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Dear Vincent
Powerful YA novel by an award-winning writer about a teenager coming to terms with the suicide of her sister. 17 year old Tara McClusky’s life is hard. She shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother, forced to cut down on her hours at school to help support the family with a part-time rest home job. She’s very much alone, still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. Her only source of consolation is her obsession with art — and painting in particular. Most especially she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh: she has read all his letters and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Luckily sh...
Smashed
Friendship, loyalties and values are thrown into confusion by a rape in this gritty YA novel. Smashed tells the story of three teenage friends, and how their friendship, loyalties and values are thrown into confusion when the main character’s younger sister is raped by one of his best friends. His reaction sets in motion a “ripple effect”, which culminates in a violent act of revenge upon the rapist. Has our hero done this? As he finds himself deep in trouble and confused about the truth, he is forced to the vital question: are we really just puppets controlled by our genes, or do we have the free will to rewrite our own destiny? Smashed is a cautionary tale about growing up — of the huge and complex challenges today’s young people face in their lives. Told with humour and compassion it is also, ultimately, a story of courage, love and redemption. Smashed tackles gritty teenage issues such as alcohol, physical and sexual abuse, and anger but award-winning author Mandy Hager delivers it with a sense of humour and great sensitivity. It is a thoughtful, pacy read — one that's hard to put down.
Singing Home the Whale
An award-winning and extraordinary story of a boy who protects a baby whale that locals believe is threatening their livelihood. Winner of the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2015 Young Adult Category Winner New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2015 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Award 2015 Will Jackson is hiding out, a city boy reluctantly staying with his uncle in small town New Zealand while he struggles to recover from a brutal attack and the aftermath of a humiliating YouTube clip gone viral. After he discovers a young abandoned orca whale his life is further thrown into chaos, when he rallies to help protect ...
The Nature of Ash
A prize-winning, fast-paced thriller that explores love and loss, assumptions and prejudices, truth and fiction, and the many faces of 'family’. Ash McCarthy thinks he finally has it made, revelling in the freedom of being a student. But life is about to take a drastic turn when two police officers knock on his door. Their devastating news forces him to return home and propels him into a shady world of political intrigue, corruption, terrorism and lies . . . so many lies. As if this isn't bad enough, the whole country is imploding, as the world's two greatest super-powers start a fight that leaves New Zealand 'piggy-in-the-middle' of their deadly games. While trying to protect his brother, Ash’s fight to uncover the truth turns into a nightmare race to save their lives. Winner of LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award 2013. Shortlisted for NZ Post Children's Book Awards 2013. ‘The Nature of Ash is a phenomenal book, which deserves the highest praise for its wonderful characters, unique voices and almost-unbearable suspense.’ — Booksellers NZ
Heloise
What happens when the 12th century’s most famous French lovers are caught in the crossfire of factions, religious reform and blind ambition? Heloise is a determined young woman with an exceptional mind, longing to pursue learning rather than marriage or life as a cloistered nun. Her path inevitably crosses with Peter Abelard, the celebrity philosopher, theologian and master at Paris’ famed Cathedral School. When two such brilliant minds meet and engage, sparks are likely to ignite. But theirs is an impossible love. This is a time when the Gregorian Reforms are starting to bite and celibacy among the clergy and church officials is being rigorously imposed. Based on meticulous up-to-date research and the pair’s own writings, this novel offers a plausible interpretation of the known facts and a vivid imagining of the gaps in this legendary story. It shines a light on a changing world whose attitudes and politics are not so very different from our own.
The Crossing
The first book in the stunning Blood of the Lamb trilogy, full of action, suspense and drama. The Crossing is the first book in a stunning trilogy that follows the fate of Maryam and her unlikely companions - Joseph, Ruth and Lazarus. This is fast, suspenseful drama underpinned by a powerful and moving story about love and loss. The people of Onewere, a small island in the Pacific, know that they are special - chosen to survive the deadly event that consumed the Earth. Now, from the rotting cruise ship Star of the Sea, the elite control the population - manipulating old texts to set themselves up as living 'gods'. But what the people of Onewere don't know is this: the leaders will stop at nothing to meet their own blood-thirsty needs... When Maryam crosses from child to woman, she must leave everything she has ever known and make a crossing of another kind. But life inside the ship is not as she had dreamed, and she is faced with the unthinkable: obey the leaders and very likely die, or turn her back on every belief she once held dear. 'Like 1984 for teenagers - direct, passionate and powerful' - Margaret Mahy. Winner of the NZ Post Book Award for YA fiction 2010.
Protest!
"A look at protest in New Zealand: what was it about, who did it and were they successful? Starting with Hone Heke and encompassing Parehaka to the land march, votes for women and the nuclear test ban. Culminating in the climate change marches."--Publisher information.A selected history of the protests in New Zealand that shape modern day Aotearoa, starting with the early 1800s, through to anti-nuclear and land rights. Mandy Hager looks at the background, the structure of the protest and how it affected attitudes. Includes a brief look at the Pacific Islands claims for independence.
The Book That Made Me
Just as authors create books, books create authors — and these essays by thirty-one writers for young people offer a fascinating glimpse at the books that inspired them the most. What if you could look inside your favorite authors’ heads and see the book that led them to become who they are today? What was the book that made them fall in love, or made them understand something for the first time? What was the book that made them feel challenged in ways they never knew they could be, emotionally, intellectually, or politically? What book made them readers, or made them writers, or made them laugh, think, or cry? Join thirty-one top children’s and young adult authors as they explore the books, stories, and experiences that changed them as readers — for good. Some of the contributors include: Ambelin Kwaymullina Mal Peet Shaun Tan Markus Zusak Randa Abdel-Fattah Alison Croggon Ursula Dubosarsky Simon French Jaclyn Moriarty
Into the Wilderness
Fast-paced, thrilling second YA novel in the Blood of the Lamb trilogy. Maryam, Ruth and Joseph have fled Onewere, reluctantly taking Joseph's troublesome cousin, Lazarus, as well. They arrive at their destination, Marawa Island, filled with hope for rescue and reprieve. But at first glance the island appears to be solely populated by birds . . . Perhaps the Apostle's dire warnings about the fall-out of the Tribulation were true after all? As Maryam and Joseph experience all the topsy-turvy misunderstandings and sexual tension first love entails, the antagonism between Maryam and Lazarus reaches explosive proportions. But when disaster brings the crushing realisation that time is now against them, all four must decide just who they can risk turning to for help . . . A stunning sequel to The Crossing, the Best YA fiction category winner of the 2010 NZ Post Children's Book Awards.
Double Danger
"Alex stared at the magazine photograph in horror. It was a picture of him, standing beside his prize-winning science project. Only it couldn't be him. He hadn't even finished the project yet!"--Back cover. Suggested level: primary.
