Wynter’s Thief
Sherryl Jordan
OneTree House
Pub. 2019
04 May, 2021
Wynter’s Thief by Sherryl Jordan is a beautiful story about love, friendship and trust. I really enjoyed this book; I loved the way it was written and how easy it was to follow. When there are two perspectives in a book, sometimes I find it hard to read them. But with this book, the two main characters and their different perspectives were not completely separate; they were entangled with each other which made it so easy to understand what was happening.
One of the perspectives belonged to a girl called Wynter, a young woman who is trapped by her father as she is a water witch and people pay her father for her ability. Read more
Bastion Point – 507 days on Takaparawha
Tania Roxborogh
Scholastic
Pub. 2017
03 May, 2021
Tania Roxborogh tells the story of the Bastion Point protest through the eyes of a young girl named Erica. The story is told through her diary entries over the course of late 1976 to mid-1978. Erica and her family are fictional but the events of the protest mentioned are historically accurate and readers looking to gain a full understanding of the protest can find a complete timeline at the end of the book.
Erica began writing her entries to document her progress of training her newly purchased horse named Silver. Read more
Golden City
Third book in the Realm Trilogy
S R Manssen
Manssen Publishing House
Pub. 2020
03 May, 2021
Golden City is the third and final book in S R Manssen’s Realm Trilogy, where Freya completes the final steps of her journey with the help of the Watchers, her family, friends and her fellow Adelphi. The Order of the Adelphi are where the Watchers come from, in Tyrelia – the land ruled by the just Ancient. The leader of the Adelphi is Brother Nyx, who Freya knew as the Hermit before starting her training at the Temple.
At this sacred place, Freya and her friends learn to use their talking stones, turn themselves invisible and warp between Law Pillars in Tyrelia. Read more
Zeustian Logic
Sabrina Malcolm
Gecko Press
pub. 2017
27 April, 2021
Mythology, mystery, mountains and misfortune. Zeustian Logic, a book by Sabrina Malcolm tells the story of a family torn apart by tragedy and a boy’s quest to find out the truth.
“365 days ago, at 2:00 pm Nepal Standard Time, my father and one of his clients decided to abandon their summit attempt and go back down the mountain. No one really knows what happened after that. Later searchers found the client – dead. But Dad’s still up there… Somewhere.”
When Duncan’s mountaineering dad and his client get lost in the blizzards of the tallest mountain on earth, everything changes. Read more
Katipo Joe: Spycraft
Brian Falkner
Scholastic
pub. 2021
April 27, 2021
The second book in Brian Falkner’s Katipo Joe series, Spycraft, was published in 2021 by Scholastic, and continues on from where we left off at the end of Blitzkrieg. Joe is a British spy during World War 2 and has just come back from Paris and his previous mission, infiltrating the Hitler Youth, when he is whisked away to Germany to take the place of young Jürgen Weyl and enter the belly of the beast. Joe knows next to nothing about this person yet he must forget everything that he once was and become Jürgen. Read more
Tyrelia – Second book in the Realm Trilogy
S R Manssen
Manssen Publishing House
pub. 2019
20 April, 2021
In S R Manssen’s Tyrelia, the second book in her Realm Trilogy, Freya continues her quest, with the prime direction of her mysterious tablet. This tablet has led her through many places in Medar, and along the way, she has made many friends including the remaining Watchers. In the new-found land of Tyrelia, Freya discovers many strange things – from the humming she hears to the shield which just appears on her back moments after her entrance to Tyrelia. Freya also meets a new friend and travel companion called Willow in the town of Beta. Read more
Katipo Joe: Blitzkrieg
Brian Falkner
Scholastic
pub. 2020
20 April, 2021
Brian Falkner’s Katipo Joe: Blitzkrieg is a riveting tale, inspired by true events.
Published in 2020 by Scholastic, Blitzkrieg follows 12-year-old Joseph St George – Joe for short – who lives in a time where Germany is at war with the rest of the world. This novel is set during the Second World War and we watch as Joe grows from a small boy into a young man in the span of a few years. He is forced to adapt when his whole world is turned upside down; when suddenly everything that he once thought he knew turned out to be a lie. Read more
Brave’s Journey
Jan Goldie
IFWG Publishing
pub. 2015
20 April, 2021
Brave’s Journey by Jan Goldie is a one of a kind book. It’s about a nerdy teenager struggling through harsh comments and violent gestures towards his unusual family. When all of a sudden he starts having weird connections to the weather, his mother and uncle have a talk to him, explaining that they have a great enemy, and that they are all in danger. Also, that they come from a different planet.
Their planet Arvalonia has a funny connection with a source of power called ‘’the web.’’ This keeps the planet working, giving it energy when needed, but if you take in too much of ‘’the web’’ you can go insane or die. Read more
Whetū Toa and the Magician
Steph Matuku
Huia
pub. 2018
15 April, 2021
Whetū Toa and the Magician, a novel by Steph Matuku with illustrations by Katharine Hall, is about a young girl taking up the job of Animal Keeper in the house of the magician The Mighty Mikarere, where her mother also works.
Whetū Toa and Errant are the main characters. Whetū Toa is a very kind and considerate person. I related to her very well, with her positive attitude. Errant is a very smart bunny who is always getting into mischief.
Whetū Toa is just getting used to the farm when her mum reveals to her that the magician is deep in debt and that Whetū Toa will have to find a way for the animals to work for their keep. Read more
The Dark Quest of Countess X
L P Hansen
Onepoto Press
pub. 2021
15 April, 2021
“Why is the human female valued so low that many women see themselves and others as not fit to live?”
Around the world, mysterious emails arrive at schools asking teenagers to “help missing women” by researching the subject and coming up with a proposal. The writers of the twenty most effective sounding plans will be invited to present them at an unnamed place in Europe, all expenses paid. The sender, styling herself Countess X, is met with suspicion in most instances – how can it not be a hoax? Read more
