Pukekohe High School

54,502 pages read and 3,556 team points

Team members

Mrs_Olson

4,863 pts

(3,121 pages read)

Flesh

By David Szalay

4 stars

I try to read the Booker Prize winners every year. Flesh surprised me. Szalay makes interesting authorial choices, including many that I’d say are the markers of “bad” writing, and yet it works out, somehow. Szalay’s protagonist, István, is strangely disassociated from his body; he watches the events that happen to him from afar, instead of experiencing them viscerally himself. Many of the most traumatic parts of his life are skipped over completely, as if they’re too painful to even consider. Parts of the book were shocking, but Szalay manages to make them contribute to the complete picture of István’s character.
The Vegetarian

By Han Kang

3 stars

A neatly packaged piece of surrealism that stabs you violently in the gut. Or perhaps, more aptly, in the stomach?
Angel Down

By Daniel Kraus

4 stars
A Different Kind of Power

By Jacinda Ardern

5 stars
The Killer Inside Me

By Jim Thompson

3 stars

Thompson’s creepy crime novel investigates what it means to be sane or insane. His protagonist, Lou Ford, becomes worse and worse as the novel progresses. I found it easy to fall in step with Lou as he descends into sickening illness—despite hating him, I could follow his choices—which is the sign of a truly good writer!
The Scent of Oranges

By Kathy George

5 stars

The Scent of Oranges engaged me from the very start. However, if you haven’t read Oliver Twist, the classic tale that George’s novel follows, read it before picking up Oranges. George’s retelling of Oliver Twist embodies the honest grunge of Dickens’ England, but her version of Nancy, her protagonist, is all her own. The title gains a significance of its own as the book progresses; its ephemeral imagery weaves a certain insubstantial beauty into an otherwise somewhat depressing tale.
Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

By Josie Shapiro

3 stars

I picked up Everything is Beautiful after hearing Shapiro speak. I enjoyed a book that, in the style of the Victorians, is so readily focused on the minutia of everyday life. Shapiro’s emphasis on the power of the mundane made her book enjoyable to read. I think I’d suggest it to students, but it wasn’t one of my favourites; I didn’t love that no one character was particularly likable. Still, perhaps that’s part of its appeal—we’re all flawed, after all!
Frankenstein

By Mary Shelley

5 stars

I re-read Frankenstein because my students are reading it for summer homework! I think I every time I read it, I appreciate it a little more!
The Pit and the Pendulum

By Edgar Allan Poe

4 stars

Poe gets better and better with every read.
Polynation: A collection of poetry by Fa'afetai Ta'asē

By Fa'afetai Ta'asē

3 stars
From Under the Overcoat

By Sue Orr

4 stars

I really liked Orr's modern retellings of classic short stories. Her recontextualisation of the classics into a modern-day Aotearoa feels ripe for study! As a stand-alone text, the compilation of stories works well--I thoroughly enjoyed my reading of the collection!
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

By Sarah Wynn Williams

5 stars

Careless People captivated me! Right from the first anecdote about Mark Zukerberg running away from a conference in South America, I was hooked. Williams' insight into the insidious tech industry not only made me examine my own habits with new eyes, it also made me question the role that technology plays in both society and government. Williams' narrative voice is on strong display throughout the book. She brings her honest perspective as an outsider to both American culture and Silicon Valley morals, revealing the rot within. Her experience navigating the pressures of her job alongside her personal life makes the vast scale and influence of the tech industry come home to roost in the mundane. Careless People is a must-read for Kiwis, Americans, people spread across the globe, people who use social media, people who work with technology, mothers, fathers, young adults, teens, and anyone else who has brushed up against the might of Meta.

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Pukekohe High School

54,502 pages read and 3,556 team points

Team members

Chloe

Sam_H

MrWilson

Mrs. Walton

SophieB

Mrs_Olson

Molly

getlit

AmyPW

Isaac Hornburg

Langdon-Devon

MsM

Juls

Nalini Singh

JNO

Petra Batters

Sofia

Mrs_Olson

Flesh

The Vegetarian

Angel Down

A Different Kind of Power

The Killer Inside Me

The Scent of Oranges

Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

Frankenstein

The Pit and the Pendulum

Polynation: A collection of poetry by Fa'afetai Ta'asē

From Under the Overcoat

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

Pukekohe High School

54,502 pages read and 3,556 team points

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