While holidaying at his father’s house, Jake explores Wellington’s wild south coast, with its high cliffs, biting winds, and its fierce seals. When he stumbles upon a perfectly preserved sealskin, hidden in a crevice at Red Rocks, he’s compelled to take it home and hide it under his bed, setting off a chain of events that threatens to destroy his family. Can he put things right before it’s too late?
Red Rocks is a magical adventure story, set in New Zealand. Rachael King has taken the Celtic myth of the selkies and transplanted it into a New Zealand setting that kiwi kids will relate to. Jake is an average kid who gets sent to live with his dad for a few weeks, and like any kid, soon gets bored and sets off to explore the coast. I really liked Rachael’s interesting cast of characters, from old Ted who lives in a run-down shack along the coast, to the mischievous Jessie and mysterious Cara.
One thing that I really love about Red Rocks is Rachael King’s beautiful writing. She’s very descriptive so she paints a vivid picture of the wild, windy coast. It’s the sort of book that you want to read snuggled up in bed because you almost feel the biting wind and the freezing ocean.
Reserve your copy of Red Rocks at the library. You can also win a copy this week on Free Book Friday.
Tierney Reardon said,
June 6, 2012 @ 10:19 am
This sounds great! I’m definitely going to enter the competition.
Christchurch children meet local legends « Christchurch City Libraries Blog said,
August 30, 2012 @ 1:12 pm
[...] Rachael King is used to talking to large groups of adults at book festivals, but this was her first time talking to a whole audience of children. After asking that the children laugh at all her jokes, Rachael told us about her wonderful new book, Red Rocks. She mentioned that she dedicated the book to her two young boys, and when she excitedly showed them the dedication, they were more interested in getting back to Cartoon Network. Rachael is fascinated by the myths of the selkie (seals that shed their skin on land and become human) and so she decided to write a selkie story set in New Zealand. Red Rocks is one of my favourite books of 2012 and you can read my review on the Christchurch Kids Blog. [...]