Holiday Reading 2002

New Zealand Young Adults

Beckett, Bernard. No alarms
Sharon's had enough. School sucks and even in her repeat year, she just doesn't get it. Along comes Justin who offers a way to a glittery new world, a dangerous world that could put an end to everything.
Catran, Ken. Letters from the coffin-trenches
A moving and gripping account of New Zealanders at Gallipoli.
Catran, Ken. Tomorrow the dark
Creatures of nightmare have come from the sky and the ocean, and Jon has to become a warrior to protect his family, and human life itself. But then he meets Bronwyn, who questions the new order and Jon has to ask himself where his loyalties lie and whether fighting is the right answer.
Hill, David. Right where it hurts
Mallory, pressured to follow a career in medicine and unable to cope with people's expectations, begins to self-mutilate.
Jordan, Sherryl. The hunting of the last dragon
In England in 1356, as a monk records his every word, a young peasant tells of his journey with a young Chinese noblewoman to St. Alfric's Cove and the lair of a dragon.
Mahy, Margaret. Alchemy
Blackmailed by a teacher, Roland must befriend a misfit girl, or have his out-of-character petty crime exposed. When Jess refuses to respond to his advances he becomes intrigued. He discovers she has a dark secret - then goes on to discover that he has a dark secret of his own.
Morseth, Martha. Yeah! short stories for teenagers
Owen, Julia. Snapped
Shawny's mum is in hospital and the kids at school won't let her forget it. Then Shawny finds a new pastime, one that becomes a compulsion - stealing.
Roxborogh, Tania Kelly. The ring
"The noise was awful. Men in bush coats pressed against one another outside the ring, shouting out encouragement to the dogs in the centre …" Nadine knows her stepfather is brutal but the truth behind where he goes with her brothers and why his truck is always covered in blood only becomes clear when she accidentally stumbles onto The Ring. What she finds there makes her sick to her stomach but worse is to come …
Taylor, William. Spider
He's long, lean, lanky, has all the right stuff but has never bothered to make the school rugby team. Yet Mathew "Spider" Trent has just been voted Number 10 on a teen magazine's list of the hottest hunks. Everyone thinks Spider Trent's got it made - but has he?