The finalists in the 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards were announced this morning. There is a great selection of books this year, by some of our best authors and illustrators. I think that the picture book and junior fiction categories are particularly strong and the judges have got a huge job ahead of them. I’m aiming to read all of the finalists before the week of the Festival this year so I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each book here.
Have you read any that you really love?
Picture Book
A Great Cake, written and illustrated by Tina Matthews
Melu, written by Kyle Mewburn and illustrated by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly
Mister Whistler, written by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by Gavin Bishop
Mr Bear Branches and the Cloud Conundrum, written and illustrated by Terri Rose Baynton
Remember that November, written by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Lindy Fisher
Junior Fiction
The ACB with Honora Lee, written by Kate De Goldi and illustrated by Gregory O’Brien
The Queen and the Nobody Boy by Barbara Else
My Brother’s War by David Hill
Red Rocks by Rachael King
Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull by Jack Lasenby
Young Adult Fiction
Earth Dragon, Fire Hare by Ken Catran
Into the River by Ted Dawe
The Nature of Ash by Mandy Hager
Reach by Hugh Brown
Snakes and Ladders by Mary-anne Scott
Non Fiction
100 Amazing Tales from Aotearoa by Simon Morton and Riria Hotere
At the Beach: Explore and discover the New Zealand seashore by Ned Barraud and Gillian Chandler
Kiwi: the real story by Annemarie Florian and Heather Hunt
Taketakerau, The Millenium Tree by Marnie Anstis, Patricia Howitt and Kelly Spencer
How are you all doing with your NZ Book Month Reading? I’ve read my third book, so I’m pleased to say that I’m on target to read four books by New Zealand authors before the close of the month. This week, I was lucky enough to read a book that isn’t even available in stores yet! It’s one of the things I love best about being a writer: other writers send you their brand new books to read before they are published. It’s called beta reading and I believe the term comes from the computer industry. When a software company makes a new product, it tests it first in-house for bugs and problems. This is called alpha testing. Then, when they’ve fixed all the problems they can find, the company sends the software out to some test companies who beta test the product to see if there are any further issues to be resolved. So, in the same way, an author writes the best story they can and edits it themselves (alpha reading) and then they send it out to specially chosen beta readers for their perspectives and suggestions on how the story might be improved.
I love beta reading. It’s the coolest thing. Firstly, it means another writer values your opinion enough to share their work with you. That’s pretty exciting. Then, you get to read a brand story that no-one else has read yet. Imagine reading a Percy Jackson book or the latest Anthony Horowitz title before anyone else? That’s pretty exciting. Next, you get to make suggestions that the writer might then incorporate into their story. That makes you an important part of the writing process. More exciting stuff. And finally, when the book is released you get to see whether or not everyone agrees with you about how fantastic the book is.
The story I beta read is called Stim, a young adult novel by Christchurch writer Kevin Berry, last year’s Sir Julius Vogel Award Winner for Best New Talent (with Diane Berry). Since Kevin is an award-winning writer, I knew Stim would be good but it was something else. Stim is AMAZING. It’s the story of Robert, a Canterbury university student who makes a bold plan to get himself girlfriend, which would be fine except Robert is an Aspie – he suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome – which means he finds interactions with other people, and especially girls, rather difficult. Luckily, Robert has a friend, Chloe and a flatmate, Stef, who help him though some of the awkward bits. Hilarious and sad at the same time, Stim is a window on the everyday struggles of people with Asperger’s. It’s a great book, due to be released later this year by Bluewood Publishing.
I’ll bet you’re all cross now. Here I am raving about a book that you can’t even get out of the library yet. Luckily, Kevin and Diane Berry (KD Berry) have written some other great titles, which ARE available in the library, including high fantasy novels Dragons Away and Growing Disenchantments, fun reading for the meantime.
I love each and every one of NZ author Fleur Beale’s novels, but End of the Alphabet has to be my favourite. It is the story of Ruby Yarrow; a fourteen-year-old girl who lives in the shadow of her younger brother Max. Max is smart, talented and adored by everyone. Ruby struggles at school and is always busy at home. She cares for her little brothers, cooks the dinner and cleans up after Max. One day her best friend Tia puts her foot down- she is sick of Ruby being a doormat. Her outburst gets Ruby thinking…does she want to live her life being treated second best? Of course not- so begins Ruby’s journey to find her backbone and start standing up to people.
This book is truly outstanding, one of my favourite of all time. Ruby is one of those characters that you can instantly relate to. If I could meet a character in one of my books I’d want to meet Ruby. She’s just so likeable and so easy to understand. As the book progresses it’s easy to see how Ruby has changed.
If you’re looking for a read that you won’t want to put down, choose End of the Alphabet! It’s a book that you’ll want to read again and again.
On Friday at Shirley Library we hosted the New Zealand launch of Barry Hutchison’s The 13th Horseman. We had some giveaways, a feast fit for a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and some special launch videos from Barry in Scotland.
If you weren’t able to get to the launch on Friday you can still join in the fun here and find out about this awesome book. Barry made 3 videos especially for his readers in NZ, in which he introduces The 13th Horseman, reads from the book, and answers some questions. Come on in and join the party!
Barry introduces The 13th Horseman
Barry reads an excerpt from The 13th Horseman
Barry answers some questions about The 13th Horseman
Drake is surprised to find three Horsemen of the Apocalypse playing snakes and ladders in his garden shed. Even more surprisingly, they’re missing a Horseman and think that Drake is the boy for the job. Drake is reluctant to join them, but does being in charge of Armageddon have to spell the end of the world?
From the wastelands of oblivion to the desolate plains of Limbo – join the Horsemen of the Apocalypse on a wild and hilarious ride…
The 13th Horseman is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. The laughs don’t come from toilet humour, but from the actions (or inaction) of the three long serving Horsemen of the Apocalypse. There’s Pestilence who’s dressed like a doctor with a white coat and rubber gloves (to protect the humans, not himself), the red-haired giant, War, with a temper to match his stature, and my favourite, Famine, who is absolutely huge, with massive rolls of fat all over his body (which provide great places to store food for later). When Drake first meets them, they’ve been playing board games for thousands of years and are completely bored. They all seem to be totally incompetent and can’t even organise themselves to do the job they’re there for – usher in the Apocalypse. They all have a horse to ride across the sky, apart from Famine who has a mobility scooter (so that he doesn’t squash a horse). Each of the Horsemen has their own quirks but my favourite is definitely Famine, because no matter when you look at him, he’s always eating something.
Thankfully, The 13th Horseman is only the first book in the Afterworlds series and the sequel, The Lost Book of Everything is due out in 2013. If you haven’t read any of Barry Hutchison’s books yet, The 13th Horseman is a good place to start.
Come along to Shirley Library this Friday (25 May) from 4pm and celebrate the launch of a a cool new book, called The 13th Horseman by UK author Barry Hutchison. Barry is also the author of the incredibly creepy Invisible Fiends series, including Mr Mumbles and Raggy Maggie. Hear Barry talk about his hilarious new book and enjoy drinks and snacks fit for a Horseman of the Apocalypse. We have 3 copies of The 13th Horseman to give away and everyone gets a signed bookplate.
The event is free and suitable for ages 10 years and up.
The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy, set in a place in the middle of what used to be North America, called Panem. Panem consists of twelve districts, that surround a city called the Capitol. The Capitol is cruel, and has complete control over those who live in the districts. They keep them from starting a rebellion by forcing each district to provide a boy and a girl from 12 to 18, who are all sent to the Capitol to take part in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death in a huge arena. The person who is left alive wins, and lives in glory, fame, and riches from then on. The others all die. The worst part? The districts are forced to celebrate it, and it is made into a television show. Katniss Everdeen is sent to the Capitol from District 12, taking her sisters place in the games to protect her. She has escaped death before, and is skilled with a bow and arrow, but each of the 24 contestants are all fighting to survive. She will have to make hard decisions to live through the games.
The concept behind the Hunger Games was so original, and I turned the pages especially fast during the middle, when the Hunger Games were actually happening. The description was simple and brief, but the action and dialogue made up for that entirely.
My favourite character was probably Katniss, but I found that by the end of the book, to my greatest surprise, I had become rather fond of Haymitch, who is Katniss’s drunken mentor. I thought that Peeta, who is the boy from District 12, was a little weak, and Katniss was always protecting him, so in a way, he was a bit wimpy.
I am excited to find out what happens next, because by the end of the book Katniss is in quite a bit of trouble. I’m not telling you what happens, though, you’ll have to find that out yourself!
I think that kids from 12 to 15 would like this book the most (although my dad loves the book just as much as I do!). The Hunger Games is also being turned into what is going to be an epic movie.
The Damned was a terrifying experience. But before I explain why, this is the blurb: “It’s not just the Dead who want to return to the Land of the Living, but the creatures of Hell itself. And only Lazarus, Stone, Keeper of the Dead, can stop them. But he’s on an insane rescue mission to save his best mate and his dad, with only the help of an undead priest and an angel with an alcohol problem. This isn’t just about saving the world, this is personal…”
So why so terrifying? Well, The Damned was the first time I’d ever experienced characters taking on a life of their own, controlling the story, and telling me what was going to happen next, where they were going to go, rather than the other way round. It was a bit disconcerting. I’m big on planning my books out. To me, it’s a bit like how I’d approach a piece of art (were I an artist, which I’m not, trust me!) First, I’d sketch it out, until I was happy with what I was doing, and then I’d add in the detail, the colour. And that’s much how I work – plan it out first, get happy with the structure of the story, then colour it in! However, half way through The Damned, the characters had other ideas as to what was going to happen. And I just had to hold on tight and hope they knew what they were doing, which it turns out they did!
The Damned is an epic conclusion to a crazy, dark, hellish journey. It draws on a lot of my love of horror movies and fiction, with plenty of nods to everything from Lovecraft to Fulci. The characters are still with me, the story still haunts me, and I hope that, once you survive your time with the Dead/Dark/Damned, you’ll be a little bit haunted by it, too!
Our magnificent March Star Author is British author, David Gatward. David is the author of three incredibly creepy horror stories called The Dead, The Dark, and The Damned, as well as a stand-alone book called The Cave.
He had his first book published aged 18 but it’s taken many more years and life experiences to lead to writing The Dead. Seeing two ghosts, being mistaken for a homeless person and almost drowning have given David plenty of food for thought, but it’s his family who’ve been a big inspiration. Now living in rural Somerset with his wife and two boys, David writes full-time and hopes to see ghost number three very shortly.
Thanks for joining us David! We look forward to reading all about you and your books.
Our March Star Author, David Gatward has been telling us about his book, The Dead. It’s the first in a series of 3 seriously creepy books and this week we a set of David’s books to give away. Please note: the books are aimed at age 12+ so they are not ideal for younger readers.
To get in the draw to win all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us ‘What is your scariest moment?’ Leave a comment with your answer, your name and email address (so that we can contact you if you win).
Thanks to everyone who entered the March Star Author Competition. The winner of the David Gatward book pack is: Connor. Please check your email to find out how to claim your prize.
I was lucky enough last week to be able to meet Richard Newsome, the author of the fantastic Billionaire Trilogy. I got the inside scoop on what he’s writing next and found out a little about what Gerald, Sam and Ruby are up to now that their adventures have come to a conclusion.
Thanks to Richard’s amazing publishers, Text, we have a set of the Billionaire Trilogy to give away. These are extra special copies of the books because they’re signed by Richard Newsome. All you have to do to get in the draw to win the set is tell us: What would you do with 20 billion dollars? Tell us your answer by leaving a comment on this post, along with your name and email address (so that we can contact you if you win).
Competition closes Wednesday 7 December. See below for terms and conditions
Thanks to everyone who voted in our Best Books of 2011 Competition. The votes have been counted and we can now announce the winners. The best Kids book of 2011 is Northwood by Brian Falkner and the best Young Adult book of 2011 is Plague by Michael Grant. You can see how many votes each book got in the polls below.
Everyone who entered went into the draw to win the Top 5 books and the winners are:
Six Days by Philip Webb is a very cool book that I’m reading at the moment. It’s set in a future London where the city is being torn down to hunt for a mysterious ‘artefact’ that is incredibly valuable. If you like books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld then Six Days is the book for you.
The first full-length trailer for the Hunger Games movie has just been released and you can watch it here. It’s being released on March 23, 2012 and it’s going to be one of the biggest movies of the year. The movie is based on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which is the first book in one of the most exciting series you’ll ever read. Here’s what our Star Blogger Rhys said about it:
“Prim Everdeen is chosen as a representative for the hunger games while she is still 12 years old, Katniss, her big sister, volunteers to go instead of Prim and she goes to save her sister. Without giving too much away being selected isn’t a good thing. I reckon that they are a great series and that if you like fighting, romance (sort of) and cunning plotting you should read them. I’d recommend them to anyone over 10. They are great for adults too. They are some of the best books I’ve read, and I have read some really, really good books.”
The movie looks like it’s going to be absolutely amazing and you can see what it’s like in this trailer:
If you’ve been dying to read The Hunger Games to find out why it’s so great or you would just really like to have your own copy, we’ve got one to giveaway. To get in the draw, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us why you should win the book. Competition closes Friday 25 November.
Today we’re joined by Lara Morgan, author of The Rosie Black Chronicles, which includes Genesis and the latest book, Equinox. We caught up with Lara to ask her about Rosie Black, future technology and the best things about being a writer.
What five words would you use to describe The Rosie Black Chronicles?
Dystopian thriller with romantic elements
What idea/s did the Rosie Black Chronicles grow from?
Essentially from my interest in climate change and how it will affect us in the future, and what I see as a growth in the power and influence of massive corporations within our political and social structure. I wanted to explore what kind of future could arise if we didn’t regulate the way we are going now and the world of Rosie Black is the result of that. I’m also interested in space travel and the possibility of outer planet colonisation so I threw that in the mix as well.
Who is the character of Rosie Black based on?
No one in particular. Rosie has elements of my teenage self in her, but she is also a creation of the world she’s come from – the future Earth. I’m very much interested in the psychology of people, how they become who they are so the type of person Rosie is comes from the experiences she’s had as she’s grown ie losing her mother, being poor in a broken world, as well as just her innate self. I believe in strong rounded characters so I tried to create that in Rosie.
If you could have one piece of technology from Rosie’s world, what would it be?
Space ships – her Aunt Essie’s little ship would be a very cool thing to have. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of travelling through space.
Who is your favourite author/childrens author?
That is a very hard one to answer, but one of my favourites is Ursula Le Guin, especially her Earthsea stories.
Why did you want to be a writer?
It’s what gives me the most satisfaction. I’ve always been a daydreamer and writing is just a way of getting those dreams out of my head and onto the page. I just love making up stories and never feel as at peace as when I can get up from my desk at the end of the day and feel I’ve achieved something.
What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
Best is definitely being my own boss and being able to work from home in my pyjamas. The worst is the need to promote yourself. These days being writer means having to be good at self promotion as well as promoting your work, building a known name, and that means talking yourself up at events and gatherings and that doesn’t come naturally to me, or I think most writers.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Make sure you finish what you start. I’ve spoken to many aspiring writers who focus too much on fine tuning a first chapter, or first few chapters, before they’ve finished writing the story all the way through to the end and that is a fine way to ensure you never finish anything. And you can’t get unfinished work published. It is hard and the temptation is to think that if you just get the first bit right then the rest will be easier, you’ll have a better idea, but really that only works for a minute amount of people. Usually the best way to get the story right is to write it all the way through to the end, not worrying too much about how some things might not quite make sense, or some metaphors are terrible, or your dialogue sucks, but going forward anyway until you finish it. Then you go back and start to refine it. You have to allow yourself the room to make mistakes in the first draft safe in the knowledge that only you will see it. And I mean no one else, really, don’t show it to anyone, not even your mum. That’s what works for me anyway – and for many, many other writers. And read everything. Writers read, it’s essential.
“I AM A BEAST. A BEAST! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster. You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever-ruined-unless i can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly……..BEASTLY.”
This book is a modern version of “Beauty and the beast” It is a romantic book and is much better than the movie (Like most books/movies) It tells you a good lesson too. Someone’s inside is more important than the outside. Three things that I liked about it were … the good lesson, that it is a modern take on a classic Disney movie, and that it is nicely paced. Its a very good book that I recommend for year 8 up girls, that love romantic stories.
Next Monday on the blog we’re going to be joined by Lara Morgan, the author The Rosie Black Chronicles, an action-packed science fiction series for older readers, set 500 years in the future. We’ll be helping Lara celebrate the release of the second book in The Rosie Black Chronicles, Equinox. If you haven’t read the first book, Genesis, you can read the first few chapters here on the blog and watch the very cool book trailers for Genesis and Equinox.
What are your favourite books this year? We’re putting together a list of the best books of 2011 and we need your help.
We’ve picked the Top 5 books for older readers (the five books above) and young adults — all you have to do is choose your favourite book from our selection and send your vote. Everyone who enters will go into the draw to win the top five books.
