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  • Books, Grimm

    The 2012 LIANZA Book Awards

    07.06.12 | Permalink | Comment?

    LIANZA is the professional association of people working in library and information-related fields in New Zealand. Each year they give awards for excellence in New Zealand literature, including a young adult section. This year the YA finalists are all about thrillers, suspense, action, and a bit of horror.

    The Shattering, Karen Healey – “Summerton is perfect: gorgeous weather, stunning scenery, cute out-of-towners to meet. But sharp-tongued Keri has been left shattered with grief by her older brother’s suicide. She discovers her other frineds have also lost brothers in suspicious circumstances. Does Summerton hold dark secrets?” (catalogue)

    Read more about The Shattering on the author’s website.

    Pyre of Queens, David Hair – “Mandore, India, 769 AD: An evil sorcerer king has devised a deadly secret ritual: he and his seven queens will burn on his funeral pyre and he will rise again with the powers of the demon king, Ravana. But things go wrong when one queen, the beautiful, spirited Darya, escapes with the help of the court poet. Jodhphur, India, 2010: At the site of ancient Mandore, four teenagers meet and realise that the deathless king and his ghostly brides are hunting them down. As vicious forces from the past come alive, they need to unlock truths that have been hidden for centuries and fight an ancient battle… one more time.” (catalogue)

    This is the first book in the Return of Ravana series, from the author of The Bone Tiki.

    Dirt Bomb, Fleur Beale – “Jake’s life is sweet and he wouldn’t change a thing. He’s got no money and doesn’t have a mobile, but he’s got two best mates; Buzz and Robbie. Buzz is generous and doesn’t mind buying stuff for his mates. Robbie has the idea of rescuing an old wreck from a ditch and making it into a paddock basher. Buzz, however, puts a spanner in the works by saying he’s not paying for it all, it’s even stevens or no deal. Robbie gets a job, but Jake refuses. It’s just not his style to work for a boss. But he desperately wants to drive that car, and the others are going to go ahead without him.” (catalogue)

    Fleur Beale won the Young Adult award last year for Fierce September, and is the author of the New Zealand young adult classic I Am Not Esther.

    The Bridge, Jane Higgins – “The city is at war. Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation. They’re hungry to cross the river. Cityside, ISIS is in charge, the brains behind the war. Its job—keep the hostiles at bay. ISIS only recruits the best for its elite command. Nik is smart. Very smart. So why does ISIS reject him? Before he can find out, his school is bombed. The hostiles take the bridges, and they’ve kidnapped Fyffe’s brother Sol. Now Nik is on the run. And Fyffe is going with him. Across the bridge.” (author’s website)

    There’s more information about the book (including a map) at the author’s website.

    Recon Team Angel: Assault, Brian Falkner – “It is 2030, and the world is at war with an alien race. The Bzadians. The battleground: Earth. Recon Team Angel, made up of teenagers from around the world, has been training for years. They have learned Bzadian languages. Learned how to operate their weapons. How to work, eat, and think like them. Now it is time to act. Six recon soldiers must slip behind enemy lines, right into the top-secret alien facility inside Uluru/Ayers Rock. But what they discover will shock not just them, but all of humanity.” (author’s website)

    Brian Falkner is the author of the hugely popular Brainjack.


  • Books, Grimm, New

    Waiting on Wednesday

    06.06.12 | Permalink | Comment?

    Today, a couple of New Zealand books, which are being released very soon (nowish).

    The Nature of Ash, Mandy Hager. This is a new novel by the author of the popular Blood of the Lamb trilogy. “Set in NZ 20-odd years in the future, corporations have carved up resources for themselves, leaving the local population disconnected from the land and living with water and food shortages, depleted oil and gas supplies, climate change effects and a divided and impoverished society where only those at the top have any wealth or power. Ash (Ashley) McCarthy is an 18-year-old living in a student hostel. The novel opens with Ash and his friends embarking on a night of heavy drinking, to settle their fears over the torpedoing of an Australian ship in NZ territorial waters after a prolonged dispute. Ash receives the terrible news that his father has died in a bomb blast. Nothing is ever the same again as Ash must deal with his father’s death, look after his handicapped brother and leave town as the threat from offshore gets seriously worrying. Ash is thrown into a fast-paced series of disasters, finally learning the awful truth about his mother.” (The Children’s Bookshop, Kilbirnie)

    Red Rocks, Rachael King. This one has the added bonus of being set in Wellington (yes those Red Rocks). “While holidaying at his father’s house, Jake explores Wellington’s wild south coast, with its high cliffs, biting winds, and its fierce seals. When he stumbles upon a perfectly preserved sealskin, hidden in a crevice at Red Rocks, he’s compelled to take it home and hide it under his bed, setting off a chain of events that threatens to destroy his family. Red Rocks takes the Celtic myth of the selkies, or seal people, and transplants it into the New Zealand landscape, throwing an ordinary boy into an adventure tinged with magic. With its beautiful writing and eerie atmosphere, junior readers will be thrilled and moved by this captivating story.” (The Children’s Bookshop, Kilbirnie)

    In other upcoming news, Laini Taylor, author of Daughter of Smoke & Bone, has announced that the sequel will be published in November this year (we will let you know when you can reserve it). It’s called Days of Blood & Starlight, and she will be releasing sample chapters. The book cover is here on her blog.


  • Books, Library Serf, News

    New Zealand Post Book Awards Finalists

    01.03.12 | Permalink | Comment?

    The finalists for the young adult category of this year’s New Zealand Post Book Awards have been announced! Congratulations to the authors! Take one (or more) out and read it today! Then you can vote for your favourite and go into the draw to win $500 of book tokens for yourself and $500 for your school.

    The Bridge, Jane Higgins – “The city is at war. Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation. They’re hungry to cross the river. Cityside, ISIS is in charge, the brains behind the war. Its job—keep the hostiles at bay. ISIS only recruits the best for its elite command. Nik is smart. Very smart. So why does ISIS reject him? Before he can find out, his school is bombed. The hostiles take the bridges, and they’ve kidnapped Fyffe’s brother Sol. Now Nik is on the run. And Fyffe is going with him. Across the bridge.” (author’s website)

    Calling the Gods, Jack Lasenby – “Banishment is the cruellest punishment, and Selene is being driven out unjustly by her own people. A story of violence, love and courage, of leadership and betrayal, a tale of a young woman’s heroic persistence against impossible odds. First person recount.” (catalogue)

    Dirt Bomb, Fleur Beale – “Jake’s life is sweet and he wouldn’t change a thing. He’s got no money and doesn’t have a mobile, but he’s got two best mates; Buzz and Robbie. Buzz is generous and doesn’t mind buying stuff for his mates. Robbie has the idea of rescuing an old wreck from a ditch and making it into a paddock basher. Buzz, however, puts a spanner in the works by saying he’s not paying for it all, it’s even stevens or no deal. Robbie gets a job, but Jake refuses. It’s just not his style to work for a boss. But he desperately wants to drive that car, and the others are going to go ahead without him.” (catalogue)

    Sacrifice, Joanna Orwin – “Several generations after volcanic eruptions and tsunamis caused the onset of the Dark, descendants of the few survivors struggle to maintain their communities in the swamplands at the far north of New Zealand. Every five years, youths are selected to venture south to search for any remaining food sources. Taka is determined to be one of those chosen, but he is unaware of the daunting new challenges and the sacrifices which may be required of this group of Travellers if their people are to survive.” (catalogue)

    Yes, Deborah Burnside – “Marty knows that when his mate Luke attempts to involve him in another crazy venture, it’s futile to resist. This time it’s the Young Enterprise Scheme. Luke believes it will make them rich and popular, and along the way will capture the heart of his elusive love. Reluctantly Marty says yes. And what comes next is a whole lot bigger and weirder than he could ever have imagined.” (catalogue)


  • Books, Library Serf

    Stuck For Something to Read This Summer?

    16.12.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Never fear! Here are some ideas:

    • - The Teen Blog summer reading list. This has got selected fiction from this year, loosely divided into categories (like Free Classic Novel e-books, Ghosts, The 20th Century for example).
    • - The New Books tag. Sift through new items that have arrived in the library this year. There’s heaps to choose from.
    • - Kirkus Reviews‘ best of 2011 list. This is an extensive list of excellent reading, from Anna Dressed in Blood to White Crow.
    • - Some New Zealand fiction. Have a look in the library for books that have koru stickers on their spines. For example, the Listener magazine thought these titles were a highlight of 2011:

    The Bridge, Jane Higgins
    Heart of Danger, Fleur Beale
    Calling the Gods, Jack Lasenby (on order, but you can reserve it!)
    Dark Souls, Paula Morris (on order: reserve it!)


  • Grimm, New

    Some More New Books

    20.09.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    If you love a good thriller, then read on! (There’s a few in here.) There’s also some fantasy, reality, and the all-conquering supernatural romance.

    Heart of Danger, Fleur Beale (315 pages) – The third in the Juno series, so if you’ve read Juno of Taris and Fierce September make sure you read this! ”Juno and her family arrive at their new home, but almost immediately danger threatens Hera and they move to Willem’s protection in New Plymouth, the city Juno most hoped to avoid. Fairlands school is too like Taris, and Hilto’s son Thomas is a pupil there. The handsome Ivor is also there and soon begins to pay attention to Juno in a way she finds both confusing and exciting. Juno’s special mind powers are called upon to help her save Hera.” (from the publisher). Romance for Juno?

    First sentence: A girl about the same age as me stood on our doorstep.

    Fury of the Phoenix, Cindy Pon (359 pages) – Ai Ling joins Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, but she’s plagued by the knowledge that Zhong Ye the sorcerer is not in fact dead, but trapped in Hell and still a threat, particularly to Chen Yong. The sequel to Silver Phoenix.

    First sentence: Chen Yong was already on board the ship.

    The Fox Inheritance, Mary E Pearson (294 pages) – If you’ve read The Adoration of Jenna Fox you know what happened to Jenna, but what about Locke and Kara? Two hundred and sixty years on from the accident Locke and Kara are brought back to life in new manufactured bodies. They’re haunted by 200+ years of memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld, and having to adjust to a new world knowing nobody (except Jenna).

    First sentence: My hands close around the heavy drape, twisting it into a thick cord.

    All These Things I’ve Done, Gabrielle Zevin (351 pages) – in a New York of the future, Anya is given an impossible choice by the District Attorney after being arrested for attempted murder. She must choose between her family’s safety and the boy she loves. Things are complicated: the boy she loves is the DA’s son, and her family is really involved in organised crime.

    First sentence: The night before junior year – I was sixteen, barely - Gable Arsley said he wanted to sleep with me.

    Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt (360 pages) – at the end of the book someone says “Haven’t you ever heard of New Zealand?”. We want to know why! Anyway, this one is set in 1968 in New York state and features Doug Swieteck, as first seen in The Wednesday Wars. Everyone’s on a mission in 1968, the Apollo shuttles are on missions to space, the US army are on missions in Vietnam, and Doug’s on a mission discovering a passion for art, and other life lessons.

    First sentence: Joe Pepitone once gave me his New York Yankees baseball cap.

    Death Sentence, Alexander Gordon Smith (261 pages) – this is book three in the Escape From Furnace series, in which Alex is bearing the consequences of his second attempt at escape from Furnace Penitentiary. Horrifyingly, the warden is injecting him with stuff, turning him into a “superpowered minion of Furnace” (<3 the description). So now Alex must excape not so much the prison outside, but the prison inside.

    First sentence: I died in that room.

    Shut Out, Kody Keplinger (273 pages) – a reimagining of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, set in an American high school. The football (American) team and soccer (football) team are serious rivals, to the point of school wars. Lissa, girlfriend of the QB, is sick of it all, so she decides to lead the girlfriends in a revolt. Trouble is, this develops into a new war, girls against boys, and the leader of the boys (Cash) is quite distracting. The author’s website (complete with book trailer) is here.

    Die for Me, Amy Plum (341 pages) – the first in a new supernatural trilogy. After the death of her parents, Kate and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with their grandparents. There, Kate meets Vincent, who’s dreamy, but also not your normal human being. He’s a ___________ (couldn’t possibly say), and he has dangerous enemies, and this means danger for Kate and her family too.

    First sentence: The first time I had seen the statue in the fountain, I had no idea what Vincent was.

    Texas Gothic, Rosemary Clement-Moore (404 pages) – Amy Goodnight’s family are witches, surrounded by friendly spirits. But when she and her sister go to look after their Aunt’s ranch, they encounter a not-so-friendly spirit. It appears there’s a ghostly uprising. Something dangerous is going on “deep in the heart of Texas” (back cover). So Amy, Phin (her sister) and Ben (handsome cowboy) must investigate.

    First sentence: The goat was in the tree again.

    Paper Covers Rock, Jenny Hubbard (181 pages) – When Alex is unable to save a schoolmate from drowning, he and his friend Glenn (a witness) decide to lie about what happened. But Alex is plagued by guilt, and works through it by writing poetry in his journal. His English teacher, Miss Dovecott, decides to nurture his growing talent, but it’s possible she knows something about what happened – at least Glenn thinks something’s up.

    First sentence: When my dad gave me this journal two years ago and said “Fill it with your impressions,” I imagine he had a more idyllic portrait of boarding school life in mind.

    Shift, Em Bailey (304 pages) – Olive has made a clean break from the group of friends that got her into so much trouble. Then she notices that there’s a new girl, Miranda, making friends with her former best friend. But there’s something creepy about Miranda, and terrible rumours are circulating about her. What if they are true? Will anyone believe Olive’s suspicions?

    First sentence: There were two things everyone knew about Miranda Vaile before she’d even started at our school.

    Choker, Elizabeth Woods (233 pages) – Cara is a loner who’s been bullied at school, so she’s happy to be reunited with Zoe, a childhood friend. But then a girl goes missing, and Zoe starts acting strangely: can Cara trust her?

    First sentences: “Come out, come out, little frog. We’ve made you a nest. It’s under a log.”

    Two angels to end:

    Angelfire, Courtney Allison Moulton (453 pages) – “A seventeen-year-old girl discovers she has the reincarnated soul of an ancient warrior destined to battle the reapers–monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell.” (catalogue)

    First sentence: I stared out the classroom window and longed for freedom, wanting to be anywhere in the world other than gaping up at my economics teacher like the rest of my classmates.

    Angel Burn, L. A. Weatherly (449 pages) – “In a world where angels are fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans and drain them of their vitality, a ruthless teenaged assassin of angels falls in love with a half-angel half-human girl, with devastating consequences.” (catalogue) This is the sequel to Angel.

    First sentence: “Is that your car?” asked the girl at the 7-Eleven checkout counter.


  • Grimm, Most Wanted

    Most Wanted: June 2011

    01.06.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    These are the 10 most requested and taken home young adult items at the moment, featuring New Zealand author Bernard Beckett and his new(ish) novel August, the entire Hunger Games trilogy, plus the usual Most Wanted suspects. Reserve them now, if you haven’t already!

    1. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare [no change]
    2. Passion, Lauren Kate [no change]
    3. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins [back again again]
    4. Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz [up 1]
    5. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins [up 5]
    6. Midnight, L J Smith [up 4]
    7. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins [back again]
    8. I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore [down 4]
    8. Plague, Michael Grant [down 3]
    10. August, Bernard Beckett [new]


  • Grimm, New

    New Books

    19.04.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    August, Bernard Beckett (204 pages, New Zealand author) – Tristan and Grace are in a car wreck, waiting for rescue (if it happens!). As they wait, as one does, they review their very different lives and philosophies. “A compelling novel about will, freedom and what it means to live” (cover).

    First sentence: For a moment the balance was uncertain.

    Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz (402 pages) – the final mission, the cover declares! No! Alex must put Scorpia out of business, once and for all, but is this the mission to end all missions, and to end Alex? We hope not!

    First sentence: The man in the black cashmere coat climbed down the steps of his private, six-seater Learjet 40 and stood for a moment, his breath frosting in the chill morning air.

    Where She Went, Gayle Forman (260 pages) – the follow up to the über popular If I Stay. Three years after Mia ended it with Adam they’re back together for one night in New York City, a chance to put things to rest (or to respark something?).

    First sentence: Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: it’s just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.

    Plague, Michael Grant (526 pages) – the fourth in the Gone series. Quelle horreur, this one sounds ghastly. There is a plague threatening Perdido Beach (one that is described in graphic detail on the back cover! Guts! Being eaten away from the inside out!), and there’s still the grim reality of what happens to you at fifteen.

    First sentence: He stood poised on the edge of a sheet of glass.

    Invincible, Sherrilyn Kenyon (420 pages) – The second on the Chronicles of Nick series. Poor Nick is once again challenged by the presence of all manner of horrific supernatural creatures, affecting his life in so many ways, from the inconvenient (his principal thinks he’s gone to the bad, making school a problematic place) to the downright deadly; he must figure out how to raise the dead or he might find himself counted as one of them.

    First sentence: They say when you’re about to die, you see your entire life flash before your eyes.

    The Running Dream, Wendelin Van Draanen (332 pages) – Puts one’s own annoying, minor running injuries into perspective. Jessica is a runner, until she’s involved in a terrible accident and loses a leg. A story of coming to terms with a significant loss, reestablishing your identity and your place, and overcoming odds.

    First sentence: My life is over.

    All You Get is Me, Yvonne Prinz (279 pages) – Roar’s father goes all green on her, installing  them on an organic farm, where she must spend the summer adjusting  from her city sensibilities, coping with falling in love, the fact that her mother is gone, and with the fallout from her father’s crusade against the bad working conditions of Mexican farm workers.

    First sentence: My mom always promised me she would keep me safe, and then she disappeared.

    As Easy as Falling off the Face of the Earth, Lynne Rae Perkins (352 pages) – Ry’s train strands him in the middle of seriously nowhere and he’s got to get to somewhere, a journey that is peppered by a series of scrapes, mishaps and “comedic calamities” (catalogue).

    First sentences: Wait a minute. Was the – had the train just moved?

    The Floating Islands, Rachel Neumeier (388 pages) – “The adventures of two teenaged cousins who live in a place called The Floating Islands, one of whom is studying to become a mage and the other one of the legendary island flyers” (library catalogue).

    First sentence: Trei was fourteen the first time he saw the Floating Islands.

    The Education of Hailey Kendrick, Eileen Cook (256 pages) – Hailey is the perfect girl who never does anything wrong, until one night, together with a secret accomplice, she does something quite wrong and gets into a rather lot of trouble, which her secret accomplice escapes. Now her friends don’t want to know her, her teachers don’t trust her, everything’s a mess, and she’s keeping quiet about the identity of said secret accomplice. Is it worth it?

    First sentence: There was a matter of life and death to deal with, and instead we were wasting our time discussing Mandy Gallaway’s crotch.


  • Library Serf, Reviews

    Review: The Raging Quiet

    26.11.10 | Permalink | Comment?

    We’ve asked library staff for some reviews, here’s one of a great book written by New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan.

    This year, I really enjoyed The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan. It’s the tale of Marnie, married at 16 to a wealthy landowner and beginning a new life in the seaside town of Torcurra. Set in Medieval Europe, it richly invokes the living conditions and atmosphere of the times. Jordan writes in a beautiful style, and all of her books are hard to put down. Highly recommended!

    ~ Rowan


  • Books, Grimm

    What happens to Banquo’s son?

    17.08.10 | Permalink | 1 Comment

    He wins an award!

    Have you read/watched and loved Macbeth? If yes (and what’s not to love: ghosts, witches, mad people, lots of murderous treachery, swords, deaths, and lines like “out, damned spot”) then you’ll be interested to hear that Macbeth was the inspiration behind the inaugural winner of the LIANZA Young Adult Book Award: Banquo’s Son by Tania Roxborogh.

    A fantastic idea for a story (so much so I wish it were mine!), Banquo’s son Fleance gets a very, very short walk on (or run off?) part in Macbeth, when he’s told by his father, “Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayst revenge” (Act 3, Scene 3). Macbeth kills Banquo and Fleance flees south - according to Tania Roxborogh’s story - to England, where he’s taken in by a family, raised as their son. Ten-ish years later, Fleance’s destiny is to avenge his father’s murder…

    If you like Shakespearean adaptations then read this. You’ll be pleased to hear it’s the first in a trilogy (Bloodlines will be published in September this year), and there is, I think, also a film in the works. See more information on the trilogy on the blog (Fleance, being Web 2.0, has one).


  • Books, Fantasy, GLBT, New, Sci Fi, Simon, Writing

    New Books

    19.02.10 | Permalink | Comment?

    Only a few new books this week.

    The Splendour Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore (220 pages) – Sylvie is a ballerina. She broke a leg, her father died, and her mother remarried! Also, she might be losing her mind (or it might be ghosts). To cheer her up her mother moves her from an Manhattan apartment to a haunted Alabama mansion, where she meets the mysterious yet attractive Rhys.

    First line: ‘For months, I relived the pas de deux in my dreams, in that multisensory Technicolor of a memory I’d much rather forget.‘

    The Polar Bear Ward, edited by Tessa Duder and James Norcliffe (118 pages) -This is the seventh Re-Draft anthology, which we finally have (it came out in 2008!) It collects works by young NZ writers and poets.

    The 13 Curses, by Michelle Harrison (454 pages) – This is the sequel to 13 Treasures. Rowan Fox makes a deal with the fairy court; she will find the cursed charms from a bracelet in exchange for her brother, who was stolen by the fairies. And there’s no guarantee the fairies will keep their side of the bargain – they have a secret up their little fairy sleeves.

    First line: ‘As midnight approached in Hangman’s Wood two girls fled through the forest, desperately searching for a way out.‘

    The Phoenix Files : Contact, by Chris Morphew (309 pages) – This is the second book in a series. It is part sci-fi, part thiller, part conspiracy theory paranioa, and it’s all leading up to the end of the world. Great stuff! There’s a website here.

    First line: ‘Someone’s phone was ringing.‘

    The Medusa Project : The Hostage, by Sophie McKenzie (244 pages) – This is also the second book in a series. It also has a website! This series is about four teens, who all exhibit psychic abilities. They are brought together to secretly fight crime – with their minds.

    First line: ‘Like I didn’t have enough problems?‘

    Winter’s End, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (trans. Anthea Bell) (415 page) – This is originally French, and it’s also been released as Winter Song. It made one of our Top 10 lists (Books in Which Winter Stars) under that title, and you can read about it there.

    First line: ‘At a sign from the supervisor, a girl in the front row rose to her feet and went over to press the metal switch.‘

    About a Girl, by Joanne Horniman (188 pages)
    Raven Summer, by David Almond (198 pages)


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