I am not Esther by Fleur Beale

I am not Esther by Fleur Beale was first published in 1998 and I am only just reading it now, despite purchasing it in early 2017.  The front cover has the line A bestselling New Zealand classic and I would agree and urge you to read it.

Here is the front cover:

Here is the back cover and blurb.

Now I've previously read a number of Fleur Beale's books, but I have a personal attachment.  Mrs Beale was a teacher at my high school when I was a student and she was a wonderful teacher who I have happy memories of, not because she was a teacher of a subject I liked as I never had her as a subject teacher, but because she took the time to talk to students and support them as they were transitioning from leaving school.  Mr Beale would also sometimes travel to school on the bus with us.  This is a link to Fleur Beale's Wikipedia page which has her biography and also contains a list of her books (I love Slide the Corner).

This book would resonate with many New Zealanders with the most famous cult in New Zealand, Gloriavale, receiving a lot of media attention and being the subject of several flattering documentaries over the last decade.

This would be a great book to read with Year 9 and 10s to encourage fabulous discussion for and against the lifestyle and beliefs and actions of the Children of the Faith and apply it to real life situations.

At 207 pages (in my copy anyway) it was a fast read and compelling as Kirby is abandoned by her mother into the care of her Uncle Caleb and his family, people Kirby knew nothing of, before supposedly going off to Africa to volunteer with refugees as a nurse.  Kirby is taken away from all she knows, her name is changed to Esther by her uncle and he refuses to give her access to her and her mother's possessions or let her read letters sent by her mother or give her her mother's address.

Kirby finds herself in a home with no radio, no television, no newspapers, no mirrors and no telephone.  There are six children (Daniel aged 17, the twins Rachel and Rebecca who are intermediate aged, Abraham and Luke who are primary school aged and Magdalene who has just turned five) and her Aunt Naomi is pregnant.  Kirby finds out that there is another sister, Miriam, the same age as her, fourteen, who has recently passed away.

Kirby fights against the situation she finds herself in, struggles to keep her identity as Kirby rather than becoming Esther.  She soon discovers that the situation with Miriam is not what it seems and that Daniel has no desire to stay in the faith.  Kirby finds help once she begins high school but it is with a heavy heart as she struggles with the thought of abandoning Magdalene.

To say anything else would be to give away too much about the story, but I am looking forward now to reading the sequels, I am Rebecca and Being Magdalene, which I purchased at the same time as I am not Esther.

The Pretty Delicious Cafe by Danielle Hawkins

I am a big fan of Kiwi author Danielle Hawkins and I was hanging out for this third helping from her which I picked up from the lovely ladies at Paper Plus in Te Awamutu before Christmas.  They even found me one of the last remaining copies signed by Danielle on the night of the book launch and kindly pointed out her dedication to them too.  They did offer to sign the book as well... but didn't follow through.


The Pretty Delicious Cafe is a well anticipated follow up to Dinner at Rose's and Chocolate Cake for Breakfast (aka: my happy place), by the author/mum/wife/vet/farmer from Otorohanga.  This is a piece about A Day in the Life of Danielle Hawkins by her publisher, Harper-Collins.  Here is the cover, blurb, a brief (signed!) author bio and the dedication to the ladies at Paper Plus and Danielle's "mint" husband:

Again, this book is set in a small rural town, this time on the Northland east coast, with a collection of interesting locals to add colour to the story.  The central character is Lia, who owns a cafe with her best friend Anna, who is also engaged to Lia's twin brother Rob.  Lia and Rob's mum Margaret also lives in town and they have a much older half-brother, Mike, who visits when he can get away their father's farm down past Taumarunui. 


Other supporting characters include Hugh, who has a crush on Margaret, and Monty, the local mechanic who would rather go fishing than fix cars.  Lia also has an ex-boyfriend, Issac, who just doesn't get the message she is no longer interested.


Then one dark night after Lia has been reading a scary book lent to her by Hugh, a stranger knocks on her door asking for help.  Lia is petrified by this and this reveals a link between Lia and Rob that is a reocurring theme throughout the book and a source of tension between Lia and Anna.


Of course, this is a romance, and my first cat I will let out of the bag is that the stranger, Jed, becomes the love interest for Lia.  However, Issac can not let go and continues to beg Lia to get back together.  The second cat I am letting out of the bag is that there is partner violence - and I am only saying this as I know it can be a trigger for some people.


I really enjoyed reading this and I have lent it to a couple of cousins (one of which who has already read the previous two books) who also enjoyed it.  I have enjoyed it so much I have read it at least six times since before Christmas!  So of course, I do recommend this book.






An aside:
If you have read Chocolate Cake for Breakfast, you will be well aware of the 'date' Helen and Mark have with the dead calf in the cow.  I had a cow go down with calving paralysis, and as I watched the vet insert her arm into the cow to check her out, I asked if she had read Chocolate Cake for Breakfast.  My vet had - and Danielle works for the same vet company my family uses!!  Lovely!!

The Cloud Leopard's Daughter by Deborah Challinor

I am a big Deborah Challinor fan and I have reviewed a number of her books previously, including Behind the Sun, Girl of Shadows, The Silk Thief, and A Tattooed Heart.


In November, Challinor released the fourth book in her series The Smuggler's Wife about Kitty, Rian, Amber and the crew of the Katipo, The Cloud Leopard's Daughter.  This book follows on from Kitty, Amber and Band of Gold.  I have read all this series, but The Cloud Leopard's Daughter will be the first in this series I have reviewed.  Perhaps when I get my book collection out of storage I will go back and review these novels from earlier in the series.


Here is the front cover and blurb:

The Cloud Leopard's Daughter picks up in 1863, nearly a decade after Band of Gold, with the crew of the Katipo III entering the Dunedin Harbour enroute to see their old friend Wong Fu from the Ballarat goldfields in Band of Gold.  He has a huge favour to ask of Kitty and Rian and their crew: to find his kidnapped daughter Bao.


Bao has been kidnapped because Wong Fu is the Cloud Leopard, a tong master.  Bao is his heir.  Wong Fu's brother, Wong Kai, however wants the title for himself.  Kitty and Rian agree to find Bao and rescue her from her fate.


The crew of the Katipo III find themselves travelling to Sydney where Rian re-news his aquaintance with Friday and Aria (begun in The Girl of Shadows and again in A Tattooed Heart), the Phillipines and Hong Kong in their quest for rescuing Bao.  They face many dangers from Wong Kai and others, as well as a traitor within their own midst.


It is a riveting read, and I polished off the book quickly (surprise, surprise) because, as usual, Challinor writes a book that you just can not put down at the end of a chapter.  Cliff hangers have you wanting to continue the reading despite starvation and sleep deprivation.  Besides, when you are reading with a view like this to glance up to, you can see I was hardly deprived really....

Enemy Camp by David Hill

I am a big David Hill fan, and over the last few years I think he has written some great books explaining life during times of war for young readers.  Enemy Camp is David Hill's 2016 offering.

I picked this book up from the teacher's table of a class I was relieving in, and for the second time this year, I was so enchanted by the book that teacher had, I went and bought it.  I have previously reviewed two other David Hill books: My Brother's War set in World War One about conscientious objectors and the conscription of soldiers, and Brave Company set during the Korean Conflict about a teenage boy in the New Zealand Navy.

Enemy Camp is set in the New Zealand town of Featherston during the second World War, where the Japanese prisoner of war internment camp was sited.  The book starts in late 1942 and followed events through until after the traumatic events of 25 February 1943 at the camp.

Here is the front cover and blurb:

The central character is Ewen, who is at primary school.  His teacher has asked the students in his class to keep a diary or journal of their lives, as he believes they are living through a very special time.  Therefore, the story is written in Ewen's voice in the format of a journal.  Some days he writes about quite mundane things, and other days he writes about some very dramatic events and how he views and feels about them.

Ewen's father works at the internment camp after returning from the Battle of Greece due to injuries sustained in battle.  Ewan and his friends Barry and Clarry (who is suffering from the after affects of polio) are fascinated by the inmates in the internment camp and take every opportunity to visit the camp.  This eventually results in the boys taking lessons in the Japanese language and ettiquette from one of the Japanese officers at the camp.

However, not everyone in Featherston feels so friendly towards the Japanese and they rail against any form of positive contact with the prisoners or their culture.  The prisoners of war also rail against what they consider to be unfair and struggle with the shame of being POWs, because now their families will shun them if and when the war ends.  They consider that death is more honourable than being a live POW.

This all combines to one of the most dramatic episodes of the war on New Zealand war, which Ewen, Barry and Clarry are in the middle of.  This event was so traumatic the New Zealand government suppressed it for a number of years for fear that if the Japanese government found out about it, they would mete out unfair treatment to the POWs in their care from New Zealand.  But New Zealand was yet to find out how truly terrible the treatment of POWs by the Japanese really was.

I would definitely recommend this book to boys from age 9 or 10 to read.  I will be adding this to my collection of books for ANZAC day and reading this to a class in the future.  It's a great Christmas gift for a boy aged ten and up.

Brave Company by David Hill

Anzac Day is one of the most important days in the history of New Zealand.  It was the ignition of a series of events that began the formation of the New Zealand identity and loosened the apron ties of Mother England.  It was also the beginning of unimagined sacrifice by a country with a small population.

As a teacher, I believe that this important part of our history should never be forgotten and is a valuable part of the learning journey for our children.  Consequently I teach an Anzac Day unit each year and supply and read a selection of war stories to the children.

Last year I reviewed the David Hill novel My Brother's War set in WWI about two brothers, one who volunteered to serve and one who was a conscientious objector but was forced onto the battlefield against his beliefs.  Since that review I purchased another David Hill book focused on a different war.

Brave Company is set during the Korean Conflict and the main character is 16 year old Russell who is a member of the New Zealand Navy serving on a ship called HMNZS Taupo which has been sent to participate in the Korean Conflict.  Korea is war rarely discussed in terms of every day conversations on war, but New Zealand sent 4700 soldiers to serve during the 1950-1953 war and then as a peace keeping force during the armistice until 1957, and 1300 sailors served on frigates during the war and armistice, and all up 45 military personnel were lost.  (www.nzhistory.net.nz - Korean War)

I had a great uncle serve in Korea.  The first time I did an Anzac Day unit my Gran lent me a postcard Uncle T sent home about Christmas time with the Christmas Day menu on it.  I also treasure the photo I acquired of him in uniform with my great grandfather (who served in WWI) and great grandmother.  Uncle T saw enough of war in Korea to oppose his own son joining the army to serve in Vietnam.

This is the front cover and the blurb on the back cover:

 

 

Russell's family has a secret about an uncle who served and died in WWII who Russell once looked up to.  During his time in Korea Russell finds out about his uncle and discovers not all in what it appears to be.

 

Russell is a boy seaman on a frigate and the battle scene the frigate is involved in is tense and described in detail.  The tension is built throughout the book with innuendo about his uncle weaved through.  Hill doesn't reveal the questions asked about Russell's uncle early in the book.  They emerge as Russell's character is revealed and he meets a man who served with his uncle as he makes several trips into the battlefields of Korea. 

 

The book also reveals the plight of the Korean people as they fled their homes in the battle zone and the impact upon the children in particular.  Russell makes connections with a brother and sister in this predicament and demonstrates another side to his character as his understanding of their situation develops.

 

Again this is a great book to engage children in the realities and impacts of war.  It is a particularly good book to target boys aged 10 up to read, but I believe girls will also read this book.

Heartland by Jenny Pattrick

I love reading books by New Zealand authors.  I think it is important to support our authors, so I prefer to purchase their books when I can rather than borrow from the library, that way I am financially supporting writing in New Zealand (the little they do get!).  Jenny Pattrick is a celebrated New Zealand author.  She is well known for The Denniston Rose, Heart of Coal, and Catching the Current as well as Landings and Inheritance, Pattrick keeps putting out books that encapsulate great story telling from many different eras and points of view of uniquely New Zealand characters.

 

Here is the front cover and back blurb for Heartland:

 

Heartland is set in the central North Island on the Central Plateau in a small, nowhere town called Manawa somewhere off the beaten track.  Once a bustling forestry town, it's been years and years since its hey day.  The local community is tight knit on one hand, but very private on another, all keeping their own business but curious about each other.

Many houses in the town are owned by city folk who come down for the weekends during the ski season to take advantage of Mt Ruapehu's ski fields and party at night.

The story centres on a young man, Donny Mac, who is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  He was abandoned by his parents to his grandfather at a young age, and after his grandfather passed on two of the older members of the town have kept an eye on him and supported him.

He comes home from a short stint in jail (engineered by the dastardly matriarch of the nearby big smoke of Raetihi) to find a girl, Nightshade, who no one likes, in his home claiming he is the father of her expected child.

Meanwhile, camping out in an abandoned house across the way is another young girl, known as the Virgin, with her baby.

Due to events that unfold due to the untimely disappearance of Nightshade not long after her baby is born, Donny Mac and the Virgin have to join forces to care for each other and their children.  As the story unfolds, each of the town's permanent residents become more entangled in each other's lives in more ways than one and they come to rely on each other more and more.  The strange elderly ladies living over the back fence of Donny Mac's house are also drawn into their lives and the lives of other long term residents of Manawa.

When a film crew comes to town to film a movie, a secret is threatened to be revealed and all are on edge.  But the tight knit community draws together to protect each other and consolidate their reliance on one another.

It is a dark sort of novel.  With the setting being in one of the coldest places in New Zealand, you can't help but feel the cold creep into you as you read.  Events and connections unfold as you become more engrossed in the characters and the secrets they and the town have concealed for so long.

It is indeed very clever story telling.

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast by Danielle Hawkins

Don't you just love reading books about places and people that are similar to you, that give you the fantasy that you are similar to the person in the book and that scenario just might happen for you?

Well that is what Chocolate Cake for Breakfast by Danielle Hawkins did for me. 

Danielle Hawkins is from Otorohanga in the Waikato/King Country.  Yep!!  Another Kiwi author based in rural Waikato!!  Who would've thought that country life could be so inspiring to a writer?  This is the second book Hawkins has published, and to give you a clue, I enjoyed it so much I went out and purchased her first novel Dinner at Rose's which I will also review soon.  This NZ Herald article from May 2012 gives you an insight into Danielle Hawkins.

So here is the cover of the book and the blurb on the back... I hope I'm not the only one who was intrigued by the cover of the book:

The lead character, Helen McNeil, is a small town rural vet in the Waikato, recently returned from her OE and not long out of a long lasting relationship that had fizzled.  After many years away due to university and travel, she is adjusting back into the community where she grew up and has relatives seeping out of every nook and cranny - some of whom are rather painful.

Her cousin makes her attend a party on a night that she is the on call vet.  And as the back of the book describes, in her attempt to avoid the dullest girl in town, Helen literally trips over an All Black.  She doesn't even recognise Mark Tipene's name when they strike up a conversation in the dark shadows.  Mark is impressed by this lack of recognition, and soon begins his pursuit of Helen.

The fact that Helen is always on call (so it seems), that it is calving season, and that she seems inept at talking to the male of the species combined with Mark's eagerness leads them on some interesting first dates.  It will also give the reader some appreciation of some of the more gory parts of being a vet than the average cat or dog owner wouldn't ordinarily think of.

Of course it is not all smooth sailing for Helen and Mark.  There is a major problem that soon tests their relationship, and lack of communication and assumptions compound it.  But these issues do not stop the very interesting support characters from introducing some hilarious scenarios into the book and that is probably what makes this book so funny and readable (apart from the romance of course).

I loved this book so much I read it twice in three weeks (I've never done that before) and it promoted the fantasy that so many girls in New Zealand have.... an All Black falling in love with them.... even in the back blocks of no where!!

The Life and Art of Lynley Dodd by Finlay Macdonald

Wow!!  This was a spur of the moment purchase.  I had not even heard that this book had been published at all.  But back in March I was trawling through Paper Plus in the Downtown Plaza in Hamilton, trying to hunt down the third book in the Hunger Games series, and my eyes rested upon this volume.

I'm not a fanatical biography reader, my previous biographies read being mainly All Blacks Josh Kronfeld, Tana Umaga and Mils Muliaina, so this is new territory for me.  However Lynley Dodd is a New Zealand treasure and her books are must haves in my opinion - not just as a teacher or an aunty - I enjoyed them before I became either.

The Life and Art of Lynley Dodd by Finlay Macdonald (another writing legend of New Zealand) is just gorgeous.  Feast your eyes on the front, back and inside covers for starters:

  

The inside covers were actually a mini autobiography which Lynley Dodd produced in 1995 for In Flight magazine.

Macdonald has had access to pictures, notes and letters right back into Dodd's childhood.  There are scribbles she did at primary and secondary school, beautiful drawings from Art School, the doodles she did as an art teacher and young mother.... it is all there, cataloguing her evolution to become one of New Zealand's most beloved authors and illustrators.

All the way through the book are the mock ups as well as the final illustrations that make it into a published book by Lynley.  She discusses her obsessive perfectionism she has towards the pictures and words, how even when the book is sent off to the printers and arrives in its final form that she can barely look at it because she knows she want to re-draw all the pictures again. 

Her long time collaborators Ann Mallinson (publisher until 2009) and Margaret Cochran (designer) talk about her high standards and the degree of the control she and her small team have asserted to keep the Hairy Maclary brand from being diluted and exploited.

Throughout the book there are excerpts from various books that I couldn't help but read out loud to the cat because the language is so much fun.  Scott Optican (associate professor of law from Auckland University) informed  Lynley in 2009 as she received a distinguished alumni award from the University of Auckland that she was using anapaestic tetrameter as her method of writing rhyme.  Lynley responded that she did not know what that was and was surprised by his observation.  She said she 'just wrote what sounded good to me'.  This timing is used by Dr Seuss and in the story The Night Before Christmas.  It seems Lynley has used it by instinct and it is a timing that works beautifully for a child's picture book.

This book is a beautiful insight into one of New Zealand's most celebrated children's authors.  She is not only celebrated by children, but by parents and teachers as well, as there is so much in her books that endears them to adults too.

It gives a real eye-opener into what it takes to produce a book to the standard which Lynley Dodd has set for one of her children's books.  It is also and insight into the evolution of an author and how they approach their work.  It also shows that New Zealand authors can foot it on the world stage and can create books that are beloved around the world.

Finlay Macdonald has approached the writing of this book in the same way that he used to present the television show on books he once spearheaded: gently, factually, warmly.   It is an easy read with wonderful illustrations that relate to the period of Lynley's life being discussed and photos that chart her life.  I've been able to dip in and out of this book over the last six or seven months and soak up the charm it exudes.  As a teacher I am inspired to share parts of this book to demonstrate that professional authors have to work hard to create the books that my students love.

This book is a celebration of not only Lynley Dodd, but one of New Zealand's most beloved characters, Hairy Maclary, and his friends.  I'm so glad I gave into impulse and purchased this book.  I know it is a book that I will dip in and out of for years to come.  This is a book I will cherish.

Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager

I'm not usually one to buy books about politics.  As avidly as I follow, read, comment and live politics, I would not normally purchase a book about politics.

But this book, Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager, was about something I had been suspecting for a while as a follower of politics, so I bought it.  Nicky has had a history of writing provocative books about politicians and their deeds, such as Helen Clark's alleged cover up of GM seeds being imported into New Zealand as covered in the Seeds of Distrust book in 2001, and the expose of Don Brash's dodgy as National Party 2005 election campaign in the book The Hollow Men.

The book is sub-titled How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand's political environment and this book pulls few punches and confirms my worst fears of modern New Zealand politics and commerce.

Alas, due to it being term time and also being actively involved in Election 2014 as a party activist (supporting a candidate), among many other busy reasons, I didn't get past chapter one for a long time.  Finally in the term break I began to read more.  By the end of chapter 5 I had to have a shower.  I felt dirty inside and out, sickened to my stomach.

And that sensation did not leave me at any chapter.

I was horrified at the depth and lengths in which Slater, Farrer, Ede, Lusk, et al, went to discredit credible people, manipulate politics and commercial endeavours, change laws, direct candidate selections, and generally destroy people's lives.  Personally, I have been oiled, and the person I was oiled with is still fighting for her career.  I know others that have lost their careers due to Slater and his devious ways.  And always with lies, innuendo, slander and defamation.

However it did confirm many suspicions I had over the National led government and their tactics since 2008.  This comment by Hager in the Afterword confirmed what I had believed in recent years:

John Key's government was unusually aggressive at attacking and trying to silence scientists, journalists, academics, public interest groups and any other people who publicly criticised its actions.  It cut public funding for a wide array of organisations that represented and advocated for communities.  The essence of democratic government is that the widest possible range of people have their share of influence and an equal chance of being heard.  The politics revealed in this book is about small numbers of people trying to have much more than their fair share.

What astounds me is that even after Hager has exposed Slater and Farrer and their ilk, demonstrated the extent to which John Key, Judith Collins and their staff were involved, the general public of New Zealand still voted the National Party back into government and no action has been taken against Slater, Farrer, Ede or Lusk.  Yet Nicky Hager has his house raided with equipment and documents seized, despite him saying from the day the book was released that he no longer held any documents or electronic files linked to the data given to him by the hacker Rawshark.

In conclusion, this is a book every New Zealander should have read before the election, and if they haven't, it should be compulsory reading now.  It exposes the dark arts of political manipulation and corruption and if there is no changes to the laws and procedures in New Zealand as outlined by Hager in the Afterword then we truly have a corrupt society.

My Brother's War by David Hill

Each year I do a focus on Anzac Day in my classroom.  I'm always on the look out for great books that can communicate the New Zealand experience in the wars New Zealanders have gone to.  I also am a bit of a war novel junkie and have a slight obsession with war documentaries on the History Channel.

Last year the book I purchased as my main focus was My Brother's War by David Hill.

I bought this book last year to add to my Anzac Day resource collection.  I bought it at one of my favourite bookshops, Wright's Bookshop in Cambridge, which always has a great range of children's and young people's literature, a great range of New Zealand authors, and a great range in non-fiction as well.  I rarely leave this book shop without a purchase. 

I read this book to my class and then some children choose to read it themselves afterwards, and one child even bought the book herself.  When children want to re-read or buy the book for themselves, I think that is a great endorsement to the book itself.

David Hill is a well known and established New Zealand author who has written a number of novels and is a well known contributor to the School Journal.  He is a trained teacher and has been published internationally.  These are the links to his Penguin Books profile and his New Zealand Book Council profile and an interview with the Christchurch City Libraries.

The blurb on the back cover reads as follows:

My Dear Mother,
Well, I've gone and done it. I've joined the Army!
Don't be angry at me, Mother dear. I know you were glad when I wasn't chosen in the ballot. But some of my friends were, and since they will be fighting for King and Country, I want to do the same.
 
It's New Zealand, 1914, and the biggest war the world has known has just broken out in Europe.

William eagerly enlists for the army but his younger brother, Edmund, is a conscientious objector and refuses to fight. While William trains to be a soldier, Edmund is arrested.

Both brothers will end up on the bloody battlefields of France, but their journeys there are very different. And what they experience at the front line will challenge the beliefs that led them there.

A compelling novel about the First World War for 9-12 year olds.

The following text and the picture above comes from the Penguin Books New Zealand website:

Penguin Group (NZ) is proud that David Hill’s novel My Brother’s War has won the 2013 Junior Fiction category at New Zealand’s prestigious New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards. The award was announced at a ceremony held in Christchurch last night. My Brother’s War was also the winner in the Children’s Choice Junior Fiction category.

My Brother’s War was released in August 2012 with great success. The compelling novel about the First World War – for 9-12 year olds – follows the lives of two brothers; William who eagerly enlists for the army, and his younger brother Edmund, a conscientious objector refusing to fight. While William trains to be a soldier, Edmund is arrested. Both brothers end up on the bloody battlefields of France, but their journeys there couldn’t be more different.

David is one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded authors for children and young people. His books have been published internationally and he has won awards for his writing in this country and overseas. David was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004.

Margaret Thompson, Managing Director of Penguin Group (NZ) stated “We heartily congratulate David Hill and are delighted to share in his remarkable success.”  25 June 2013

My class was very excited when the news came through that My Brother's War has won the Junior Fiction category in the New Zealand Post's Children's Book Awards, as well as the Children's Choice Junior Fiction Award. 

The thing I found intriguing about this book was exploring what happened to conscientious objectors.  This link will take you to NZ History for a more detailed description of what a conscientious objector is.  I knew that those who were not enlisted often received white feathers and that conscientious objectors were arrested and put in jail and did hard labour.

What I did not know was that these conscientious objectors were then forced into the army and with no training sent to the Western Front in World War I.

Those who continued to resist were then subjected to what was known as 'field punishment no.1' - a brutal punishment devised by the military hierarchy, which Edmund is subjected to in this book.  TVNZ showed a movie on Tuesday 22 April 2014 called Field Punishment No.1, based on a book of the same name, based on the experiences of Archibald Baxter, New Zealand's most famous conscientious objector.  In fact, Archie is also a significant character in My Brother's War.

Even though My Brother's War is aimed at children aged 9-12, I think even teenagers and adults will thoroughly be engaged in this book.  I think it is a good book to engage boys with, however it was the girls in my class who re-read it for themselves.  It certainly opened my eyes to an area of war very rarely discussed, an area that has been touched upon lightly over the years.  This is definitely a book worth a read in my opinion.

Girl of Shadows by Deborah Challinor

Deborah Challinor is a well known New Zealand author and historian.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction books, notably historical fiction and history books about Vietnam soldiers and the consequences of their service in the Vietnam conflict on the health of them and their subsequent children. 

 

I've read a number of her books and enjoyed them, and as soon as I can get my boxes out of storage and unpack my books and get them back on my shelves I will review those books too.

 

Currently Deborah Challinor is living in New South Wales Australia, writing a series of books based on four girls transported to Sydney Australia as convicts from London.  Girl of Shadows is the second book of that series, and I have previously reviewed the first book, Behind the Sun.  You can read more about Deborah Challinor and her books on her website.

 

The first book Behind the Sun was released in 2012, and this book was released in 2013.  So I am anticipating that the third book of the series will be released in 2014.... and I can barely wait as I have enjoyed the first two immensely.

As the characters were firmly established in the first book, Behind the Sun, this book quickly gets stuck into the action.  Only Friday, Sarah and Harriet are in this book, after the tragic loss of Rachel, and they are haunted by the revenge they took on behalf of poor Rachel.

Many other main and secondary characters return in this book, and some new ones are introduced.  One reoccurring character is Bella Jackson, who knows of their secret revenge and is blackmailing them.

The doctor from the Isla pines for Harriet, who will not make anything of his advances because of his actions after Rachel died.  Harriet has fallen on her feet though, being placed with a family who are also tailors and dressmakers.  Her artistic talents are soon discovered and put to use.

Sarah has fallen on her feet working for Adam Green, the jeweller, but his wife Esther is a thorn in her side.  Sarah decides to take matters into her own hands where Esther is concerned, and this has results that surprise even her.

Friday is working in a brothel that has rather high standards and she is popular.  But she fights the demons of her actions with booze and bears the burden of the blackmailing.  She knows someone is out to get her and her friends, but she can't quite put her finger on it.

This book engrossed me and took me on a journey to Sydney 1830.  It certainly is not the Sydney I'd like to visit, but to read about what this town was like so early on in its existence and to compare it to the Sydney today is quite fascinating.

The story is still full of Challinor's descriptions of the times and places and people, but the plot moves a long at a pace to keep you engaged.

And then it is the end of the book, and you realise that the next book in the series is not yet in the shops and probably won't be for another nine or ten months, and you grieve that you are leaving these characters prematurely, before you know their fates.....

Behind the Sun by Deborah Challinor

Deborah Challinor is a well known New Zealand author and historian.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction books, notably historical fiction and history books about Vietnam soldiers and the consequences of their service in the Vietnam conflict on the health of them and their subsequent children.

 

Currently Deborah Challinor is living in New South Wales Australia, writing a series of books based on four girls transported to Sydney Australia as convicts from London.  Behind the Sun is the first of that series.  You can read more about Deborah and her books at her website.

 

Here is the cover and blurb for Behind the Sun:

 

This book took a little bit to get started.  For some characters, we meet them before they end up in the Newgate Gaol and find out how they got there; and for some other characters, we meet them once they arrive in Newgate.  The conditions are vividly described and certainly leave a lot to be desired as far a living conditions go.

In these horrid conditions four young women bond, Friday (a prostitute), Sarah (a jeweller turned thief), Harriet (a seamstress that made a poor choice in a weak moment) and Rachel (a young naïve country girl) and work together to make the most of their meagre opportunities.  All four are sentenced to transportation to Sydney, Australia.

The book follows them and some other Newgate prisoners through the voyage to Australia, bringing in more characters from another gaol, the ship's crew and the first class passengers.  While the ship sails a major event happens that changes one girl's life forever, but also will continue to have ramifications for the other three girls long into the future. 

The story continues through to their first seven or eight months in the new colony.  Some of the women are assigned work placements and leave the Parramatta Factory (the gaol), while others stay for various reasons.  But tragedy will take place for one of the women, and the other three will seek revenge.  Unfortunately, they are not the only ones who know what they did.

I originally was purchasing the second book, Girl of Shadows, but the Whitcoulls sales lady pointed out that it was part of a series.  I have always quite enjoyed Deborah Challinor's books, so it wasn't hard for the sales lady to twist my arm to buy both books.

The first book did take a while to set up the characters, but as the book goes on it brings in more central and secondary characters to develop the story with the main plot and other sub plots.  Challinor is descriptive of Newgate, the voyage on the Isla, and what Sydney and the Parramatta Factory were like.  I found these descriptions added to the feel of the time and the events.

I came across this meme today, and it really does describe how I feel about the characters of a book.  As the story progressed, I became invested what would happen to Friday, Sarah, Harriet and Rachel, celebrating their successes and lamenting their failures.  This attachment deepened as I read the second book of the series.

Once I was engaged in the book plot and the characters, there was no putting this book down, and then I was quickly on to reading the second book, Girl of Shadows.  Read that review soon.

Dinner at Rose's by Danielle Hawkins

Dinner at Rose's was the debut novel by Otorohanga based Kiwi author Danielle Hawkins in 2012.  I previously reviewed Chocolate Cake for Breakfast, the first book by Hawkins I read, but this book I bought because I loved Chocolate Cake for Breakfast and I wanted more of Hawkins down to earth Kiwi chick lit.

 

This is the bio for Danielle Hawkins inside Dinner at Rose's:

 

Danielle Hawkins grew up on a sheep and beef farm near Otorohanga in New Zealand, and later studied veterinary science.  After graduating as a vet she met a very nice dairy farmer who became her husband.  Danielle spends two days a wee working as a large animal vet and the other five as housekeeper, cook and general dogsbody.  She has two small children - and when she is very lucky they nap simultaneously and she can write.

 

It is rather an amusing bio and explains how when she wrote Chocolate Cake for Breakfast she was able to describe the vet practices and calving process so well - so well, one wonders if some, if not all, of those vet experiences were ones Hawkins herself has experienced as a vet/farmer.  It also goes a long way to explain the empathy her books have with the rural lifestyle and work life, as the characters in Dinner at Rose's are again based in a rural town and on farms and lifestyle blocks.

 

So here are the cover and blurb bits for you to admire:

 

We are introduced to our heroine Jo Donnelly as she arrives at her Aunty Rose's house, fresh from her traumatic break with her long time doctor love in Melbourne.  Rose is not really her aunt, but Jo grew up down the road from Rose.... and we all know those close bonds that families who are not related to each other that can form relationships that are like family.

Rose has a nephew called Matt, Jo's best friend from childhood.  Something though has happened in their past to give their childhood friendship a twist.  Aunty Rose and Matt's younger sister Kim are bent on getting Jo and Matt together, despite Matt's mother Hazel trying to set him up for marriage with Cilla (aka Farmer Barbie).

Rose comes down with a life threatening illness and Jo, Matt and Kim band together to care for her, despite Hazel's unhelpfulness towards her own sister. 

Family secrets are revealed, as are past crushes and loves, new love is found and friendships strengthened as this book progresses.

I loved Chocolate Cake for Breakfast so much I re-read it again within three weeks of the first read... and I don't think it will be long before I will be re-reading Dinner at Rose's again too.

(I just finished reading it again.... even though it was only four weeks ago that I read it.... I feel the urge to read it again!!  28 January)

The Peco Incident by Des Hunt

Des Hunt is a New Zealand author.  He was a teacher, and now writes books for children with strong themes about nature, science and technology.  I first heard about Des Hunt when I was teaching on the Coromandel, where Des also has taught and lives, and many parents and teachers talked about how great his books are and what wonderful books they are to get boys reading.  Go to Des Hunt's web page to find out more about him.

 

For Christmas 2012 I bought one of Des' books for my young cousin Sam as a present.  This Christmas I got him The Peco Incident.  I started reading the first few pages as I wrapped Sam's present and then decided that the concept of the book was quite engaging and that I wanted to read it too, and that it would be a great book to read to my class as well.

 

So here is the front cover and blurb on the back cover of The Peco Incident:

 

 

This book was quite engaging from the start.  Danny's cousin Nick arrives from the North Island to stay with Danny and his mum and dad near the albatross colony near Dunedin.  Danny doesn't know Nick too well, and Nick is rather a handful due to having ADHD.

What follows is an adventure tale that would be a New Zealander's worst nightmare - an eco-terrorist who is hell bent on destroying New Zealand's pride and joy - its native birds - to prove a warped idea against factory farming of poultry.

I'm going to read this to my class in 2014 because it brings up a lot of really important themes that I think are important:

• native birds
• factory farming of poultry
• bio-security
• eco-terrorism
• ethical protesting
• cruelty to animals
• safety of animals

I believe this book would create a lot of critical thinking and discussion in my class.  Also Des Hunt (according to his website) is willing to interact with classes about his books, so I think this would add a wonderful dynamic to reading the book with the class.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am an adult.  It brought up a lot of ethical questions as I read it and also gave me further insight into our bird species of New Zealand (a favourite topic I like to teach).  I think it is a book that people of all ages would enjoy, but especially boys aged 11+ could independently read and hook into this book and enjoy the adventure aspect of it.

Hand Me Down by Michelle Holman

I was introduced to writer Michelle Holman towards the end of 2010 when a colleague said I should read at book called Bonkers.  She then gave me the book.  It was a funny, kick arse piece of chick lit written by a Kiwi author and I loved it.

I've since bought several of Michelle Holman's books and loved and laughed with them all.  Michelle Holman is a trained nurse and lives in Cambridge in the Waikato with her husband and family writing wonderful romantic comedic novels.  You can read more about Michelle here.

This is the cover and blurb for Hand Me Down:

This book had me hooked from the first page (which is good, because I did pay for it!).  The main female character, April Ritchie, is feisty and difficult, with a secret that is slowly eeked out through the book.  Tarn Elliot, the main male character, also has a bit of mystery about him, and he balances the feistiness of April with his calm manner and decisive actions.  There are plenty of interesting support characters that bring more drama, humour, subversion and secrets to the plot.  There are plenty of cringe moments, laugh out loud moments, mushy moments... and I even learned the odd new fact about running a cherry orchard.  I was thoroughly satisfied with the ending... and it left me wanting to read more from this author.

If you are looking for a book with some escapism, romance, laughter and a feel good ending, this is a good book for a summer's day on the beach, a read on an international flight or curled up on the couch on a raining day too.