Cambridge High School Library 2024

 By: Tom Palmer Location: FIC PAL Genre: WWII, War, Ethics and Dogs This review is by Dean Cowan- from Goodreads Tom Palmer is an author who specialises in YA fiction for reluctant readers. However, the plotline of this cleverly crafted story demonstrates that a straightforward narrative does not necessarily result in simple ideas. This is definitely a story that is meant to make young readers think about war, loyalty, and duty as well as other complex ideas. Jack is an 11-year-old schoolboy fascinated by war and war-themed computer games. His dad is a part-time soldier who encourages his interest by playing wargames with him as a means of bonding and educating him, especially, about the second world war. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, Jack's simple and hero-inspired view of war is made complicated by his dad's assignment in Afghanistan and the opposition of his mother, a girl in his class who is a refugee from Syria and a chance meeting with an ex-...

 By: Peter Ryan Location: NF 799.29 RYA Genre: Hunting in Aotearo a 'A glimpse into the spirit of a true hunter.'  Blood Origins 'A masterpiece...Peter Ryan is a national treasure.'   New Zealand Hunter  magazine. Based in New Zealand’s stunning South Island, Peter Ryan’s writing and images have appeared in the world’s finest outdoor books and journals. His new collection delivers superbly written essays on hunting, the natural world and life in general from an acknowledged master of outdoor literature. In vivid detail they take the reader on adventures - from the jagged peaks of New Zealand’s Southern Alps to the scorching deserts and steaming jungles of Africa. It is a world of tough mountaineers, sunburned professionals, eccentric characters and stunning game species, but also one rich in the pleasures of hunting, gun dogs and family. Hunting Life – Moments of Truth is illustrated by some of the finest outdoor artists and photographers working today. In turn wildl...

 By: Elizabeth Lim Location: FIC LIM Genre: Fantasy, Re tellings, Mythology, Romance and DRAGONS “Find the light that makes your lantern shine,” she used to say. “Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame.” also - Cover LOVE!!! "Absolutely promising, fairy-tallish, dreamy, magical start to brand new fantasy series! A well-executed, creative, original, Eastern mythology meets action packed adventure with dark fairytale vibes definitely put this remarkable book on your radar." "A stunning remake of a fairytale.  Six Crimson Cranes  is the perfect blend of whimsy and ferociousness, with twists and turns that will tug at your heartstrings" Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wa...

 By: A.G.Slater Location: FIC SLA Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Gothic, Mermaids! A ghost-filled, watery, eerie story, All the Murmuring Bones was a perfect summertime gothic.- Lizzie Long ago Miren O'Malley's family prospered due to a deal struck with the Mer: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren's grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of Miren's freedom. A spellbinding tale of dark family secrets, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea; of strong women and the men who seek to control them. "A beautifully written, very dark fantasy (at times verging on horror) by this award-winning writer. The language is evocative and powerful, and the story pulls no punches. The classic elements of gothic fantasy are there - a strange old house, a family with dark secrets, and various eldritch manif...

 By: Disney and Elizabeth Rudnick Location: FIC RUD Genre: Disney  101 Dalmataions made bad Estella is a clever and creative grifter determined to make a name for herself with her designs amid the 1970s London punk rock revolution. As a girl, Estella befriended a pair of young thieves with an appetite for mischief, and together the trio has been able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. But Estella longs for more than an existence built on stealing to make ends meet. One day, Estella's flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness Von Hellman, a design legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable, and revenge-bent Cruella. "I really loved this Disney novel. Such a wicked twist on the Cruella DeVille back story. Great imaginative plot which leaves the reader almost feeling sorry for our y...

 By: Liz Nugent Location: FIC NUG Genre: Fiction, Thriller , Mystery "A deranged family drama with some dark humour, of murder, cruelties, betrayal, addictions, adultery, mental health issues, fame, rivalries, and #MeToo issues. Once again Nugent has me compulsively enthralled by the most despicable of brothers in this car crash of a family! " Parjot Three brothers are at the funeral. One lies in the coffin. Will, Brian and Luke grow up competing for their mother's unequal love. As men, the competition continues - for status, money, fame, women ... They each betray each other, over and over, until one of them is dead. But which brother killed him?  "Impeccable character development, gripping, exciting, unputdownable story-telling, shocking, twisty revelations and ticking bomb, high tension story-building with perfect ending. Five gazillion stars well deserved"

 By: Melissa Albert Location: FIC ALB Genre: Short stories, Fantasy, Re- tellings, Dark! "This is a book of fairytales (my favorite) that is full of darkness and blood and powerful girls and selfish girls and powerful girls and violence and anger and revenge and badassery (all of which are my other favorites). It is, in short, a dream."- Emma Grimm's Fairy Tales   meets Ransom Riggs in this deeply creepy, gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve original pitch-dark fairytales, from international bestselling author of  The Hazel Wood,  Melissa Albert. Journey into the Hinterland, where every page tells a wondrously terrible adventure . . . In this brutal and beautiful world a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice - and still lives. But it's not safe inside these pages, and once you enter, you may never want to leave . . . The highly anticipated collection of stories set in the cr...

 By: Tom Palmer Location: FIC PAL Genre: WWII Multi-award-winning author Tom Palmer returns with a thrilling naval adventure inspired by the incredible history of the Second World War Arctic convoys. Winter 1943. Teenagers Frank, Joseph and Stephen are Royal Navy recruits on their first mission at sea during the Second World War. Their ship is part of an Arctic Convoy sailing to Russia to deliver supplies to the Soviets. The convoys have to navigate treacherous waters, sailing through a narrow channel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases on the Norwegian coast. Faced with terrifying enemy attacks from both air and sea, as well as life-threatening cold and storms, will all three boys make it home again? "  Another impressively gritty wartime tale from Tom Palmer, who brings you crashing into the terrifying realities of the Artic Convoys of World War II. Told from the point of view of the young men who battled the enemy and the extreme conditions, while trying desperatel...

 By: Stuart Turton Location: FIC TUR Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction The extraordinary new thriller from Stuart Turton, author of the bestselling murder mystery  The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle , winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award. A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. Anyone could be to blame. Even a demon. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel. With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger. A mystery that stretches...

 By: Asha Lemmie Location: FIC LEM Genre: Historical Fiction, Japan "Traumatic. Enraging. Stunning. Enduring. Epic." Captivating. Jen “She would curl herself onto the couch and listen to him making paintings out of sound. And each piece was a different picture. In her mind’s eye, she could see a garden full of trees with white leaves and a fountain with blush-pink petals floating in the clear water—that was a concerto. The volta: scarlet and plum-colored ribbons winding around each other, battling for dominance. A requiem . . . a lone horse walking down a dimly lit cobbled road, looking for a rider that had died long ago. From these dead foreigners whose names she was slowly growing accustomed to, Nori was learning what it was to live a thousand lifetimes of joy and sorrow without ever leaving this house.” From debut author Asha Lemmie, a sweeping, heartrending coming-of-age novel about a young woman's quest for acceptance in post–World War II Japan. Kyoto, Japan, 19...

 By:  Catriona Silvey Genre: FIC SIL Genre: Fiction, Romance, Fantasy LGBGT Two people. Infinite lifetimes. One impossible choice. “Little kids all love the stars. They want to be astronauts. Explore the universe, see what no one else has ever seen. But then we get older and--we stop looking up. We keep our eyes on the ground and decide to be something realistic.”   Thora and Santi are strangers in a foreign city when a chance encounter intertwines their fates. At once, they recognize in each other a kindred spirit—someone who shares their insatiable curiosity, who is longing for more in life than the cards they’ve been dealt. Only days later, though, a tragic accident cuts their story short. But this is only one of the many connections they share. Like satellites trapped in orbit around each other, Thora and Santi are destined to meet again: as a teacher and prodigy student; a caretaker and dying patient; a cynic and a believer. In numerous lives they become friends, col...

 By: Mia P Mananaala Location: FIC MAN Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Food! The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer…. When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case. With the cops treating her like she’s the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachs...

 By: Nguyen Phan Que Mai  Location: FIC QUE Genre: Historical Fiction, Asia, War “An epic account of Viet Nam’s painful 20th century history, both vast in scope and intimate in its telling . . . Moving and riveting.” —VIET THANH NGUYEN, author of  The Sympathizer , winner of the Pulitzer Prize “That night and for the next many nights, to dry my tears, Grandma opened the door of her childhood to me. Her stories scooped me up and delivered me to the hilltop of Nghe An where I could fill my lungs with the fragrance of rice fields, sink my eyes into the Lam River, and become a green dot on the Truong Son mountain range. In her stories, I tasted the sweetness of  sim  berries on my tongue, felt grasshoppers kicking in my hands, and slept in a hammock under a sky woven by shimmering stars…I was astonished when Grandma told me how her life had been cursed by a fortune-teller’s prediction, and how she had survived the French occupation, the Japanese invasion, the Great ...

By: Kit Frick Location: FIC FRI Genre: Mystery, Thriller  This gripping thriller follows two teens whose lives become inextricably linked when one confesses to murder and the other becomes determined to uncover the real truth no matter the cost . What happened to Zoe won't stay buried... When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year's Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe's life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected--and that she knows what happened to her. Two months later, Zoe's body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna...

 By: C. Robert Cargill Location: FIC CAR Genre: Sci Fi, Apocalyptic Sea of Rust  is both a harsh story of survival and an optimistic adventure. A vividly imagined portrayal of ultimate destruction and desperate tenacity, it boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, yet where a humanlike AI strives to find purpose among the ruins.   A scavenger robot wanders in the wasteland created by a war that has destroyed humanity in this evocative post-apocalyptic "robot western" from the critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, and noted film critic. "In a post-human extinction world the last few independent robots eke out an existence in the desert, scavenging wrecks and cannibalizing parts from each other while waiting for the One World Intelligences to come and finish them off. Our protagonist, Brittle, comes under attack by the only other robot she knows that's the same model as she is in a desperate bid for parts. While attempting to recover from this the small ...

 By: Lucy Holland Location: FIC HOL Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology "A feminist retelling,  Sistersong  beautifully intertwines myth and magic with historical figures and places to create a rich, wondrous, truly unique novel. It has everything you want in a good yarn—secrets and betrayal, love and loss, complex characters and a gripping plot." Tinabel 535 AD. In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, King Cador's children inherit a fragmented land abandoned by the Romans. Riva, scarred in a terrible fire, fears she will never heal. Keyne battles to be seen as the king's son, when born a daughter. And Sinne, the spoiled youngest girl, yearns for romance. All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold – a last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. But change comes on the day ash falls from the sky, bringing Myrddhin, meddler and magician, and Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear the siblings apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne must t...

 By: Dan Gemeinhart  Location: FIC GEM Genre: Family, Death, Realistic “I just wanted everyone to be happy...It's hard, though, when everyone carries around a heart inside them that is so loud and so strong and so easily broken.” This book was recommended to me by Gareth Ward from Wardinis Bookshop in Havelock North and an excellent writer in his own write. Anything he recommends is excellent! "Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world.  The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise  is Dan Gemeinhart’s finest book yet — and that’s saying something. Your heart needs this joyful miracle of a book." — Katherine Applegate, acclaimed author of  The One and Only Ivan  and  Wishtree A 2019 Parents' Choice Award Gold Medal Winner Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. ...

 By: Hayley Lawrence Location: FIC LAW  Genre: Identity, beauty and society Scarlett was gifted with beauty. But beauty can be taken in a day, in a single moment, by one car fire. Now permanently disfigured, Scarlett has become a smudge in her perfect world. She can see only one acceptable solution: to escape the modern world for Matilda Mountain, which is desolate, isolated, forlorn. Perfect. But mountains are not always as lonely as they appear. And unexpected friendships can be found in the wilderness. Friendships that challenge her ideas about perfection and her place in the world. Can Scarlett break free from the confines of her beauty-obsessed culture to discover who she is beyond the layers of her skin?   ""And sometimes the thing that breaks you down is the very same thing that rebuilds you." 'Skin deep' is a beautiful book with such an important message. Hayley Lawrence has writing style that almost seems to flow onto the page. The words themselves are b...

 By: April Henry Location: FIC HEN Genre: Thriller, Suspense "Run, Hide Fight Back is definitely a book that all young adults should read, talk about and discuss especially now. It is really a powerful and moving story and one I can recommend."- Robyn Six teens must band together to survive after a shooting breaks out in  Run, Hide, Fight Back  a high-stakes thriller by  New York Times  bestselling author April Henry. When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she’s hiding a big secret—and she’s not the only one. The group has only three choices: Run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences. In her masterful style, April Henry crafts an unrelenting thriller with empowering teen heroes. For fans of the breakout YA mysteries  This Is Whe...

 By: Amy Ewing Location: FIV EWI Genre: Fantasy- LGBGT, Sci Fi, Magic COVER LOVE!!!! From  New York Times  bestselling author Amy Ewing  (The Jewel)  comes the exciting first book in a new fantasy duology. Rich, vivid world-building and ethereal magic combine in an epic tale that’s perfect for fans of  Snow Like Ashes ,  These Broken Stars , or  Magonia . Sera Lighthaven has always felt as if she didn’t quite belong among her people, the Cerulean, who live in the City Above the Sky. She is curious about everything—especially the planet that her City is magically tethered to—and can’t stop questioning things. Sera has always longed for the day when the tether will finally break and the Cerulean can move to a new planet. But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she feels betrayed by everything in which she’d been taught to trust. In order to save her City, Sera must end her own life. But something goes wrong, and Sera survives, ...