Rapaura School

35,651 pages read and 10,264 team points

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AnneT

24,656 pts

(17,653 pages read)

Aotearoa The New Zealand Story

By Gavin Bishop

5 stars

I managed to squeeze another book in today! Again a beautifully and detailed illustration of the story of our country.
Tu

By Patricia Grace

5 stars

Along with the Kuia and the Spider, this is my favourite Patricia Grace book. She writes beautifully and captures NZ society in the 30's and the second World War. What a great way to finish off the summer reading challenge
Novel about my wife

By Emily Perkins

4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Written from the perspective of Tom, the book charts his wife's breakdown. Dark and disturbing in places but overall a great read
The Treaty of Waitangi

By Ross Calman

4 stars

Beautifully presented and a valuable source of information. A smallish book that packs a punch
Frontier of Dreams

By Bronwyn Dalley and Gavin McClean

5 stars

An interesting read that inspired me to search up some of the people in the history of NZ. The book was written to accompany the TVNZ series and was written by historians!
Duffy and the Bulies

By Jeff Szusterman and Ant Sang

4 stars

A good one for the class to read
Katarina

By Gavin Bishop

4 stars

Another beautiful book by Gavin Bishop. The true story of his Great Aunt and Uncle
The Conductor

By Sarah Quigley

4 stars

This was a hard read but I am glad I persisted.
The Treaty House

By LeAnne Orams

4 stars

What a beautiful book! I really loved the angle of the story and the book is quite different to most about The Treaty of Waitangi
Watch me Watch You

By Lily Samson

3 stars

Reviews say " 'Addictive, dark, and totally unputdownable." but I didn't find that. I thought it was dark but a bit cliched with a 'neat' plot twist.
Essential New Zealand Short Stories

By Owen Marshall

5 stars

Something for everyone in this selection of New Zealand short stories. The book includes my favourite short story The Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield and a new favourite Stories by Charlotte Grimshaw. Would recommend this book
Mission Girl

By Fleur Beale

4 stars

An interesting thoughtful book
The Trough

By Jon Gadsby

3 stars

Satire and at times humorous
100 Amazing Tales from Aotearoa

By Riria Hotere and Simon Morton

4 stars

A beautifully presented and interesting book about the treasures in Te Papa
Towards another summer

By Janet Frame

4 stars

Written in 1963 this is a deeply personal book by Janet Frame. Published posthumously, a work inspired by a weekend Frame spent with British journalist Geoffrey Moorhouse and his family.
Māori

By Michael King

5 stars

Prefect book for a Waitangi Day read. First published in 1983 and this book has stood the test of time. Absolutely stunning!
The Six Pack 2

By Various New Zealand authors

4 stars

I think 2 standouts in this book In the Back of a VW by Faith Oxenbridge and The Yard Broom by Charlotte Grimshaw. New Zealand short story writing at its best
The Devils you Know

By Ben Sanders

4 stars

Not my usual genre but it is actually a good read. Written by the author of American Blood
Our favourite poems

By Iain Sharp

4 stars

It has taken a few weeks to read but that is the beauty of poetry. It is like slow cooking- take your time and savour the words. A stunning book
PS. Come to Italy

By Nicky Pellegrino

3 stars

Great book to read while relaxing and thinking of a hot summer. Love the older characters!
Gold

By Pauline Cartwright

4 stars

Part of the My stories series this would be a great read for Year 5/6 especially if studying Gold as a social studies unit
The Mademoiselle Alliance

By Natasha Lester

4 stars

Natasha Lester uses the true story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade as a basis for her historical fiction novel. Madeleine Fourcade was the only woman to lead a resistance network in France during the Second World War. Very emotional read about an incredibly brave woman
Hold the Line

By Kerry Harrison

4 stars

A fantastic emotion filled book. I loved it. Set at the start of the Springbok Tour, Hold the Line explores life in NZ in 1981.
Storm

By P. E Berwick

2 stars

I found this to be a simple read. I liked the idea of the story set in the Marlborough Sounds. Loved recognising places mentioned in the book but I found the writing to just ok
A history of gardening in New Zealand

By Bee Dawson

4 stars

I loved the descriptions of gardening pre 1800's and the gardens of the early settler. The book seem to end abruptly with just 2 pages on past 1990 which is a bit odd. The illustrations and old photographs are wonderful. This is a book to be enjoyed by anyone who loves to garden
Taking the Lead

By David Hill

3 stars

Read as part of the summer reading programme at the library. It is ok.
Patu- The New Zealand Wars

By Gavin Bishop

5 stars

A stunning large format hardback, complete with foldout maps of key pā, villages and battle sites. This book is amazing with a huge twist at the end. I loved it!
Te-Ika- a - Maui

By Peter Gossage

4 stars

All time favourite NZ Book. Read as part of a library challenge
Sisters Under the Rising Sun

By Heather Morris

4 stars

The story of Nesta James and Vivian Bullwinkel who survived the torpedo that sunk the Vyner Brooke and who were interned in a Japanese POW camp. Vivian Bullwinkel was the only survivor of the massacre of Australian nurses at Radji Beach and was placed in a series of POW camps in Indonesia. While harrowing in parts this book is more about survival and the power of a group of women who work together against all odds to form a vocal orchestra in the camp. I especially enjoyed the footnotes with writing from Nesta James' family.
A Survey- He Kohinga Whakaahua

By Mark Adams

5 stars

My non fiction book of summer. What a fantastic book. It makes you think and at times is confronting! Fabulous
The Academy

By Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham

2 stars

I was so please to see other people not enjoy this book. I just couldn't get into it mainly because the plot was so weak. Don't bother reading it
Boudicca's Daughter

By Elodie Harper

4 stars

I loved this book. So different to anything else I had read about the legendary woman Boudicca. The book was written from the perspective of her daughter Solina, starting before her mother's destruction of London.
The Good Losers

By Meg Bignell

4 stars

Popped up as a recommendation to read and it was an easy enjoyable summer read. I did like the social satire and the snobbery of the rowing club. It reminded me of some people I know.
A Lion in the Meadow

By Margaret Mahy

5 stars

My favourite read aloud book that I read often to my own children. now im using to help a girl with her reading in the Holidays
The Last Secret Agent

By Pippa Latour with Jude Dobson

4 stars

A great book about a brave woman who chose to spend the second part of her life in NZ. What a great read about the secret life of a SOE agent during WW2
All the Diamonds in Paris

By Kristin Hamel

4 stars

Not my favourite book by Kristin Hamel but an ok summer read
Last Twilight in Paris

By Pam Jenoff

4 stars

If I could give 3.5 stars this would be it. An easy read with a few twists and turns along the war. Not amazing but an interesting read
Three Juliets

By Minnie Darke

5 stars

Every so often you come across a book that needs to be read in one sitting and this is it. A beautifully written book about forced adoptions in the 1960's. There were many tears shed while reading this book
This book will bury me

By Ashley Winstead

2 stars

My biggest disappointment of summer reading. I have loved Ashley Winstead;s previous books and this was a hot mess. I couldn't being myself to read the parts that are true life murders. interesting a lot of the reviews indicate the same
We all live here

By JoJo Moyes

3 stars

An easy read by a best selling author. Not as good as some of her other books, but enjoyable all the same
The Amalfi Curse

By Sarah Penner

3 stars

The book was ok. Parts were enjoyable but other parts were just a little bit predictable
The Girls who Grew Big

By Leila Mottley

3 stars

The reviews of this book are amazing but it wasn't for me. I like the idea of a place where teenage girl who are pregnant can go and get support but set in America it was a hard read.
The New Wife

By JP Delaney

3 stars

I persisted with the book but couldn't really get into it.
Until the Red Leaves Fall

By Alli Parker

4 stars

My book of the holiday reading so far. This book is wonderful. I didn't know a lot about what life was like for Japanese people in Australia during WW2. But this book is more than that it is about loss of identity, racism, and women in the 1950's.
The Thursday Murder Club

By Richard Osman

4 stars

Did I enjoy this? Lying on a hot sunny afternoon, reading in the shade I can honestly say this book lives upto the hype. I'm not sure that Pierce Brosnan is how I imagined Ron but it is great to read a book with older characters who are lively and interesting
Another Life

By Kristin Hannah

3 stars

An average book from a very popular author. Kristin Hannah's books are everywhere but I can't say I enjoyed this as much as some of her other books. A very predictable story line so nothing really to hook the reader in
The shadow year

By Hannah Richell

4 stars

This book had me hooked from the start- a group of friends set up a communal living space after university. Kept me guessing and I didn't see the ending coming at all.So good!
The Girl from Donegal

By Carmel Harrington

3 stars

An easy summer read set just before the start of WW2. Bought from the best second hand book shop in Picton to read at the bach and it didn't disappoint. A few interesting twist save it from being a bog standard book.
One Hundred Havens

By Helen Beaglehole

4 stars

The perfect book for the bach at Picton. Tracing the settlement of the many bays of the Marlborough Sounds this book will stay for others to read. So many names and families mentioned!
The Shadows of London

By Andrew Taylor

4 stars

An interesting read about London in the time of Charles the second. Historically accurate about the role that women and also men without power played at the time. Amazing to think that it takes the characters a day to travel to Euston and over a couple of days to get to Newmarket.
Greater Sins

By Gabrielle Griffiths

4 stars

"The preserved body of a woman is discovered in a bog near an isolated Scottish community - but is the body an omen of misfortune to come, or a story waiting to be told..." It took a while to get into the story and come to terms with the language but once i did I loved this book. I can't believe it was set in 1915, just over 100 years ago with the amount of superstition and folklore!
The Blue Rose

By Kate Forsyth

3 stars

First book of the holidays so an easy read. Nothing to amazing or out of this world but a good read all the same
Such a Quiet Place

By Megan Miranda

3 stars

A very slow book but with some interesting characters. Set in a private community ( a bit like a gated community) with a strong neighbourhood watch group, with a returning resident who was accused of murder.
Looking Out

By Fiona McCallum

3 stars

The premise of the book was quite good but overall a bit disappointing. It took a long time to get going, had some interesting parts but it was the ending that disappointed the most. All too neat and tidy with an abrupt ending that should have contained more emotions. Mind you reading after our staff function meant that the brain was totally focussed!
The Butterfly Women

By Madeleine Clear

4 stars

It took a while to get into it, but once I did I loved it. Set in 1863. Melbourne and focuses on the lives of a group of women in a glamorous brothel.
The Frozen People

By Elly Griffiths

4 stars

An easy read with some time travel included
The Eights

By Joanna Miller

3 stars

An interesting book but I don't think it lived up to the expectation.
The Last Heir to the Blackwood Library

By Hester Fox

3 stars
Broken Country

By Clare Leslie Hall

5 stars

Fabulous Book about a love affair that goes horribly wrong

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Rapaura School

35,651 pages read and 10,264 team points

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