Holiday Reading 2002

New Zealand Fiction for older readers

Beale, Fleur. Lucky for some: When Lacey moves to the country she joins the boys' rugby games and, in return, encourages the boys to learn to dance.
Catran, Ken. Something weird about Mr Foster: Humorous story about an alien.
Cowley, Joy. Froghopper: Felicity, Petros and Liberty Green think they're the luckiest kids on earth - their artist mum and woodcarver dad have decided to take them sailing round the Marlbourough Sounds for a year! They'll be home-schooled on the boat.
Ell, Sarah. When the war came home: It is November 1918, the end of the First World War, and an epidemic of influenza is sweeping Auckland. Jimmy K's father is "missing in action". Now his mother has taken his younger brothers and sisters away to the country and 13-year-old Jimmy is left with his uncle to face the horrors of the epidemic.
Ford, Vince. The dare club: Adam has accidentally fired on the town's toughest gang with his water cannon. As disaster looms Adam's gang uncover secrets about one another - secrets that will either split them up or give them strength for their final test, a confrontation with the tough gang.
Ford, Vince. Possums2u: Connor's cousin is making big money trapping live possums but he needs more of the furry tree-munchers. So Davin and the gang set up a possum-trapping base at Camp Isolation. Unfortunately, a poisoning programme, a rogue storm and a rising river and a possum threaten to sink the business. Also Somuch2do Davin has an idea for a school project featuring worms, eels, three little pigs, chooks that are barely alive, and a dog called Wag.
Hill, David. Where all things end: Jotan lives on Bellatrix, a Star-Reacher that holds 80,000 people and takes nearly three days to walk across. He is on his first mission, an attempt to explore a Black Hole, but they are in grave danger of being sucked in.
Hunt, Des. Friend in Paradise
Jones, V. M. Buddy: A fine first novel about twin brothers. Josh can't swim but if he's going to enter the triathlon he'll have to overcome his fear of water … and take the first step in confronting a memory, long buried.
Knox, Judy. No half measures
Lasenby, Jack. Aunt Effie: Aunt Effie is a resourceful `Jill-of-all-trades'. She can be found surrounded by her six gigantic pig dogs, her twenty-six nephews and nieces in her gigantic bed - which also acts as a time travel machine - wearing green canvas in the form of anything from pyjamas to a bikini. Their adventures take them to the kauri forests of the Coromandel and fighting pirates in the Hauraki Gulf.
Lilleby, Maggie. Breaking away: Mitch loves her chosen sport, cycling, and is determined to get into the inter-school cycling team. She loves the individual aspect of cycling but finds that to succeed as an individual she may need a team effort.
McKay, Sandy. My dad, the All Black: Will McCann, 12-years-old, is a top notch rugby player. Everybody says he gets his talent from his famous All Black father, but Will never knew his dad. When his grandfather dies, Will meets his reclusive Uncle Jim with a troubled past. While the All Blacks battle for the 1999 World Cup, Will battles to discover the truth about the past.
McKinnon, Kingi. When the kehua calls: As soon as the family pulls up outside the old whare, Rewi knows something is wrong. It's not just that the house is a crumbling wreck, there is something darker. Rewi feels it but can't make sense of it.
McNabb, Linda. The dragon's apprentice: Twelve-year old Toby has purple eyes and an amazing ability to talk to dragons. He's appointed as page to the mysterious Prince Blaise and is introduced to the Prince's sister Sarnelle, who tells him of the deadly plan the Prince has hatched. It's up to Toby to save the day.
Maybury, Ged. Pig apples: This is a story about secrets and lies, protests and pig farms, phones and spies; of greed and rivalry, old love re-found and a treasure long buried under the ground. Third in the series.
Quinn, Pat. Ratz: At a birthday sleepover Lorri, Harriet and friends decide to form a singing group for a charity concert.
Roxborogh, Tania Kelly. Limelight: Two girls compete for the role of Cinderella in the school play. Jasmine is perfect - confident, reliable, clever and very pretty. Nicole is average, but Cinderella is her favourite fairy story ever so its worth giving it a try.
Shirley, Lisa. The moon crystal: Jade is staying with her fortune-telling aunt in a small country town when she witnesses a space craft making a forced landing on the beach near her home.
Thorburn, Jan. Stranded: Sam and Toby and their dinghy are tossed up on a deserted part of New Zealand's coastline in a storm and they need to call on all their resources to survive.
Van der Laarse, Liz. Not even: Trouble seems to have a way of finding Luke. When his grandfather takes him north for some time out, Luke finds a very different life where image counts for nothing.