Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

Team members

Helen M

13,197 pts

(11,165 pages read)

Where we land

By Tim Jones

5 stars

Little short story set in the very close future where NZ is torpedoing boats to stop climate change refugees entering the country.
Deadmen walking

By Sherriln Kenyon

3 stars

Read 1/3 so far ...soso... pirates, demons, paranormal romance? Not sure if it's for me at this stage
Sisters of sword and shadow

By Laura Bates

2 stars

Marketed as what if women were the Knights of the round table, a messy storyline that didn't deliver, but it was nice to read strong female characters in this genre. Tamora Pierce's writing is sooo much better
The nightingale

By Kristin Hannah

5 stars

Superb and heart breaking. A story of family, resilience and courage about two sisters in war torn France.
The spellshop

By Sarah Beth Durst

5 stars

Gorgeous wholesome cozy fantasy. Take one librarian trying to save her books, add a sentient spiderplant, some magic spell books, lots of jam and a little romance and you have just the sweetest story ever.
Unravel the dusk

By Elizabeth Lim

4 stars

The 2nd in the YA duology. A wonderful fairytale of enchanters, demons, magic carpets and Asian inspired mythology. Delightful.
The art of racing in the rain

By Garth Stein

3 stars

Emotional, sad, uplifting and funny. Story is narrated told by Enzo the dog about his life with owner Denny a race car driver.
Spin the dawn

By Elizabeth Lim

4 stars

Sweet eastern mythology meets fairytale. beautiful writing. Think Mulan meets Project Runway with an enchanter, a competition, magical scissors, an impossible quest and a romance. The first half of the story with Maia creating the garments was my favourite part. Ends on a cliff hanger with the romance up in the air. Would suit readers aged 12+
The otherwhere post

By Emily J Taylor

5 stars

Dark academia YA read suitable for year 8+ students. Magic, mystery, and just a llittle romance. Orphaned Maeve finds herself being tutored in the magical art of scriptomancy in order to prove her father's innocence. Delightful, easy read with a satisying conclusion.
The last murder at the end of the world

By Stuart Turton

4 stars

Enjoyed this environmental dystopic murder mystery. An island protected from fog that kills everything, a couple of scientists and a village of the last people left...
The last dragon on Mars

By Scott Reintgen

5 stars

Sci-fi with dragons! Fun fast paced easy read set in outer space with a character cast aged about 13. Suitable for younger readers Year 6+ but has enough action that would entertain a Year 9.
Only ours

By Lynda Tomalin

3 stars

Oh heartache of first love and gay love at that. Once you get past the awkwardness of the first few chapters it progresses into quite a sweet story which deals surprisingly well with some serious themes of depression and disability. An NZ author.
Whose your name

By Tamatai o le Pasifika Class Wainuiomata Intermediate School

5 stars

Lovely to see students writing in print sharing the meaning of their name in story and poetry. This little book written by Pasifika students reminds me of a school that records sound bites of their students saying their name, small but powerful acknowledgements of them and their culture.
Tell us a story out of your own mouth

By Mona Williams

5 stars

A little conversation from storyteller Mona Williams. She shares a little of her story growing up as a black woman from Guyana and how storytelling helped her find her identity.
Ghost kiwi

By Ruth Paul

4 stars

Adventure story about Ruby, her friend, her treehouse , the discovery of a kiwi and the wildlife smugglers they encounter. A fun read suitable for ages 8 -12
It's a bit more complicated than that

By Hannah Marshall

4 stars

Loved this NZ YA read and looking forward to promoting to Year 9 and 10's. Relationship drama, real life, NZ setting, believable characters, gives John Green vibes.
Te Tukanga Ako

By Te Kahu Rolleston

5 stars

Looking forward to sharing this little treasure with my teachers. Te Kahu Rolleston shares his approach to to teaching creative writing
Truth needs no colour

By Heather McQuillan

4 stars

YA easy read that would appeal to Year 8+ students. Set in a future Aotearoa that feels scarily close; climate change, privatisation of education, standardised testing, inequality and poverty. Mariana experiences prejudice and injustice under an oppresive regime at her new school. Can she find her courage to stand up and fight and what will it cost her? Great themes of the power of activism, authoritarianism, propaganda and personal freedom.
Vividwater

By Jacqueline Owens

3 stars

Dystopic story set in drought ridden near future NZ. I liked the setting but thought the book would mostly appeal to adults rather than YA with the office politics and the older character age (assumed late 20's/ 30's). Thought provoking about the ownership of water.
Cold Wire

By Chloe Gong

4 stars

Kinda broke my mind. Futuristic, reality & virtual reality, warring nations, soldiers, spies, YA. Probably need to read it again... but maybe not. Love to see it made into a movie and maybe then I could make it work better in my head. For me it was not the easiest read jumping between reality and virtual reality. The first 1/4 was quite confusing, hwever the last 1/4 I couldn't put down!
The hidden universe

By Alexandre Antonelli

3 stars

Non fiction. An interesting overview of the earth's biodiversity and the importance of protecting it.
Court of silver flames

By Sarah J Maas

4 stars

#4 in the series, this one about Nesta and Cassian. Spicy read, good fantasy storyline. Hard to like Nesta to begin with but she grows on you...
After dark

By Haruhi Murakami

3 stars

Not really in the right mood to have read this. But pleased I did. Don't read this though if you like resolution in story lines.
A study in drowning

By Ava Reid

3 stars

Dark academia with a fairy vibe YA. OK and I think it would appeal to young teens but to be honest I got a bit sick of the main character.
Crowntide

By Alex Aster

3 stars

The 4th in the series. Honestly the love interest/s are getting boring but I still want to see how the story plays out and typically you are left hanging...
Skyshade

By Alex Aster

4 stars

#3 The Lightlark Saga- the best yet but ends on a cliff hanger!
Nightbane

By Alex Aster

4 stars

#2 in The Lightlark Saga. This story reveals more information about the different realms which make the overall story easier to understand. This is everything you expect in a YA fantasy, enemies to lovers, a love triangle, Wildling, Starling & Nightshade powers and abilities, twists and turns and of course it finishes on a cliffhanger.
Morning Star

By Pierce Brown

5 stars

# 3 Red Rising Trilogy. A marathon but very satifying ending - you could stop here but there are 4 more books in the series. In #3 the story continues to follow Darrow a "Red" low caste miner on Mars who discovers his people have been lied to and are oppressed by the ruling "Golds". He infiltrates the Gold rulers and fights from within.
Ruthless vows

By Rebecca Ross

4 stars

#2 Letters of Enchantment duology ok so the story of the Gods came together much better in this second book of the duology. Iwould argue the story would have been just as good (and less confusing without the Gods. But a sweet story, great writing and good entertainment
Parable of the sower

By Octavia E. Butler

4 stars
Drift

By Pip Harry

5 stars

Verse novel told in alternating chapters by Luna and her new neighbour Nate. A heartfelt story suitable for 12-14 year olds, issues of environment, cyber bullying, loneliness, mental health and the healing power of running, swimming , friendship & family come together in an ultimately uplifting authenthic story. Highly recommended
A psalm for the wild-built

By Becky Chambers

4 stars

Little sci-fi slice of life. A tea monk and a robot try and make sense of their world. Non binary characters. Thoughtful and cute
Divine Rivals

By Rebecca Ross

4 stars

Gorgeous prose. Aspiring writers/journalists, a magical typewriter, war time setting, low fantasy, sweet romance. Beautiful character driven writing. Don't try to understand the time period/setting/world of this story (it really doesn't make sense) and enjoy the beautiful writing much of which is letters written to and from the main two characters. 1st in a series . A sweet read and gorgeous prose but the world building is appalling... maybe that is rectified in #2?
Lightlark

By Alex Aster

4 stars

YA fantasy 6 realms, 6 rulers pitted against each other, powers, a little romance and a curse to break. Despite the setting there's not lots of world building or depth to characters in this fast and fun fantasy. Don't get too caught up trying to understand all the realms and the game rules, just roll with it and you'll enjoy the ride.

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Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

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