her brother’s life and a traumatic…
Sweet story of a boy and his bear
Teddy One-Eye: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear, by Gavin Bishop (Random House NZ Children’s, RRP $35): Award-winning writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop has produced what is likely to become a well-loved classic in the adorable Teddy One-Eye, The Autobiography of…
A clunky disappointment
The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner (Doubleday Childrens, RRP $27): James Dashner may be better known for his bestselling dystopic Maze Runner series. He returns with The Eye of Minds, the first in his new series, The Mortality Doctrine.…