Holiday Reading 2007

New Zealand titles: Young Adults

Beale, Fleur The transformation of Minna Hargreaves: Minna’s life is turned upside down when Dad announces that he wants them to live on an off-shore island for a year and work to make it into a conservation island.
Catran, Ken Monsters of blood and honour: Three stories in which elderly people tell teenagers of their traumatic and violent experiences during the second world war.
Catran, Ken Teresa Moran soldier: Partly set in Iraq, Teresa, Jimmy Moran’s daughter, is kidnapped and in return for her safety she talks to the charismatic leader of a terrorist group. For the first time she understands the story from the Moslem side and questions the values of the Western one-way morality system.
Jordan, Sherryl Time of the eagle: Avala’s father, Gabriel, was the great Deliverer, the giver of freedom, the hero who began the prophesied Time of the Eagle. Avala’s relationship with a wounded Igaal hunter leads to her acceptance within the Igaal tribe, where her healing gifts and visions make her indispensable. Sequel to Secret sacrament
McKay, Sandy Losing it: Johanna is in hospital, writing letters to her best friend, Issy. She can only have visitors, leave her room, or even use the phone, if she starts to eat. Johanna suffers from anorexia, and her condition has reached a point where doctors, nurses, and counsellors have had to find new ways to encourage, bribe, cajole or, as she thinks, punish her into returning to a normal weight.
Martin, Denis Playing for Keeps: Rikkers is a witness to the fishing boat explosion that kills Pip’s father. Although he tries to be a friend to Pip, she is clearly grieving and makes it quite clear she wants to be alone. Stunned by her hostility, Rikkers seeks advice from Charlie, an old friend of his Dad’s, but Charlie is strangely guarded about the explosion and doesn’t believe it was an accident.
Orman, Lorraine Hideout: When their home situation spins out of control, fifteen-year-old Roz packs up her younger sister and they flee to a friend’s beach house. But are they really out of harm’s way here on the wild and windy coast? Troubling events from the past, and mysterious ancestral voices from Kapiti Island, seem to call to Roz. Who should she be listening to? And when disaster strikes, who can she turn to for help?