WIN 5 of the BEST KIDS’ BOOKS see page 43
YOUNG ADULT GRACEHOPPER
by Mandy Hager (OneTree House)
Wellington-based Grace, born during a major earthquake in Taiwan, practises martial arts to cope with the aftershocks that still disrupt her life, while rediscovering a preschool friendship that’s metamorphosing into romance. So many valuable insights into the everyday lives of little people, people of Asian heritage and those suffering from PTSD. Another YA novel that deftly disentangles family relationships, from a novelist at the top of her powers.
THE HARROWING
by Kristen Kiesling & Rye Hickman (Amulet)
A graphic cautionary sci-fi tale that explores the moral dilemmas faced by teens who find themselves caught up in an experimental project that senses potential mass killers.
THE MESS OF OUR LIVES
by Mary-Anne Scott (OneTree House)
Jordan, 17, can’t wait to leave home and his unwell mother, barricaded inside her overstuffed house. But his younger sister Tabitha, 11, is still trapped by that smothering love. This Hawke’s Bay author knows teenage boys so well – musicians, too – enriching the impact of this wake-up call for all who teeter between collecting and hoarding. Mind-boggling and marvellous.
MY FAMILY AND OTHER SUSPECTS
by Kate Emery (A&U)
A light-hearted, highly believable take on the country-house murder mystery, replete with revelations of mismatched relatives – this time in an Australian setting. Laugh-out-loud funny.
WHEN THE WORLD TIPS OVER
by Jandy Nelson (Walker)
Names like Wynton, Miles, Dizzy and Cassidy point to the jazz theme in this epic, fivegeneration Californian wine-country saga that somehow stays strongly rooted in the present – much as improvisation keeps returning to its original motif. Every character in this third YA
