St Catherines College (Kilbirnie)

21,401 pages read and 2,568 team points

Team members

gerripdai

3,691 pts

(2,485 pages read)

Before the Winter Ends

By Khadro Mohamed

4 stars

Beautiful story, beautiful prose - the story of a young Somali boy and his mother living in Wellington, but their back story also, in Somalia and Cairo. An unexpected delight
Democracy in New Zealand: A Survival Guide

By Geoffrey Palmer; Gwen Palmer Steeds

4 stars

An unlikely book to read over a summer holiday, but read it, I did! This 'Survival Guide' provided a useful overview, plugged gaps in my knowledge, set the work of various persons, government bodies and institutions into place and underscored the value of a well-functioning democracy. Accessibility was helped by the chapters being short and, especially in the interviews, quite enlightening. One disappointment was the standard of proof reading - who knew, for example, that we had a Reverse Bank? Nevertheless, a useful guide that would make a worthwhile contribution to any NZ Civics programme in schools and to an improved understanding of our government more widely.
Modern Nature

By Derek Jarman

5 stars

Wonderful meditative account of the making of a garden in the shingle coastline close to the Dungeness nuclear power station in Suffolk set against the background of the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s and Jarman's own diagnosis of being HIV positive. A memoir on creativity, belonging, community, struggle and courage.
Moon Boy

By Kathy Sutcliffe

4 stars

YA romance - new relationships, tricky situations, satisfying ending.
The Forgotten Forest

By Robert Vennell

4 stars

Beautiful narrative non fiction about some of Aotearoa's most unassuming but fascinating plant and fungi species. Interesting bibliography of some wonderful old titles.
A Quantam Life

By Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz

4 stars

It's a not unfamiliar trajectory in biographies - a young person coping with so many of the disadvantages that life can throw at one, nonetheless makes it through. Familiar, but still worthwhile. Hakeem, or James Plummer Jr, as he's known initially, is raised in a struggling rural backwater and a largely neglectful family, but is saved by a relentless enthusiasm for uncovering factual information, street smarts and a few individuals along the way who recognise that underneath it all there's an intellect and a passion that could literally reach for the stars. Some US references will be unfamiliar to young NZ readers and there's a welter of mentions of advanced physics concepts, but for any budding astrophysicist - or indeed any student dealing with complex, sapping adversity - it might just be the tonic that propels them on.
The Fertile Earth

By Ruthvika Rao

5 stars

A wonderful debut novel set in post-independence India, primarily in a small rural hamlet still riven by the oppressive strictures and ever-threatening violence of the caste-bound relationships and beliefs that hold sway there. Notwithstanding, there are relationships that cross the boundaries - how these play out make for a fulfilling and memorable read.
Wild Things

By Sally Rippin

4 stars

The compelling account of children's author, Sally Rippin's passion and determination to help her son master reading. Along the way it includes useful references to current thinking on literacy and the needs of neurodivergent learners. A great overview and a moving account.

11 - 0 - 1

Add pages read

St Catherines College (Kilbirnie)

21,401 pages read and 2,568 team points

Team members

Kate Nugent

gerripdai

MaggieT

JoanneR

Heil21

MandyP

Max Soap

Chez

Kandio

TMiller

Whaea Amelie

gerripdai

Before the Winter Ends

Democracy in New Zealand: A Survival Guide

Modern Nature

Moon Boy

The Forgotten Forest

A Quantam Life

The Fertile Earth

Wild Things

St Catherines College (Kilbirnie)

21,401 pages read and 2,568 team points

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78