St Andrew's College (Christchurch)

118,573 pages read and 4,552 team points

Team members

Jen

11,028 pts

(8,218 pages read)

Witch of Wild Things

By Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

5 stars

Grateful for book recs from friends. This was a delightful, light hearted read - equal parts fantasy, delicious romance and contemporary, relatable characters. Sage is a contemporary which in modern America and when she’s not talking to plants or the ghost of her sister, she’s dating in a small town and managing family dynamics. I’m ready for the next in the series!
Flesh

By David Szalay

5 stars

It was great to finally get this book in audio version and a wonderful full circle moment as I’ve been waiting since the start of the challenge! Despite calling this, ‘the bleak book where only bad things happen’ in conversation - this was really engrossing. I couldn’t stop. Szalay moves steadily from event to event in the life of Istvàn, not pausing to elaborate or add descriptive prose. ‘Flesh’ is an ode to being human, and all the afflictions and heart ache that come with it. Somehow simultaneously compelling and monotonous, I really recommend this read - but not for those looking for something light.
Migration

By Steph Mataku

4 stars

I read this as we acquired a class set for our via Year 10 ākonga. There are some interesting themes and ideas, I have an extension class so it will be fun to look at the treatment of the ‘outsider’ and possibly even the post-colonial lense. Teaching ideas aside, this was a pacy, fun read that started really strongly. Matuku creates a futuristic world influenced by te ao Māori with recognisable kupu and elements throughout. The final quarter felt rushed and I was lost a little bit. This would have been set up really well for a series had it slowed down and taken the time to cover less ideas in greater depth.
Dinner at the Night Library

By Hika Harada

0 stars

DNF - tricky in audiobook format. I’d prefer this in paper.
Evacuation

By Fran Atkinson

5 stars

I wouldn’t normally lean into speculative fiction but I borrowed this anthology of kiwi work to read a published short story by my friend! So special to read work by people you know and spot their mannerisms and values in their characters. A totally unbiased 5 stars.
Iron Flame

By Rebecca Yarros

4 stars

My second attempt and this time completed - this series clearly works for me in the summer holidays where I have time to get consumed by the lore and the world. Not as good as the first, for me, but then again it is an entirely different novel - this one focusing on battle and with a much more detailed political background that required building. Xaden is still my book boyfriend so no doubt I will return for the third installment, albeit during next summer. I do love Yarros for her explosion into the romantasy genre and immediate upswing in reading, and for that she cannot be faulted.
All About Love

By Bell Hooks

3 stars

Another delve into non-fiction for me, another realisation that I was building my echo chamber. I see a lot of references to Bell Hooks with regards to social justice work online. The book itself was well written, clearly organised and raised some interesting points about how we view love in society today. I was particularly interested in the discussion of community and individualism, but again, it only served so far as to confirm a lot of my already existing thoughts on the topic. Perhaps this 3 star rating isn’t for Hooks and her work but more of myself for failing to challenge myself with new thinking again..
Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon

By Annie Mare

4 stars

A beautiful love letter to the universe, queerness and love in all its forms - this book is a tangled, wonderful mosaic of time travel, science and faith. It gets a bit jumbled in justifying and philosophising the science of the plot at times but I was happy to suspend my disbelief in order to root for the characters. I stayed up late to finish it, so warm and cosy and speaks to a universe we all hope to live in, one day.
I Who Have Never Known Men

By Jacqueline Harpman

4 stars

I wanted this book to go somewhere, and that’s exactly the point. It’s desolate, dystopian plot is punctured by moments of ‘maybe’ and ‘what if’ but ultimately keeps us turning pages steadily, like the women in the book. Frustrating, yes - but I think intentionally so. This would be really interesting to study with scholarship students alongside gender theory.
In Defence of Witches

By Mona Chollet

3 stars

I was initially hooked but I finished this book feeling exhausted and tired. I need the men in my life to listen to this, I just reconstructed my own echo chamber. Additionally, I was weary not simply because of the realisation that I was the wrong target audience but the note that lots of these facts and cases were almost a decade year old now and there is a lot more evidence of the oppression of women’s lives in contemporary society. A rare dive into non fiction for me and the recognition that I often don’t do this because reading is escapism for me! Difficult to rate and disentangle from my experience.
The Shadow Weaver

By Ivy Cliffwater

5 stars

Ngā mihi nui ki the staff at Te Whare Pukapuka o Waitohi for the rec! They were thrilled to hear of this competition and quick to recommend me this book by an NZ author. It’s so rare and magical to submerge yourself into a world of fiction where you find yourself deliberately slowing down because you don’t want to finish the last chapter. The Shadow Weaver has it all; a kickass female protagonist (full time blacksmith part time destroyer of men in battle), swoonworthy romance(s), a rich fantasy world and a pacy plot. I’ve already pre-ordered the sequel. Everyone in my life will be hearing about this for weeks.
What you are looking for is in the library

By Michiko Aoyama

5 stars

I ran through this in less than a day. It’s such a beautiful, gorgeous narrative about finding what you need in the unlikely places. Sweet, simple and so very wholesome - a perfect read for the sunshine. I bookmarked so many quotes to remember! Love love love.
Temeraire

By Naomi Novik

5 stars

My boyfriend recommended this text on the premise that, ‘it’s got gentlemen AND dragons.’ Whilst I have historically enjoyed indulging in books with talking dragons, at first chapter I wasn’t sure he’d got it right. BUT Temeraire is perhaps my unexpected novel of the summer. It’s historically accurate fiction running alongside the disarmingly genuine tale of inter species friendship between Captain Laurence and his new dragon. The pair makes their unlikely debut in the British flying corps against Napoleon. It’s Bridgerton in the air, Fourth Wing without the smouldering love interest and apparently the understanding that the cure to the male loneliness epidemic is to get a pet dragon. I.. loved it.
The Spell Shop

By Sarah Beth Dunst

5 stars

I feel like I’m the last person to discover this series! It was recommended to me by our own kaimahi at the school library (thank you Sarah!) but I only got around to it during the holidays and I’m so glad. It’s a perfect summer road trip read - a lighthearted, cosy fantasy with beautiful, rich world building featuring an entirely relatable protagonist with coloured hair who has a preference to stay at home talking to her plants. A perfect read if you’re looking for a low stakes world to disappear to.
Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife

By Deston J Munden

5 stars

Always critiqued by my friends for having a taste for ‘sad’ books - I’m definitely in my cosy fantasy courtesy of Booktok! I love love loved this. Accessible fantasy with gorgeous storyline about acceptance and courage - wonderful to hear a story where family, not romantic, love was the winner!
Frankly in Love

By David Yoon

5 stars

Loved this! A teen romance with depth. Yoon uses the Frank Li, the protagonist and his navigation of his first formative relationships to open the discussion of culture, race and identify. Suprisingly thoughtful and challenging.
Wawata: Moon Dreaming

By Dr Hinemoa Elder

5 stars

A koha kirihimete from a great friend. This is a beautiful pukapuka that offers daily wisdom guided by Hina, the Māori moon. I’m really enjoying the way Dr Elder weaves practical actions for your day with te ao Māori. I look forward to adding more pages and returning to this book each day.
Bird Child & Other Stories

By Patricia Grace

0 stars
Murder Most Foul

By Guy Jenkin

4 stars

This gave me joy for so many reasons! Firstly, Hugh Dennis narrating - amazing. That man was made for audiobooks. Secondly, my English teacher heart loved the ‘whodunnit’ style exploration of the death of Christopher Marlowe. It feels like a fun, Scooby Do style exploration of the time period and I loved getting a witty, refreshing and more personal insight into the friendship of ‘Will and Chris.’
The Earth Cries Out

By Bonnie Etherington

4 stars

A beautifully written, thought provoking exploration of a kiwi family’s movement to Indonesia in the wake of grief. Equal parts confronting and comforting, a great read from an NZ author about finding ‘home’ in a disorientating new world.
Under The Whispering Door

By Tj Klune

0 stars

Struggled with the 20 something listening hours for this one so shelving it for now! I tried to do too many things whilst listening so I’d like to return to this on the page and with some focus. I heard all the tropes of the Tj Klune style I’ve come to appreciate; queer characters, fantasy worlds and beautiful life lessons.
Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

By Josie Shapiro

5 stars

Another beautiful novel by an author I discovered through this challenge! Loved hearing the descriptions of Tāmaki Makaurau. You don’t have to be a runner to enjoy this book - a lyrically written love letter to any woman who has challenged herself to be harder, better or stronger and rallied against expectations.
Never Whistle At Night

By Ed. Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

5 stars

A collection of 26 short stories. I initially picked this up in the hope that I might find something for my Juniors - to my surprise, unfortunately for them, these horror stories are way more intense! Each one explores gore, horror and superstition alongside American Indian cultural traditions. A great read to drop in and out of - just perhaps not at bedtime!
The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done

By Clare Stephens

3 stars

I liked listening to this book as the first person perspective made it almost like sitting and listening to a story with a friend. This book meandered around several different, important topics like childbirth, death, grief, bullying - all of which I wasn’t prepared for based on the blurb. It felt like lots of threads that struggled to come together but ultimately, it’s an interesting challenge of contemporary feminism and cancel culture.
Kataraina

By Becky Manawatu

5 stars

I loved Auē, I loved this. I loved it in a way that it made my heart ache and my bones hurt. I loved the lyrical, poetic prose and the way the word ‘sequel’ feel too small. This book works alongside the first - each chapter and section is a strand of harakeke woven together to create the bigger, complex picture of the characters and lives in Āue. You can’t read one without the other, and you can’t read either without being impacted in some way.
There’s a cure for this

By Dr Emma Espiner

3 stars

I don’t usually read memoir but Espiner has a really direct, firm and no-nonsense style that made this a quick read. It wasn’t easy, as it focuses on her experience as a Māori junior doctor in the Pākeha health system. It feels like a collection of scrapbook memories, pulled together to explain who she is today.
Yellowface

By R F Kuang

5 stars

Never have I ever been driven to keep listening to an audiobook by so much hatred for a protagonist - so incredibly unlikeable, so unfortunately recognisable. This book is a powerful, scathing satire of publishing, media and ‘diversity’ in the age of the internet. It’s deliberately confronting in ways I really enjoyed and poked holes in my own responses to the question: ‘who has the right to own the narrative?’
When I Open the Shop

By Ramesh Dissanayake

4 stars

This book was beautiful in a way I didn’t expect. A meandering reflection on the immigrant experience in NZ. Based in Pōneke, the novel jumps around in time and merges prose, poetry and picture in ways that were sometimes tricky but reviews call ‘an act of de-colonisation.’ I’m left feeling like I want to return to pages to re-read them. A text that demands your attention.
Good Things Come and Go

By Josie Shapiro

5 stars

I didn’t expect to love this book like I did. On the surface it looks like a story about skateboarding.. but what actually arises is a really poignant discussion of grief in all its forms. Set amongst the backdrop of the beautiful Coromandel, this book is really great for reflecting on what we’re left with when everything we think we want disappears.
Detective Beans & The Case of the Missing Hat

By Li Chen

5 stars

A beautiful, graphic novel from an incredibly talented NZ artist. I enjoyed the characterisation of all the animals! A great, quick, summer read.

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St Andrew's College (Christchurch)

118,573 pages read and 4,552 team points

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