Kaurilands School

38,369 pages read and 3,055 team points

Team members

Ashley Goodreads

8,698 pts

(6,995 pages read)

The Mires

By Tina Makereti

5 stars

The Mires by Tina Makereti is a powerful New Zealand novel that weaves together the lives of three families from different cultures. It explores our connection to land and the meanings of migration and immigration, while also touching on the complexities of being a refugee. One of the central characters, Wairere, is a matakite (clairvoyant) who feels a deep, almost spiritual connection to the earth and the swamp. This book grapples with so many themes that it’s hard to pin down just one thing to love about it. At its heart, it is about human connection and the shared human experience, while also confronting xenophobia and racism in a thoughtful, grounded way. The Mires is an absorbing and important read.
Weyward

By Emilia Hart

4 stars

This book weaves together the lives of three women across five centuries, exploring female resistance and the idea of witches, known as the Weyward (later shortened to “weird”). As Kate slowly uncovers her family history while escaping a controlling husband, she begins to understand the strength that runs through her lineage. The story she uncovers is both empowering and liberating, showing how knowledge of the past can help shape a braver, freer future.
White King

By Juan Gomez-Jurado

4 stars

This is the third book in a trilogy. I enjoyed the trilogy, but the first book was my favourite in this series.
The Everlasting

By Alix E. Harrow

3 stars

This book was enjoyable. The Everlasting by Alix Harrow is a fantasy book that incorporates time travel and myth.
The Grimmelings

By Rachael King

4 stars

Ella and her family are caught up in the long-standing curse of a kelpie — a mythical creature brought from Scotland to New Zealand. With the help of her horse, Magpie, and her sister Fiona, Ella sets out to uncover the truth behind the mystery in order to save her town. Set in the South Island of New Zealand, this is an enjoyable and accessible read for upper primary students and older readers.
The Postcard

By Anne Berest

5 stars

This book was a very interesting and ultimately rewarding read. This book took my awhile to finish and, despite long pauses and stop-start reading, found the first part especially gripping. It begins with an anonymous postcard sent to the author’s family, bearing the names of her great-grandparents and their children, all murdered at Auschwitz, which sets off a deeply personal investigation years later. What follows is a painstaking, emotional journey through family history, tracing displacement, survival, and loss across Russia, Europe, and beyond. It’s a moving and unsettling story that slowly reshapes how Anne understands her family, her country, and herself. An excellent read overall—and yes, I absolutely judged this book by its cover before picking it up.
Heart the Lover

By Lily King

5 stars

In her final year of college, a young woman is drawn into the intoxicating world of two brilliant best friends from her 17th-century literature class, finding friendship, love, and her own intellectual ambition along the way. Living off-campus in a professor’s elegant house, their days are filled with academic passion, sharp banter, and late-night card games, until she becomes the heart of a complicated and charged triangle. As graduation approaches, youthful intensity gives way to life-altering choices that shape all three of them long after university ends. This book is easily one of my recent favourite reads. It’s heartfelt, emotionally rich, and I absolutely adored it.
Black Wolf

By Juan Gómez-Jurado

4 stars

Good. Although, not as good as the first one.
The Place of Tides

By James Rebanks

5 stars

This non-fiction book is a quiet, thoughtful read. It follows a single season in a harsh, ancient landscape and the woman whose patient work brings it back to life, from brutal winter labour to the magic of summer light and the gathering of eiderdown. What starts as an escape slowly becomes something deeper, as Rebanks realises how wrong his assumptions were. It’s reflective, grounded, and unexpectedly moving.
Look Closer

By David Ellis

4 stars

This book was a fun read, and clearly I enjoy a good thriller. Simon and Vicky appear to be a wealthy Chicago couple with a stable, if slightly dull, marriage, but with these two, absolutely nothing is what it seems. When a socialite is found hanging in a nearby mansion, a whirlwind of secrets, affairs, grudges, and a looming twenty-million-dollar trust fund begins to unravel. I liked how the story constantly made me question who was lying, who was conning who, and whether this might just be the perfect murder.
Red Queen (Antonia Scott #1)

By Juan Gómez- Jurado

5 stars

This book is so good. It has strong The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo vibes, which I loved. The heroine is compelling and complex, and the level of detail really brings the thriller to life. I’m already eager to dive into the rest of the series.
Salt Bones

By Jennifer Givhan

3 stars

This book was okay, but it didn’t hook me as much as I was hoping. Salt Bones follows Malamar Veracruz, who has spent her life in the dust-choked town of El Valle raising two daughters and trying to move on from the unexplained disappearance of her sister, until another girl goes missing and old wounds reopen.
Dead Girl Gone (The Bookshop Detective)es

By Gareth Ward & Louise Gard

3 stars

A teenage girl goes missing, sparking a mystery. This book was an enjoyable read, though it required some perseverance to get through.
The Detective

By Matthew Reilly

4 stars

The Detective follows Sam Speedman, a private investigator sent to solve a case in the American South. Sam is autistic and prefers everything to be “just so,” which adds a unique and compelling lens to the investigation. The story is gripping, and I really enjoyed following the twists and threads as they unfolded. Overall, it’s an engaging and entertaining read.
The Love Hypothesis

By Ali Hazelwood

1 stars

Sometimes you win with a read and sometimes you lose. I lost with this one. Clearly not my cup of tea.
The Favourites

By Layne Fargo

3 stars

Layne Fargo’s The Favourites is a high-drama read that follows the messy, passionate lives and careers of two elite ice dancers. It definitely gives off Taylor Jenkins Reid vibes. The whole thing reads like a binge-worthy documentary with a splash of reality TV energy, and it’s a really enjoyable read—especially if you love stories packed with ambition, rivalry, and behind-the-scenes drama.
The Passengers

By John Marrs

4 stars

This book is a fast-paced thriller where eight passengers get locked inside self-driving cars that have been hijacked. What follows is a really gripping ride full of AI, moral dilemmas, and the kind of tech issues that feel more and more real as the world speeds ahead. I couldn’t put it down.
1985: A Novel

By Dominic Hoey

4 stars

This book is super fun and punchy, with total New Zealand vibes. It actually reminded me a bit of Boy Swallows Universe — but with its own thing going on.
The Vanishing Place

By Zoe Rankin

4 stars

Such a good page-turner if you’re into thrillers. Set in New Zealand's South Island, The Vanishing Place follows a young girl escaping the isolated wilderness after seeing some pretty unsettling things. Nothing is quite what it seems, and the way the secrets slowly unfold keeps you hooked the whole way through. I couldn’t stop reading.

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Kaurilands School

38,369 pages read and 3,055 team points

Team members

KirstenF

Ashley Goodreads

Laura T

RobynA

JOX

LaniM

SteveK

GlenysF

Maxime van luijken

Kiwi24

Zoe Beaton

Nick V

BT68

JaimeeCope

JoA

Ashley Goodreads

The Mires

Weyward

White King

The Everlasting

The Grimmelings

The Postcard

Heart the Lover

Black Wolf

The Place of Tides

Look Closer

Red Queen (Antonia Scott #1)

Salt Bones

Dead Girl Gone (The Bookshop Detective)es

The Detective

The Love Hypothesis

The Favourites

The Passengers

1985: A Novel

The Vanishing Place

Kaurilands School

38,369 pages read and 3,055 team points

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