Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

Team members

Yeahbrenda

16,649 pts

(12,658 pages read)

Wake

By Shelley Burke

0 stars

Australian crime story. Good read so far - might not finish it by tomorrow night but.
Before You Knew My Name

By Jacqueline Bublitz

5 stars

Outstanding NZ writer. I found this book a compelling read. It's a different take on the crime novel. Dual narration and a new POV. A re-examination of our cultural acceptance of violence against women. Recommended.
Dead Girl Gone

By Gareth and Louise Ward

1 stars

Not going to finish this. It's a bit too cosy and I found it slightly smug. Not for me.
Mirror Man

By Fiona McIntosh

3 stars

Too much attention to physical attractiveness and clothing/style. Crime story was satisfying - even if some of the characters relied on inspired guessing rather too much.
Birnam Wood

By Eleanor Catton

3 stars

Started this ages ago and finally finished it. I list interest around 250 pages in (I lnow! I had really persisted and thought it would stay unfinished - but here we are). It was slow going and some strands of the narrative did not hold my interest. Good finish, but the first third especially did not have much draw.
Came a Hot Friday

By Ronald Hugh Morrieson

5 stars

Classic NZ fiction
The Scarecrow

By Ronald Hugh Morrieson

5 stars

One of the best opening sentences in NZ fiction.
Beautiful Death

By Fiona McIntosh

3 stars
Bye Bye Baby

By Fiona MacIntosh

4 stars

Well crafted and engrossing- I really enjoyed this book and couldn't wait to read more. This has made me reconsider some of my other reviews.
The Tea Ladies

By Amanda Hampson

4 stars

Light and fun with lots of characterful detail. As recommended by VSW :)
Prey

By Vanda Symon

4 stars
Expectant

By Vanda Symon

1 stars

Galloping through the last two books in this series before The Return To School... This one stretched credibility too far at times. And some details were not well thought-through. Plus I got really annoyed with the first-person narrator - waaaaaay too much of her personal take and experiences. I know that's the point of this style of narrative, but the character must be up to the task... I am on the latest novel in the series now, and I
Bound

By Vanda Symon

3 stars

Enjoying reading a NZ crime writer. But looking forward to picking up a few recommendations from VSW This book steps up ftom the previous two. But not enough: come on Vanda, give it some action!
Containment

By Vanda Symon

2 stars

2.5 stars really. Slow and not very exciting. The author can write excellent action, but she too often opts for her central character's inner monologue. I'd like more thrills and fewer breaks for milo and toffee pops. Frustrating.
The Ringmaster

By Vanda Symon

2 stars

This review is a bit of a spoiler. A very exciting and well -written action sequence in the middle of the book had me gripped - BUT the title, setting, and even this excellent scene are red herrings... sigh 2.5 stars
Overkill

By Vanda Symon

4 stars

Best book I've read this summer. Really well written - unlike a few I've persisted with lately. A great story, with likeable/realistic characters. Darker details relieved by classic small-town Aotearoa setting and typically Kiwi humour.
Joe Victim

By Paul Cleave

3 stars

Take care: Contains suicide ideation.
The Cleaner

By Paul Cleave

4 stars

Very dark humour. Took me a while to adjust to the tone - the book got better as it progressed. Highly original.
The Boy in the Headlights

By Samuel Bjork

1 stars

Abandonded
The Owl Always Hunts at Night

By Samuel Bjork

2 stars

The second in the series, this book doesn't break much new ground.
Bitter Wash Road

By Garry Disher

3 stars

Laconic Aussie storytelling, and lean evocative prose that suits the Queensland setting for this grim crime novel. I liked it!
I'm Travelling Alone

By Samuel Bjork

4 stars

A welcome return to Scandinavian crime :) - complex plotting and a huge cast of characters - I really had to concentrate - but a very rewarding read and a massive relief after enduring a couple of awful books before this :)
The Housemaid

By Freida McFadden

1 stars

Terrible. This book made me laugh out loud so many times. I read it because of the movie/hype - I like thrillers - but the writing is AWFUL: unimaginative description and dull, unnecessary detail, but other moments land without context or reason. The reader gets a distorted sense of what is important or foreshadowing, results in lots of irritating red herrings or dead ends. Characters are clichéd and poorly developed. The plot is wildly implausible. It lacks craft and it feels unedited. Example: "Are you OK?" "I'm OK. Are you OK?" "Yes, I think I'm OK." Variations of this appear at least ten times over the course of the book. Another couple of moments: "There was a round, circular table." "The attic was draughty" and then a few pages later, "The attic was stuffy"... better writers have written better versions of this story. (Jane Eyre, Rebecca etc). A Harlan Coben wannabe.
The Kingmaker's Daughter

By Philippa Gregory

3 stars
The Red Queen

By Philippa Gregory

3 stars
Rebecca

By Daphne du Maurier

4 stars

Classic
The White Queen

By Philippa Gregory

3 stars
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By Stieg Larsson

1 stars

I can't believe that I persevered with this book. It is awful. The first third was very slow going. A stultifying combination of cumbersome writing with far too much detail, and a pantheon of characters, which I struggled to manage - largely due to their lack of colour. There is also a heavy reliance on lengthy exposition via dialogue. Suddenly we arrive at a hideous and graphic account of sexual assault. And these two elements characterise this book: tedious, dry detail and voyeuristic descriptions of torture and sexual violence against women. The book purports to take a feminist stance, but it reads as overltly sadistic and prurient. The best character, Lisbet, is seen mostly from Blomkvist's POV, so we get a patriarchal assessment of her for most of the book, which focuses mostly on her physical appearance. And Blomkvist is a total cliché, arrogant, humourless, and lead by his penis. The title is a misnomer. It should be called "The Dull Man who Talked too much". I made myself finish it, but I hated this book.
The Reckoning

By Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

3 stars

I found this to be slow going. The plot is excellent, but again the writing is laboured and has too much explanation- well, too much for a thriller.
The Mist

By Ragnar Jónasson

4 stars

The strongest of the trilogy - and a really compelling read.
The Island

By Ragnar Jónasson

4 stars

Like all of Jónasson's books that I have read, the plotting is atrong - the the telling is not fast-paced enough to build momentum.
The Darkness

By Ragnar Jónasson

3 stars

Book 1 of a trilogy. Reversed timeline across the three books made for insightful reading.
Outside

By Ragnar Jónasson

4 stars

Stand alone thriller. Plot driven and compelling.
The Fallout

By Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

3 stars

Innovative plotting, but sometimes a little bit over written or too descriptive. Excellent storyline.

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Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

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