St Dominic's Catholic College (Henderson)

165,387 pages read and 12,220 team points

Team members

CR

9,192 pts

(6,167 pages read)

House of Names

By Colm Toibin

3 stars

Dysfunctional family where father Agamemnon slaughters his daughter, wife Clytemnestra kills him and more bloody revenge ensues. Young son Orestes seems decent but eventually just disappears.
The Stories of Katherine Mansfield

By Katherine Mansfield

4 stars

Riviera, Looe, Hampstead 1918-1920. Set against Riviera colour, the rough Cornwall coast and a gloomy London , my favourite is the lively ‘Bank Holiday’ with its bustle, music and excited children.
Tomorrow We Save thr Orphans

By Owen Marshall

5 stars

A beautiful series of short stories reflect life’s good and evil characteristics. Grotesque happenings such as ‘In the Rule of Jenny Penn’, the disappearance of a police superintendant in the bush and observations like ‘In William the Conqueror’s time London was the size of Oamaru’ make these stories truly memorable.
On the Radar

By Sandra Coney

5 stars

This well researched, immensely readable book about the secret WW2 Radar station at Piha traces the history of the site from its use by Māori facing marauders from the Tasman to radar detection of enemy planes and submarines. Illustrated with wonderful colour photographs of the West Coast and quotes from those who worked on the site , this was a fascinating story.
The Millennium Tree

By Marie Anstis

5 stars

This is a beautiful book with marvellous illustrations showing the development of the ancient puriri, Taketakerau, from a seed 2000 years ago. The development of New Zealand over these years runs parallel with world events which are described in a side panel on each page.
Koro’s Star

By Claire Aramakutu

5 stars

When Atama’s army father leaves for Vietnam he gives Atama his Grandfather’s WW2 Star medal. The medal gives Atama the courage to stand up to a bully and cope with his anxieties deep in a tunnel. An exciting story for younger readers
Cyclone Bola

By Kath Beattie

5 stars

Fictional character, Amy, keeps a diary record of her stay in Ormond and Gisborne. Tension is high as Cyclone Bola (1988) strikes. Floods and slips bring immense destruction.This is an excellent book and classroom resource.
Killing Time

By Alan Bennett

5 stars

Set in a retirement home before and after covid this is a moving, witty account of the eccentricities of old age. Marvellous dialogue. Wish it had been longer.
The Last Fallen Star

By Graci Kim

5 stars

Recommended by a young teenager, this is an exciting, action packed story about Riley Oh, a spirited, adopted Korean girl. Through the combination of Korean mythology and magic and the modern world Riley discovers her own magic and who her parents are. An excellent novel which should enthral keen readers.
In the Memorial Room

By Janet Frame

5 stars

A witty, beautifully written book about New Zealander, Harry Gill who has won a literary award to write in Menton . Frame satirises the cult of the dead author and literary pretentiousness. Published posthumously, Frame avoided embarrassing people she knew from her own Menton days and on whom the novel’s characters are based.
Ariā and the Kūmara God

By Witi Ihimaera

5 stars

Ariā and her friends need to reach the approaching Matariki star, Whānui, the kūmara god star. The kūmara crops have been eaten by caterpillars. An exciting, perilous journey lies ahead.
Stage Struck

By Samantha Momtgomerie

5 stars

A gem of a book using ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to explore its plot and character and the dream of a young seamstress to perform on the Globe stage. Notes on language , costume , the theatre and the gruelling lives of the dressmakers fit in beautifully.
Toroa's Journey

By Maria Gill

5 stars

A splendid book following the journey of an albatross chick leaving Dunedin on its journey overseas. A transmitter fitted to its back recounts some of the journey. There's speculation on possible environmental hazards along the way and helpful information boxes provide factual detail.
A Man lay Dead

By Ngaio Marsh

3 stars

A ‘Murder’ parlour game at a country house party becomes a real murder. The plot is a little dated but the story is quite entertaining.
The Gypsy in the Parlour

By Margery Sharp

5 stars

Delightful, fast paced story about a farm in Devonshire in 1870 which is ruled over by three large, strong willed women. It is written from the point of view of an adult looking back on herself as an inquisitive, intelligent, observant child.
Heart of Coal

By Jenny Pattrick

5 stars

A splendid sequel to ‘The Denniston Rose’ in which the lives and fortunes of the coal mining community, including that of the spirited, memorable, unique Rose, are further explored.
Surfeit of Lampreys

By Ngaio Marsh

3 stars

Slow moving story about a useless aristocratic family with charmless ,unappealing characters. Rated 3 stars, only because of its reasonable whodunnit plot.
Midnight and Blue

By Ian Rankin

5 stars

Ex Inspector John Rebus , now a prison immate, gets involved im the murder of a fellow inmate. An entertaining book with twisting plots and complicated characters.
The Denniston Rose

By Jenny Pattrick

5 stars

Set in a mining community on the West Coast this historical novel vividly captures the harshness of the environment, the rawness of life and the spirited survival of inhabitants such as Rose.
The Places in Between

By Rory Stewart

5 stars

An enthralling account of Rory Stewart’s solo walk across Afghanistan in winter in 2002 accompanied by a rejected village fighting mastiff, Babour. Through blinding snow and blizzards, across mountain ranges and along deep canyons Stewart vividly describes the people he met, the places he visited and a country defined by ‘culture, tradition and hardship.’This is a splendid , modern travel classic.
A Dog in Georgia

By Lauren Grodstein

2 stars

A slow paced novel about an American woman who visits The Republic of Georgia to find a missing dog and herself. The dog is briefly found. it’s unclear if she found herself.
House-Bound

By Winifred Peck

4 stars

Set in a sprawling Scottish house in the 1940s, Rose is forced to cope with the scarcity of domestic staff as they leave to join the war effort. A sometimes witty, reflective book it explores the drudgery of housework, the anxieties of war and the complexities of family relationships.
A Barbarous Tongue

By Marilyn Duckworth

2 stars

A somewhat monotonous novel about a young girl learning to grow up in Wellington and Dunedin.
The Night before Christmas

By Clement C Moore

5 stars

Written in 1822 and read this Christmas Eve to a young guest.
The Book Smugglers of Timbuktu

By Charlie English

5 stars

A marvellous nonfiction account of how a small courageous group of librarians, scholars and citizens of Timbuktu risked their lives to smuggle to safety many thousands of ancient handwritten manuscripts which were threatened for destruction during the 2012-2013 jihadist occupation of the city. This account also describes Timbuktu which was once the intellectual centre of the Islamic world.
Shrines of Gaiety

By Kate Atkinson

5 stars

Set in London in 1926 , a feisty Nellie Coker and her dysfunctional family rule the nightclub scene. This is a wonderful story about the dazzle and darkness of SoHo’s nightlife.
The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked

By D. Caldwell, M. Hall, C. Wilkinson

4 stars

An account of the discovery of 93 walrus ivory chess pieces discovered on the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in 1831 . Possibly hidden by a smuggler or diplomat 800 years earlier they are the best known treasure to have been found in Scotland.
Not That Sort of a Girl

By Mary Wesley

4 stars

Set in middle class England in the 1930s this is a delightful tale about Rose, a perfect wife living in a perfect house with Ned , her dull, upstanding husband. Following Ned’s death , Rose looks back on the secret duplicity of her life shared with a passionate , impecunious Mylo. This is a charming love story and a witty social commentary.

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St Dominic's Catholic College (Henderson)

165,387 pages read and 12,220 team points

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