Night Vision, by Ella West (Allen & Unwin, RRP $19): Award-winning Mosgiel-based author, Ella West, was born in Invercargill and studied at the University of Otago. In her new thriller for younger readers, 14-year-old Viola has a genetic condition whereby…
Category: Younger readers
Excellent final book for Ranger’s Apprentice series
Ranger’s Apprentice – The Royal Ranger, by John Flanagan (Random House, RRP $23): Horace and Cassandra don’t know what to do with their daughter because she is so troublesome, sneaking into the forest at night to catch game. It is…
Classic tale of evil versus worse
Last Stand of the Dead Men By Derek Landy (HarperCollins, RRP $25) Last Stand of the Dead Men is the latest in the Skullduggery Pleasant series. Skullduggery is a living skeleton who is part of a shadowy world of magic…
Compelling and edgy
We Were Liars By E Lockhart (Allen & Unwin, RRP $23) E Lockhart’s novel We Were Liars has been making waves on the book blogosphere for some time and has been recommended to listeners of all the book podcasts I listen…
Solid read for young Kiwis
Phantom of Terawhiti By Des Hunt (HarperCollins, RRP $20) I was excited to read the latest Des Hunt offering and was not disappointed. Set on the southwest coast near Wellington, it’s an adventure to do with a shipwreck, the strange…
10 out of 10 for Nate
Big Nate Flips Out By Lincoln Peirce (HarperCollins, RRP $19) Big Nate Flips Out is a great book. It is about a boy called Nate who has a falling out with his friend Francis. Francis never gets in detention. The…
Christmas treats for the littlies
It will probably come as no surprise to learn that way back in the mists of time, when I was a young’un, I was a bit of a bookworm. I had an extensive collection of hard-cover Little Golden Books (including…
Otago tale brings local star to the fore
Josephine off the Rails, by Diane Miller, illustrated by Sheryl MacLeod (Lifelogs, RRP $20): Dunedin-based children’s author Diane Miller has used the Josephine, the 21-tonne steam locomotive that has been on display at the Otago Settlers Museum for years, as…
Ruby Redfort: heroine extraordinaire
Hang in there Bozo, by Lauren Child (HarperCollins, RRP $5): Ruby Redfort is the heroine of a series of books by Lauren Child: a secret agent, detective, thirteen-year-old kid. And now a survival expert. Subtitled “The Ruby Redfort Emergency Survival…
Fun tale of a geriatric delinquent
Gangsta Granny, by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (HarperCollins, RRP $25): It’s refreshing to find a book aimed at younger readers that doesn’t focus on either girls and horses or teens and vampires. Little Britain star David Walliams has…