Paula Boock writes an excellently detailed story of Louie and Willa as they fall in and out of love.

Based in New Zealand, this book captures realistic societal views towards lesbianism. The two girls both experience negativity from society about their sexual orientation; Louie from her family, Willa from her ex-partners family. Yet both find positivity in people that truly love them.

The characters of Louie and Willa are so different, but not so different so they don't suit each other. Each character looks towards the other with great respect, honoring their differences as beautiful and attractive. Their previous experiences with lesbianism are different also, but that doesn't stop them as they fall into a deep romance. Both are overwhelmed by the intensity of the relationship.

Written in a delicate style, yet sometimes punchy with directing what is firm, the story is gripping and powerful. Recommended for anyone who is a teenage lesbian or thinking of becoming one.

I just finished reading this book for the third time and I can't believe how I keep forgetting how amazing this book is. Yes, it is about 2 girls falling i love, but don't let that put you off- it's much better written than most girl-boy romance books, partly of course because it's not exactly a romance as such. What made it even better for me was that it is set in my hometown (Dunedin) and written by someone who I see at the parties I go to with my parents. But I think that even if there was no connection there, I would still love this book. The story is excellent, it keeps you interested and captivated all the way through, the characters are real, and I won't say too much more because this is one of those rare, indescribable books. Just read it for yourself and you'll be so happy you did. It's the second book EVER too make me cry. OK, thats all. Bye :)

This book is great! It's an easy read, but in a good way. You (or me at least) get into the story right away. And it's really about love. Any kind of love. The important thing here is: Be true to youre deepest feelings, no matter what!! It made me think, and I guess that's the most important thing!!!! ENJOY

The New Zealand Prayer Book is one of the easiest to use prayer books in my library. It has marks of creativity that open up prayer. Out of the 3 or 4 prayer books I have, this one is the most flexible and useful. I combine it with daily scripture reading from The Chalice Hymnal and the Revised Common Lectionary. This prayer book keeps me balanced and regular - more so than others I have.

If you're an Anglican who loves liturgy (or even if you're not Anglican), this is a must for your library. It's the standard prayer book with all the services you know and love, but with a wonderful new twist of language. In the translation for today's church, the feeling has come back to all the words we say without thinking. For example, in the Lord's prayer "our Father" becomes "Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and thiat shall be, Father and Mother of us all..." What could more inclusively capture a glimpse of the Living God?

A New Zealand Prayer Book beautifully combines the lofty Anglican tradition with a directness and simplicity that reflects native culture. Many of the prayers are almost childlike in their simplicity, but directly speak to the heart and soul. I find myself coming back to certain prayers, especially an evening medititation that reminds, "What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be." Accessible and reflecting the complexity, and simplicity, of the soul.

It's one of those books that you can read over and over again and still experience the same stong feelings of excitement and sorrow, and can still be amazed at the vivid and often moving description of Alex's struggles and triumphs. Every time I flip through the pages, I am once again transported back in time and back to New Zealand, now miles away from where I read. You can't miss this one! Once you read it, you'll be reading it forever.

"Alex" is a brilliant piece of writing. It is thought-provoking and is just one of those books that you can't stop reading. Alex is someone who gives us all hope and ambition...she is a champion and a survivor. The book is well worth the read

I love Alex. She's an over achiever and though most of us aren't up there with her, we all feel overwhelmed and confused at times. I read Alex when I get to the same stage as she does in this book - nervous breakdown. Alex is inspiring to read, and helps me get back on my feet. She triumphs, and we both make it through. I really identify with her, the character and story is exceptionally well drawn - Tessa Duder is an excellent author. A must read, and re-read, and re-read...

Margaret Mahy's book is an unusual take on the juvenile magic-user theme. It takes place in New Zealand, in a single-parent home. Laura Chant lives with her divorced mother, and her toddler brother. Nothing is entirely reliable in Laura's world, certainly not her slightly flaky mother, their extremely flaky car, and especially the surrounding landscape, being transformed from forest and farm into a new subdivision.

Chant, perfectly named, can sense things that others can't. She can sense that her brother's rapid descent into illness is supernatural, and that it is linked to the boy's unfortunate contact with the also perfectly named Carmody Braque. She also can sense that the mysterious prefect at her school, an older boy named Sorensen Carlisle, is a "witch" and that he may hold the only key to healing her brother.

Sorry, as he's called, is one of those magnificent characters, the enigmatic boy who shows all the signs of being a proto-romance hero. But here, he's young, sly, and not above using his advantage over Laura. Mahy writes Laura as a strong character, and watching her handle Sorry is a lot of fun.

This novel is full of brooding atmosphere but with a great contemporary setting. Mahy's protagonist carries her weight, but everyone else is equally nuanced and fascinating. The book calls itself a romance, but I've never read an adult romance filled with such menacing ambiguity.

This is the best young adult book I have ever read. Laura and Sorry are unforgettable. Their shared scenes crackle with electricity (remember the munching thunderclouds?) and never has a male witch been so...appealing.

Laura Chant is a sensitive, a girl with supernatural inclinations, with certain glimpses into the future. One day she looks into the mirror and sees herself changed. She is aware that her world is going to change, but doesn't know what to do about it. Then her beloved brother Jacko starts to sicken from what she knows is not a natural cause. She's recognized the school prefect Sorenson Carlisle as a witch, and goes to him for help. He tells her that in order to save Jacko she can be changed over, that is become a witch, but the transformation is irrevocable. She will forever be separate from most others.

Mahy is an incredible writer. She makes the strange seem like home, and also makes the familiar worth another look. Read this book!

This book is a must for all teenage readers, because it deal with very real issues, romance, divorce, and magic. Written with poise, intelligence and an insatiable humor Mrs. Mahy weaves a gripping story of love and sacrifice. On the lighter side, this book has a definite funny steak in it, and a heart-quickening budding romance. I reccomend this book to people everywhere that love to read or hate to read. You've done it again, Margaret! My hats' off to you!

This is a great book for any young, female swimmer, or any one who knows the sport. It not only dealt with the issues of working hard for what you want, but also the good and bad times of growing up and finding out who you are. This book really motivated me to try my best in anything I try. I dont think I will ever get sick of this book( I've read it three times already).I also wish there were more books that dealt with young love the way Tessa Duder did. It was not distastefull in any way,it was very innocent and moving. So my congratulations out to Tessa Duder on a wonderful, inspiring book.**********10 star

I loved this book! It is an excellent read and is well written. The story is beautiful and the characters are believable. It's a story an girl can relate to, no matter their age. The emotions and trials of Alex are very real; it's hard to put it down until you're done! I recomend this book to anyone. Not only does it talk about growing up a teenage girl, but it describes things such as the personal struggles of competiting in a way that is different and refreshingly honest. Buy this book today!

i loved the alex books so much i've read the whole series 4 times . tessa duder wrote the books so well and i recommend it to anyone who likes a book that gets you totally absorbed . the characters are so real , you'd never know they were fictional it's the same with the whole overal stroy .It really is one of the best series i will ever read." nil bastardio carborundum" quote Alex .hahaha.Alex is such a strong character so full of emotion, so inspiring .I wish she was real so i could meet her . Tom and all are the same . the book has a sort of moral and gives you the view from all sides [as in characters]. truly the best.***********yet it's sad how so many people look up to her and can't see she needs company or some sort of friendship . in the book when she describes Tom as being larger then life , i guess it describes her to and thats why they suit so much .i love it

This book is written by an academic. I don't necessarily mean this in a negative sense. The author has done a very thorough research on the topic and presented his findings. The effect is a book that can be called a comprehensive treatment as far as it can be done given that the practictioners are disappearing fast.
The downside is that it can send you to sleep as the author systematically compares how the navigational techniques are practiced in the various island groups.

The strength of the book is not only its thoroughness but also the fact that the author is a skilled sailor who has gone on trips using these techniques. This makes the material so much more authentic, because the reader can relate how effective these skills are and yet how much practice they require.

The author provides commentary on many practices and relates them to our modern day knowledge. An example was their ability to recognize the impact of sub surface currents, something that is today a rather specialist piece of knowledge not available to the everyday sailor.

Incredible book - how did people get to Hawaii, Tonga, and other pacific islands that are thousands of miles apart? Did they get lost? Did they get blown there by storms? Nooooooo - they could navigate over open ocean for thousands of miles by using art passed down from generation to generation. This book tells you how.

David Lewis has zig-zaged the Pacific in modern yachts and traditional canoes. His broad experience and long resarch, using his own and many schoolars data, has made this a good analysis and documentation of the extremly impressing and interesting phenomenon of ancient and present voyaging in the Pacific. Others, specially anthropologists fieldworking in the Central Carolines of Micronesia, had written about the presently used Micronesian voyaging system, others less throughly about the forgotten polynesian,but Lewis mangage to give a synthesis of the technologies and some of the social aspects of traditional voyaging in the Pacific

This book gives a anthropological/ecological/archeological/historical interpretation of human habitation of what the author calls calls Meganesia. (He compares and contrasts human occupation of the 'Meganesian' areas of Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia.) Most of the book is an interpretation of the fossil record on the impact humans have had on the environments of these places and how humans in turn were shaped by the land. The thesis states that humans decimated virtually all animal life within a certain size range (roughly 1 to 100 kg) leaving only those animals who were successfully evasive. The author also provides background on why the Austalian fauna is like what it is - lacking in placental mammals and diversified in marsupials. And how this ties into the ancientness of the Australian land, the limited fertility of the land and the vagraties of its seasons.

The extrapolation to modern humans is truly sobering. If we, as a species, do not change our course of impact on the environment, our future has already been written and it is that of Maori and the Easter Islanders as first seen by Europeans. The pain and trauma of this social evolution are clearly documented in their history. For Australia and PNG, the original peoples made it through this stage to reach a state of coexistance with the environment but the Maori did not. The Maori had only been in New Zealand for about 800 years before European contact and colonization. And at the time the Maori were going through a period of cannibalsim resulting from decimation of the rich fauna which had been in New Zealand originally - in other words over-population and over-exploitation led to fighting with neighbors over resources which in turn had the side benefit of supplying 'protein' to the winning side.

Grusome and sobering, this books illustrates history repeating itself and shows us our future.

Tim Flannery has written what can only be described as a the most comprehensive history imaginable of the lands making up present-day Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. His fascinating account starts with the earliest breakaway of those lands from the super continent Gondwana, more than forty million years ago, and goes right up to the present-day, ending with Flannery's recommendations for preserving Australia's unique ecology.

Despite this mind-blowing multimillion-year scope of a territory covering an enormous area, the book never falters in its readability or interest. Much of it is highly speculative (as even the author occasionally admits), but Flannery presents enough evidence to make his hypotheses almost always seem plausible. I most enjoyed the comparison of the ecologies of New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and Australia -- despite their proximity, they are entirely different places, and those differences are reflected in their histories. Flannery's account of the destruction of megafauna in Australia and New Zealand is also well-told.

There should be more of these kinds of books: "biographies" of not just a land, but an entire continent (and its neighbors). Flannery has also written a similar book on North America, called "The Eternal Frontier", that rivals this book in its scope and excellence, but with that single exception, I can't think of any other ecological history that does such a fine job over so wide a range.

Tim Flannery's book on the ecological history of the 'Australasian lands' (Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, with bits and pieces on islands such as Christmas Island, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, etc), is both timely and refreshing. It is a good and current overview of argument and debate concerning the complex interplay of ecological and cultural forces shaping these parts of the world, from before human influence, to the times these lands were invaded at various times by homo sapien from at least 40,000-60,000 years ago (New Guinea earlier), to the present. It is very frank about the current state of these lands, in terms of environmental degradation, and what things could be done about it. It is quite controversial, and as someone who works in issues concerning biodiversity, ecology and resource sustainability, I can tell you much of the material is cutting-edge, complex, and controversial at times. In many instances Flannery is speculative and original, but often entertaining. He does back his theories and views up with substantial argument and evidence, and it is this which makes the book a cut above the ordinary.

One particular feature of the book worth emphasising is just how different these lands really are in terms of ecology, compared to most of the rest of the world. Not only is the flora and fauna, both extinct and living, somewhat unusual, but in, for example Australia, the climate, the influence of fire, the poor fertility or soils, and the part these factors have played in shaping the ecological past is rather surprising at times. Maladaptation of modern culture to these sorts of things is also particularly striking (for example seasonal agriculture in non-seasonal climate-early Australian colonisers, tropical agriculture in cold temperate climate-early polynesians in New Zealand). Of course early colonisers wanted, in the case of Australia, to create a 'little Britain', so to speak, except that it is obvious after 200-odd years of settlement (and some of this has been rather odd), it isn't western Europe. Later idealists wanted another North America-Australia is similar in size to the USA, but it isn't in natural ecology.

The book is very detailed and quite complex to describe in short review. It includes chapters on early megafaunal and other extinctions from the arrival of early man in all locales, through to the present. It speculates about early human migrations to Australia, backed up for example by sediment cores from three interesting locales in Australia (Lake George particularly interesting). Discussions of diprotodon, megalania (an extinct 7m long lizard), giant moa, an extinct New Caledonian land crocodile, and 3m high kangaroos are some highlights. It is a complex story, but readers will be delighted in the unusual flora and fauna, the misguided 'invasions', the arrogance, the trials, the failures and the astounding successes alike. Some particularly interesting parts for me was the demise of the New Zealand Moa-the worlds largest extinct bird, the story of virgin Lord How Island- first seen by humans of any kind in 1788, the discovery that many of Australia's marsupials descended from South America (ancient Gondwana in origin), the extraordinary array of New Zealands birds in the absence of evolving mammals, the degree of evolved co-operation amongst Australia's biota (for example self-sacrifice, and strange examples of symbiosis), and the story of Easter Island and its human contact.

There is a lot of controversial and complex stuff here, but it is well argued. Flannery speculates for example that Wallace's line played an important part in the 'great leap forward', which I admit I didn't quite follow, with early agriculture in the New Guinea area, which spread outwards. I didn't agree with his assessment of firestick farming and agriculture in prehistoric Australia, and in this he differs from Diamond (The Third Chimpanzee/Guns Germs and Steel) in the reasons agriculture never developed in prehistoric Australia. He asserts that the reason agriculture didn't kick start in early Australia is due to poor soils, unpredictable climate (ENSO), and the prevalence of natural fire, not the lack of available biota. I don't think he is quite correct here, it is more likely competitive selection pressures, both *cultural* and ecological, in addition to isolation, did not facilitate development of the varities found in Australia, as compared to Eurasia. I also don't think his description of Australia's mineral wealth as a 'one-off', is quite correct. 'Mineral wealth' changes with technology, market and cultural factors. He also seems to miss evidence of some megafauna existing well after the arrival of aborigines in Australia, (it is a large and scattered ecological landmass) which I have come across elsewhere (eg Coonabarabran). I am also not sure of his view that high urbanisation in Australia is a modern maladaptation to the ENSO climate. He emphasises the influence of fire in Australian ecology, but perhaps over-emphasises in parts (his house was burnt down in a bushfire whilst writing the book, which may explain this!)

Nevertheless it is well argued and quite astutely written. The 'Future Eaters' refers to homo sapien tending to eat his future resources and overpopulating-as occurred in New Zealand, Easter Island, and parts of colonial Australia-for example-and the human disasters which resulted form this tendency. He has a wide knowledge of the material, and certainly there are many original ideas worth thinking about. Some of the arguments will surprise readers, particularly from northern hemisphere countries, primarily because southern land masses have been, and also will be, rather different ecologically from their northern counterparts.

This book had more impact on me than any other battle account I have ever read. It's an account of a vicious fight by soldiers who had the best training but no previous experience of the reality of war. Vince Bramley later wrote a follow-up, '2 Sides of Hell' based on the experience of some of his friends, and some Argentina soldiers who fought against them. I have seen translations of both books in shops in Buenos Aires. Vince Bramley is a guy I'd like to meet.
After reading these books, war fiction books are suddenly much less interesting.

great read with a real look on what happend in the war

5 stars guaranteed

I served with the RAF in the Falklands between 1996-97. During a Sunday afternoon walk to Mt Longdon I met 2 men on electrical contract work for 4 months. One was Vince(nt Bramley) and the other Dom(inic Gray). Having briefly chatted with them they invited me to walk their battle the following Sunday. Wow! What a humbling experience. Only after the end of the walk did he tell me that he had written a (this) book. Reading it again 4 years on it still has the same impact. Vince is an honest and candid man. Having been there, you cannot underestimate the cold, the damp, the barren and harsh terrain, the unforgiving ground and unbelievably,how dark it can become with no light pollution.

The battle itself must have been horrific, let alone the TAB before hand, which in itself was a superhuman effort.

Well done Vince. You have written a frank account of something that (thankfully) most do not have to do. It is a fitting and lasting tribute to your colleagues.

To forever capture the past in the present - to be always telling the tale, towards the destination and yet always on the go, postponing the end of self-perception and portrayal: one does not write an autobiography about what one gained but what one lost. Janet Frame shows an intense desire (and flair) in retaining her possessions - a place, an object, a thought, an emotion, a fragment of memories - in writing. It deals with loss and trauma in an honest, realistic, and fairly subdued manner, making it more geniune than a lot of best-selling memoirs. Frame has been described as an ego-centric writer in her fiction - always writing about and examining herself - but in her autobiography she reminds us of existential moments when one detaches from one's self and looks at the world: the unnamable sadness that we do and do not experience. The imagery here is also a lot richer than most autobiographies - if you enjoy down-to-earth and yet beautiful and touching stories, this is something you should read.

In the first volume Frame beautifully describes her New Zealand childhood. Her descriptions of her family, their day-to-day lives, and their economic and personal hardships, stay with the reader long after reading Volume I.

In Volume II she describes her college years and subsequent mental mis-diagnosis, which led to several years of institutionalization. Rather than leaving the reader depressed, somehow she brings one into the experience but leaves us wondering at her resilience and ability to continue writing.

Volume III contains her account of her growing acceptance as a writer and her association with other well-known New Zealand writers. This is a must for anyone interested in: a brilliant picture of an artist; New Zealand life; good non-fiction writing.

I did it backwards: I watched the film first. My subsequent enjoyment of the book, however, was not diminished. The strength of this memoir lies not only in its magnetic story but also in Frame's brilliant, lyrical writing.

Looking forward to reading her novels...immediately.

The title of Rose Tremain's new novel refers to the glint of gold. Set during the 1860s gold rush in New Zealand, every character in the book is somehow touched by the crazed hunt for gold that eclipses all other possible occupations as the land is overrun by desperate miners and those who cater to them. It's a harsh world, driven by greed and deprivation, and utterly alien to the British newcomers, whose slender dreams are not strong enough to support their lack of knowledge and preparation.

Joseph Blackstone tries to outrun a horrible, tragic secret by marrying and moving his new wife, Harriet, and his mother, Lilian, to New Zealand and starting a farm. These three traveling companions are not particularly well-matched: Lilian finds the adjustment from refined Englishwoman to farm work in a foreign country to be very difficult; Harriet is forced to realize that she does not love her new husband enough to make a success of their hard new life; and Joseph just isn't resourceful enough to adapt to the strange demands of his new situation. Mining for gold and making a quick fortune seem like an easy solution to their insurmountable problems. Other settlers have done so, and facing up to failure in the midst of others' successes adds a particularly bitter tone to Joseph's experiences.

Joseph abandons his struggling farm and makes his way to the mining fields. This decision informs the fate of all three, and leads to surprising new developments. Joseph plummets to new levels of misery and disappointment in the mines, as success continues to elude him and his dark side reasserts itself. Harriet discovers unsuspected strengths; her bravery and compassion lead to bold choices and adventures. Lilian finds an unlikely, brief peace, but her death requires Harriet to search for Joseph in the mines, just in time for a catastrophic flood that annihilates the entire operation and changes the Blackstones' fortunes again.

The symbolism isn't difficult to understand. Gold represents success and the newcomers' ambition to improve their grim, practically hopeless lots. But ambition can be a complex compulsion and Rose Tremain deftly explores what makes these people happy, what they really want, and what they will do to fulfill their dreams. It's interesting that it's never the gold per se that fuels them, but what even a little money will allow them to do. Prosperity, security, a new start, or amends for an old crime --- these things are more precious and require sacrifices.

--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn

Set during the 1860s New Zealand Gold Rush, Tremain's elegant, passionate tale of a British emigrant couple's fresh start in the rural outback, grabs the reader from the first page with its effortless evocation of place and character.

Newcomer Joseph Blackstone has built his house in a summer spot, despite expert advice. As the season changes, he lies awake, worrying. "He rebuilt it in his mind in the lee of a gentle hill. But he said nothing and did nothing. Days passed and weeks and the winter came, and the Cob House remained where it was, in the pathway of the annihilating winds.

"It was their first winter. The earth under their boots was grey. The yellow tussock grass was salty with hail. In the violet clouds of afternoon lay the promise of a great winding sheet of snow."

With Joseph is his new wife, Harriet, 34, grateful to be saved from a stultifying spinsterhood as a governess, and his widowed mother, Lilian, who spends the cold days mending china, broken on its long journey from home. Uprooted, alienated by this inhospitable place, Lilian is miserable, but Joseph and Harriet both have ardent hopes.

Joseph has fled England with a terrible secret to put behind him. He believes that strong, capable Harriet will renew him "and living sensibly with her, without loathing and without damage, then, he believed, his past would slowly vanish. He would be able to grow old without it, just as, if a man is careful, he can grow old without yearning."

But, a product of his times as well as his nature, he begins by stifling Harriet's dreams, first refusing her desire to help in building the Cob House (a structure meant to be temporary, built of mud and grass), then denying her longing for a child. Though growing disappointed with her marriage, Harriet retains her optimism. She surveys her hard-won garden with satisfaction or looks out at the distant mountains with wonder and desire.

Then, during a thaw after a devastating snow storm, with Harriet gone to get help from their richer, more established neighbors, Joseph finds gold in their creek. It's not much, but it sends him into a frenzy of feverish work and secrecy. Instinctively he hides the dust he's found and takes pains to keep his work from Lilian and Harriet. Though he finds no more, his obsession builds and when gold is found on the other side of the mountains he seizes the chance to escape his failed life and eroding marriage.

The narrative continues to move between characters, primarily Harriet and Joseph, but also Lilian, and their neighbors, the Orchards. Tremain brings alive the privations, filth, obsession and excitement of the Gold Rush; the struggles of the two women to maintain their Cob House holding in the face of an onslaught of New Zealand elements; the even, tranquil tenor of life at the Orchards' ranch.

Eventually Harriet gets to fulfill her longing to go into the mountains, only to find them impassable. Joseph's failure to find gold inflames his self-absorption with hatred for the world, and young Edwin Orchard becomes afflicted with a strange, Maori-inspired illness. Harriet perseveres, obligated to meet up with Joseph one last time and the novel rises to new heights of cataclysm and a romantic obsession so intense it moves at times into the surreal.

With its majestic, forbidding landscapes, passionate characters and precise imagery, "The Colour" is a beautifully written novel and a riveting read. Though the setting couldn't be further from the ultra-civilized 17th century royal court of her last novel, "Music & Silence" (winner of the Whitbread Award), Tremain's deft depictions of self-defeating narcissism, and (on the other hand) the human longing for experience beyond the ordinary, remain elemental themes.

Not that the book is without flaws. The mystical connection between Edwin Orchard and his Maori nurse is more alienating and puzzling than intriguing and Joseph seems, at times, overwrought. Quibbles aside, this is a masterful novel with a story, setting and characters that will stick with you long after the last page is turned.

All of the characters in this book are believeable although not necessarily likeable. Harriet has a strength about her that was necessary if a woman was to survive during these hard times. Even her mother-in-law Lillian, who at first meeting appears to be weak and self-centered learns to adapt to the hard circumstances of their life. Joseph is a complex, distant, and distrusting man filled with a guilt that he himself does not seem to understand. The setting of New Zealand with its rugged terrain seems to almost become a character. All of the realistic and harsh aspects of this novel pulled me into the story. However, the mysterious "spiritual" world of the Maori nurse and her relationship to young Edwin seems out of place in the story. I was disappointed in this aspect of the book. The contrast between how the Maori reacted to the environment around them and how the English settlers reacted could have better developed. Overall, a really good historical fiction read