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Showing posts from 2012

Chronicles of Nick- Series

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By: Sherrilyn Kenyon Location: FIC KEN Titles: Infinity, Invincible and Infamous This series is another student request , hope you enjoy this series. These books are probably not what I would choose which is why we love to have student requests. "I am the power they can't tear down..."  To find out why this statement is on all 3 covers of these books, I guess you are just going to have to read them.

100 Ways for every girl to look and feel fantatsic

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By: Alice Hart- Davis and Beth Hindhaugh Genre: Beauty, fashion and wellbing Location: NF 647.7 HAR I needed this book when I was 14, probably still do now, in fact I am going to a wedding on Saturday and I might steal a few tips from it- ones that suit me. I love the  " just add a scarf" page, or the tips on fitness, then there is the various options on how one should deal with body hair, relaxation techniques, how to shape your eye brows, what foundation is best and how to flatter your body shape. All this is useful, but what is awesome is the last chapter on Wellbeing. How to be stunning on the inside, how to be proud of who you are, how to beat your inner critic and how to be your own fabulous self!! This makes this book all worthwhile and one I reckon every female at this school can relate to and learn from. Now should I go for a pixie cut or a bob and should I will spend some time exfoliating my lip?

Ireland, Scotland and Wales

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Series: Countries Around the World Location: 941 and 942 What do Ireland, Wales and Scotland have in common? They all have contributed to the population and culture that is New Zealand. It rains a lot in all of these countries. They have funny accents. They lose to the All Blacks in Rugby. They all don't really want to be governed by the British throne. They brew all kinds of interesting beverages. They have invented weird sports like tossing the caber, curling and hurling. They all have green rolling hills and mists rolling in from the sea. They like cold damp castles and knights and dragons and Nessy's. You need to research them all for your schooling and we have the perfect set of books for you to do that with!!!

Valerie: The autobiography

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By: Valerie and Phil Gifford Location: NF 920 GIF Genre: Sport and "legends" Valerie Kasanita Adams , (born 6 October 1984) is a shot putter from New Zealand. She is a two-time Olympic, Commonwealth and World Indoor champion and a three-time World champion. She currently holds the New Zealand, Commonwealth and Oceania and World Championship records with a personal best throw of 21.24 metres. Most of all she is a Kiwi girl, with a Kiwi story, of Tongan blood who grew up in Mangere. Valerie Adams will be forever one of our greatest sportswoman, models and heroes, she is ours and we love her for that. But the sporting world do to.. Valerie Adams is a finalist for the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award in 2012. Valerie Adams has been nominated as one of three finalists for the International Athletics Federation’s Woman Athlete of the Year award this year as well.  This at last is her story, raw, real, brave and true, it is a great read. She is different to Richie McCaw

The Chronicles of Narnia

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By: C.S.Lewis Location: FIC LEW Genre: Narnia One of our student librarians gave me a telling off, we did not have the Chronicles of Narnia in separate volumes, just in the omnibus and people take it out for far to long. He said ALL libraries should have each book and we did not!! I agree with him, so I have fixed this up for him. It amazes me that a student in 2012 can demand nicely a series of books that kids in the 1960's were demanding as well- that tells you the power of Narnia. I follow C.S Lewis on Twitter and he has been long dead, that tells you the power of the author. It seems strange that a lion, a witch, fauns , centaurs , minotaurs  and some children have captured us for so long, is it the Greek mythology, is it the Christian message subtlety hidden in there, is it Aesop's Fable type messages, or is it that the story is just so brilliant- it is the most "read allowed to children" series ever- so they say!!! Whatever it is- we have them all in sepa

What's left of me

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By: Kat Zhang Location: Fic ZHA Genre: Dystopia Series: The Hybrid Chronicles  This book has a cool freaky cover and a weird and different premise- Nemo from Goodreads.com previews it really well and she gave it 5 stars!!! Kat Zhang’s lushly imagined What’s Left of Me spins the tale of what happens when a recessive soul sharing one body with a dominant soul refuses to fade away, as they’ve been led to believe is inevitable. Anyone left with two souls in their single body is a ‘hybrid – dangerous, illegal, and swiftly dealt with by the government. Eva is our recessive soul, and the book is told from her point of view. She shares a body with Addie, and they are fifteen years old. It’s original, heartbreaking, and really makes you think about propaganda, the government, what it’s like to be a child, the power of the medical world, international relations and all sorts of things. It was wonderful. NEMO - Goodreads.com

A Wanted Man

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By: Lee Child Genre: Thriller Location: FIC CHI 'Jack Reacher has long since earned his prominent place in the pantheon of cool, smart- talking American heroes" New York Times. In Lee Child’s white-hot thriller, nothing is what it seems, and nobody is telling the truth. As the tension rises, the twists come fast and furious, keeping readers guessing and gasping until the explosive finale . This according to the Goodreads review. AND there is the movie coming... Tom Cruise blockbuster - here we come, but hay, read the books first, they are ALWAYS better!

The ACB with Honora Lee

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By: Kate De Goldi Illustrated: Gregory O'Brien Genre:  Hmmm Kind of a novel cross a picture book about family. I was chatting to a friend over breakfast this morning about our grandparents. The kind of people they are or were, the impact they have on us, how they teach us things our parents may not have. My Grandmother taught me to comb my hair, 100 times in one place and then 100 in another- I have very curly hair- Nana it was not that easy!! She taught me to put my peas on my mashed potato so they would not fall off -my Nana was clever. She also instilled in me that politics matters, that idea's need to be thought about, she showed me that Religion was a lifestyle that had meaning, she made me know that standards and expectations were high and as "Adams" it was my job to keep them as generations had before. I hope she would be proud of me now- even though I still pull apart my Cameo creams and lick the icing!! This story is also about a Granddaughter and her Gr

The Hobbit- Trailer

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Ohhhh I cant wait, Im ready, I have re-read the book and I plan to go and see this movie with my man, my  kids and nephews and nieces and have a long cafe visit after to indulge ourselves in another masterpiece. Here is the offical movie trailer, but please please please- read the book first!!!!!

Never Fall Down

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By: Patricia McCormick Location: FIC McC Genre: Real Life Drama- Cambodia You know the question- if you could have someone at your table for a meal and a chat who would they be? Mine I think could look like this-  Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Desmond Tutu- and I also think Princess Di, Bono and my Great Great Grandfather- T.W.Adams. India and South Africa feature which I guess is obvious I hang out a bit in those places. T.W Adams was a pioneer in Canterbury, he came from near Cambridge in Britain and came to New Zealand as a young man in 1862. He is the man with the mana in my whakapapa. Anyway this book is endorsed by Desmond Tutu - he said " One of the most inspiring and powerful books Ive ever read". So it was a must purchase. It is about The Killing Fields of Pol Pott and the Khmer Rouge, it is about being made to be a child soldier. " Over and over I tell myself one thing: Never Fall Down! It is about a child of war who became a man of peace and his

Osama

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By: Chris Ryan Location: FIC RYA Genre: War and SAS stuff It is the US election tomorrow, I have been following it and have found myself having a preferred president as the race has progressed. Even people from far away in New Zealand care, I was asking some of our students about it, and a couple of them suggested that it would not affect them at all- they are wrong, so wrong. Chris Ryan has written his latest book on events that shape us, determined by the actions of the US president.  It is about what happened the day Osama Bin Laden was killed- taken out, by the presidents orders. SAS hero Joe Mansfield was there, he watched Seal Team 6 go in, he saw it all- ALL and that means he now has seen to much. People want Joe dead.  As the front of the book says " The first casualty of war is the truth, the second is your soul". The Sun says this story is shockingly authentic and will keep your adrenaline pumping as fast as the blood on the pages of the book. The Presidenti

Every day

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By: David Levithan Location: FIC LEV Genre: Love and Fantasy Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day  

Wayne Rooney: My decade in the premier league

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By: Wayne Rooney Location: NF 920 ROO Genre: Sports and soccer So now we have all the soccer stars books in the library, thanks Issac for asking, you now have a years reading ahead of you. Just remember though a true star does not only kick a ball with exquisite perfection, head the ball impossibly into the corner of the net and make blistering leads into the circle, he also has a story to tell that he is a good man. I know you will enjoy this one, it is well told, from Wayne Rooney himself, it is just missing something, a chapter about winning the World Cup. I guess you just have to be an All Black to have that chapter!

Eve and Adam

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by: Michael Grant and Katerine Applegate Location: FIC GRA Genre: Sci Fi So she recreates Adam and makes George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Justin Timberlake look ordinary- so I'm interested. The perfect boy. Eve has created him, normally it is the other way around. Eve gets to chose his hair, eyes, muscles and even his brain. The thing is though- will he be perfect? ‘What if she won’t come with me?” ‘Oh, she’ll come,’ Terra Spiker says. ‘It’s the fate of all creators; they fall in love with their creations. Now if I made the perfect man , what would my recipe be? Eve has the chance, dominated and controlled by her overbearing  mother who is a research genetics scientist. How does he look and most of all, will he be a good man, will she like him, will he like her?

Oblivion

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By: Anthony Horowitz Location: FIC HOR Genre: Horowitz- you know what I mean! What makes nice tempered, polite, great librarians turn into squabbling, fighting ratbags- OBLIVION!!! When they saw it on my desk, the bargaining was intense, the deals between them managerial and the promises immense. The problem is the seniors have exams and I cannot with integrity give them a book that will stop them studying. Juniors win this time!!! This is the fifth and final in the series, it is big, it is long and it is intense. Having escaped from Hong Kong, the Five Gatekeepers - Matt, Pedro, Scott, Jamie and Scarlett - are scattered in a hostile and dangerous world. As they struggle to re-group and plan their next move, the malevolent King of the Old Ones gathers his forces in Oblivion: a desolate landscape where the last survivors of humanity must fight the ultimate battle.

Heroes Of Olympus: The mark of Athena

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Confessions of a Murder Suspect

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By: James Patterson Location: FIC PAT Genre: Mystery   OK James Patterson fans- here is a new series to get you going!! Tell me what you think?     On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, their daughter, Tandy, knows just three things: she was one of the last people to see her parents alive. She and her brothers are the only suspects. She can't trust anyone - maybe not even herself. Having grown up under their parents' intense perfectionist demands, none of the Angel children have come away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to solve the crime on her own, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous game. As she uncovers haunting secrets and slowly begins to remember flashes of disturbing past events buried in her memory, Tandy is forced to ask: What is the Angel family truly capable of? Returning to the genre that made him the world's bestselling author, James Patterson introduces a teen detective on a miss

100 Amazing Tales from Aotearoa

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By: Te Papa Location: NF 993.007 ONE Genre: New Zealand History The 100 stories told in this book come from a popular mini- documentary series on TV called "Tales from Te Papa".  This book tells our story, the famous, the quirky, weapons and spiders. My favourite is the story of the Playschool animals, I like Humpty, probably cause I always felt stink when he fell of the wall and I wanted to help fix him. I love the page on Xena because all girls wanted to be like her, and then the amazing information of what stuff we use that has seaweed in it- and not just our sushi at lunch, which I had today and was very nice! Apart from that our art, war stories, weird animals and amazing dress sense all get a mention, so do cockroaches.. and I have one in the library right now... This interesting book that gobbled up my time, also comes with 2 DVD's.

The MERCY Series: Exile and Fury

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  By: Rebecca Lim Location: FIC LIM Genre: Angels I believe in Angels, I reckon they exist and I reckon that guardian Angels are real. I have even heard a few stories from people I know and really trust that  confirm there existence. I would love to see one, but maybe I have and never recognised them. Anyway this series is about Mercy- an exiled Angel- is cast to earth to live out thousands of different lives. This part differs from what I think Angels do, but it makes for a good story anyway. Mercy falls in love with Ryan, but falling in love with an angel is mortally dangerous, and this calls for war with Luc and his band of demons. I believe in them too. In EXILE we see Mercy coming back in human form as a girl to care for her dying mother. Then Mercy remembers Ryan from her past life and wants to be re-united. These books are an electric combination of angels, mystery and romance.... Maybe I need to look harder.

The History Keepers: Circus Maximus

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  By: Damien Dibben Location: FIC DIB     Genre: History I love this new series, and I love the fact the history is becoming cool without having vampires and werewolves to tag along. I watched the Roman Emperor  BBC doco's this year- some of those guys were mad, Nero is a crazy man, but so colourful, he is such a great story. So when these books came along, I just could not resist- here's to great history, in a great story- hope you like it!!

Burning Blue

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By: Paul Griffin Location: FIC GRI Genre: A Tender Thriller How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy? When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself. Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty. I love what a reviewer in Goodreads called Liviania  says, because as you readers of this blog know , I get so sick of the vampire bloodsucking, werewolf thing.., She  rated it . BURNING BLUE will appeal to both

The Inferior and The Deserter

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By: Peadar O Guilin Location: FIC OGU Genre: Sci Fi         HUNT OR BE HUNTED "Read this and remember why Science Fiction lit your fire in the first place" Deathray I am always on the lookout for books I think my son would like to read, Sci Fi is his thing and so I bought these thinking they might be a goer.  They are about cannibals,  and nano technology and nano- enhanced agents, and love, and courage. All sounds great except the cannibal part.  The protagonist name is Stopmouth, and he deals in flesh trade, he deals with a betraying brother, a beautiful woman and a parallel universe. I guess the only way to see if the reviews are true is to get Cam to have a read and tell me what he thinks. I trust his opinion, but I wont be giving him steak for tea  when he reads it. "A real page turner....All fans of action- based dystopian fiction will love it. Compelling, disturbing and utterly addictive.   The Bookbag

Yokai Attack- The Japanese monster survival guide

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By: Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt Location: NF 398.2 YOD Genre: I have no idea, part fantasy, part fact and written by Yoda!!! J- Horror or Japanese Culture. Manga or fact? Monsters or myth? If you want a close encounter of the Japanese Monster kind, written by the wise old Yoda himself, who all things knows, for you this book is. 50 amazing creatures bought alive, illustrated, researched  with data supplied, mostly encountered at night, essential reading for any fan of monsters- mythical or not! This is not a book I will be looking at, oh no, I like creatures with two eyes, tow legs and a normal brain, that eats, sleeps and feels- but I know that some of you will like  Seto Taisho   who has a teapot body, or Te-no-me   who has eyeballs on its palms, -yes weird'o this book is for you!! and along the way you might even find find out a few real facts.  Enjoy !!

Infinite Days and Stolen Night

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By: Rebecca Maizel Location: FIC Mai Genre: Vampire with some romance... of course! I have succumbed and purchased another vampire series, not because I like the genre, I dont really, but Stolen Night has the coolest cover and as shallow as it may seem, I do judge a book by the cover.  So what as to the contents. For 500 years Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire. 500 years of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers – and longs to feel the sun on her skin, grass under her bare feet, and share the breath of a human kiss. She wants to be mortal again. But is she really capable of being human, after her long years of darkness? Waking up as a sixteen-year-old girl brings Lenah many things – the life she has missed, taste, touch, love. But a vampire soul is not easily shed. Stolen Night is the sequel, The pulse-quickening, heartbreaking, devastatingly powerful follow-up to INFINITE DAYS. Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to

Last Light

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By: Andy McNab Location: FIC McN Genre: Andy McNab ( he gets his own!!) A Nick Stone Thriller Andy McNab is everywhere, you see his books in India, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya and Auckland airports, the crazy thing this is the last kind of book I would want to read sitting in a plane. Why would your read about sanctioned assassination plots, guerilla warfare, and British Intelligence when you are confined to a tube in the sky flying over Somalia. The Daily Express calls this book a "heart thumping read"- great- so why sell them in airports then.. surely you want a  nice calm meandering book to read whilst buckled into your confined bony seat. Andy McNabs books keeps the airport book shops humming, the readers awake, and the ride a thrill, thank goodness he writes only fiction.... or does he?

Back from Africa

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Hi all Well I am back from Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana. Africa is truly an amazing place, I have had the opportunity to build three libraries and start another three. Kids that have never had access to books can now freely read and they are so thankful. Books are so precious it is just that we don't fully realise that here in New Zealand. I discovered also that water is precious, you treasure the bucket load that is your shower, clothes washing bucket and toilet flushing water, one bucket used in multiple ways to met your needs. I wonder, if my realisation that water is as precious has the same impact as realising the power of books. We have plenty of both, take for granted the usage of both and yet when we encounter the restrictions of minimal supply, we discover the value, power and need of both. These kids know  how to manage and use the minimal access they have to water, it is part of their daily grind, not so with books. They had none to manage. Now I wonder, what will thes

Infinite Days

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By: Rebecca Maizel Genre: Fantasy Location: FIC MAI Loading...         “Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you... no one.” Those were some of Rhode’s last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face. It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste. Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the bloo ...more Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you... no one.” Those were some of Rhode’s last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face. It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste. Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust. I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn’t Rhode. But Justin was... daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream. I

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

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By: Muriel Barbery Genre: French Literature Location: FIC BAR We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers.  With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence. Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her.

Silence

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By: Becca Fitzpatrick Genre: Fantasy Location: FIC FIT The third book in the internationally bestselling hush,hush sequence. The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

CHANDA'S SECRETS

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By: Allan Stratton Location: FIC STR Genre: Africa In two days I fly out to Africa, I am going to see cute baby orphaned elephants, I will see proud strutting giraffes, I will avoid the pincers of the hunting scorpions, I will listen to the soul of rythmic African beats, I will see the colour of vibrant fabric that wants to sing its story, I will drive in buses that  are like aged cats- onto their ninth life, I will eat the pulpous  flesh of  paw paw and I will sit and gaze upon the aged who delve into the secrets of life as they quitely chatter under the baobab tree. More than that I will work in schools - run by the poor for the poor and help set up three libraries in a slum area that is bereft of books, and in those schools are Chanda. Chanda who holds her family together, Chanda who know the deeps secret about her mother, but cannot even for once mention it, Chanda who for the sake of her family risks her own oppertunity to flourish.Chanda who protects against the maurandering

Fated

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By: Alyson Noel Location: FIC NOE Genre: Fantasy A new home, a new life, but Daire meets Dace and he has unearthly blue eyes and she discovers her powers as a Soul Seeker. All this collides to bring you book one in the new sizzling Soul Seekers series.     The Immortal series was a big hit in our library, this book   "The Soul Seekers- FATED" is a new series by the same author.

Seraphina

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By: Rachel Hartman Genre: Fantasy Location: FIC HAR "Beautifully written. Some of the the most interesting dragons I've read in fantasy. I can't wait to see what Rachel Hartman writes next " Christopher Paolini. I have just re-read the Hobbit, and it has hooked me into dragon stories, Smaug has almost an endearing evil smugness about him, I want to like him, so I am looking for a story that makes me cheer for the dragon come good. This story has a plot that reminds me of The Hobbit. A royal prince brutally murdered, a talented court musician who harbours deep secrets, investigations that led to darker plots, fantastical gifts and kingdom fighting battles. You almost expect Gandalf to appear puffing his rings of smoke, with a trail of hobbits and dwarfs behind him. The cover is great and wouldn't you believe it, it has a gazing intense eye on it, looking at you, now where have I seen that before...

Throne of Glass

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BY: Sarah J Maas Location: FIC MAA Genre: Hunger Games cross Game of Thrones? A heart of ice . A will of steel. Meet the Assassin . Audrey from Goodreads said this   Audrey rated it · It is more than just a fairy tale. It is epic. Cinderella didn't see this one coming.   Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness. In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught. Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Sirocco- the Rock Star Kakapo

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By: Sarah Ell Location: NF 333.95 ELL Genre: New Zealand Sir Occo- that is what I reckon this bird should be called. His Majesty the Parrot. He currently is on show at our local Maunga- mountain. Why is a bird so famous, and how come Sirocco gets so much attention- this species is in a situation where it has been rescued from the brink of extinction, in 1997 they only knew of 51 birds left and only one female. It is the worlds largest parrot and it is flightless and its mascot is Sirocco. This book tells not only Sirocco's story but the Kakapo's as well. It has excellent web sites and a Q&A section in the back about Kakapo. This book will be a great research tool for your studies on New Zealand Flora and Fauna- but it also is kind of a cute story about a character bird!

Skin Deep

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By: Laura Jarratt Location: FIC JAR Genre: Part romance and part crime story. Ugly people don't have feelings... They don't notice if you stare at them in the street. They are not like real people. or that's what I used to think. When I was younger. before I learned." After a car crash Jenna is left permanently scarred, she struggles to rebuild her life, but every stare wants to make her retreat further from the world. Until she meets Ryan. Why is it we look at people who are different to us with big judging eyes? Why is it that my 3 year old buddy with Spina Bifida is going to be forever looked at, with people thinking that he can't. He is coming to my house tonight and he is going to design pizza!! Why is it when we see people who are scarred,  who cannot walk, who are different in colour, who wear cultural clothes, who are globally delayed- why tell me- do we box them, make ourselves superior, and somehow in our heads we eliminate any thoughts that

Moonrise Kingdom

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This movie is going to be a classic and my bet is that some if you will be studying it here at school for your movie in NCEA and it will be great for your Connected Theme study. But putting education aside, this movie gets a huge nod from my sons, and daughter, who laughed out loud, and called me straight after and demanded I watch it!! That is the perfect recommendation! It is showing now at the Lido!!

s.c.u.m.

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By: Danny Katz Location: FIC KAT Genre: Humour "SCUM is great. Dannt Katz is one of the hilariest writersd I know. Hilariest ? Is that a word? It is now." FRANK WOODLEY It's just an ordinary day for Tom Zurbo-Goldblatt. The possibility of romance with his dream girl. Powerful friendships to forge. Wrongs to right. The ultimate test of survival against the Badass Ninjas of Stupidity of Death.   The Students Combined Underground Movement (S.C.U.M.) is a society for outcasts, weirdos and massive losers. At their headquarters on the bench beside the bin behind the canteen, they plot their revolutionary ideas for a better schoolyard. Divided they may be weak, but as S.C.U.M., they're still weak; but at least they have somewhere to sit.

Snowwhite and the huntsman - The Novel

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By: Lily Blake Genre: Fairystory made into fantasy ( but still has a few cute dwarves:) Location: FIC BLA It had to happen, the film was great and so a screenplay turned into the book was inevitable. So now we have a fairystory turned into a film that has been turned back into a book. I once took some little kids I was baby sitting to see the Disney version of Snow White- it was so sad, those poor dwarves were heart broken when she died, the kids were highly bemused as to why there caregiver was sniffling.. So now you can offically read a fairystory at High School and it will be legit for your reading logs!!

Conspiracy 365- MALICE

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By: Gabrielle Lord Location: FIC LOR Genre: Adventure Another book in this very popular series, Winter Frey has been warned. She has 30 days, the countdown has begun, the clock is ticking and will The Drowner get her before the mystery is solved.  The YouTube  below is about the film made for TV audience, but if you watch it, you will see the suspense and explosive plots that make these books so popular.

Gods and Warriors

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By: Michelle Paver Location: FIC PAV Genre: Fantasy A fantastic new series by Michelle Paver, the writer of Wolf Brother. This time she delves into her own fascination with Greek Methology and weaves a magical story full of myths and heroes. From a time of myths and ancient magic will come the legend of the lost city of Atlantis, tales of gods and warriors - and the rise of a hero. His sister is missing. His dog has been killed. High in the Greek mountains, Hylas is running for his life. The mysterious black warriors want Hylas dead. So begins his quest across land and sea with only a girl and a dolphin by his side. But the warriors are relentless. Why are they hunting Hylas - and how will he survive? In the turbulent world of the Mediterranean Bronze Age, long before the Greek myths, a boy and a girl battle for survival. With the help of three animal allies - a dolphin, a falcon and a lion cub - they defeat the forces of tyranny and withstand the elemental powers of the god

A canoe in midstream

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By: Apirana Taylor Location 821 TAY Genre: New Zealand Poetry Today we had the privilege of Apirana Taylor doing some readings in school assembly and then running a writers workshop for a couple of hours in the library.  How did it go- well after school today I had 7 students in my office, myself and one of our Yr 12 girls read the poems from this book to the other students for 40 minutes.They discussed the Assembly, they talked about the writers workshop and we picked apart some poems that we read together. The thing about the poems in this book- is that they are so real and relevant. As Alex read Lady Anorexia , I had tears in my eyes as I visualised my niece in her struggle to combat the war that assaults her everyday. This poem is so true, my niece could have written it. ..smash the chains, they make for thee. Eat and be well, as thy maker loves thee and intended thee to be.   The kids thought that Swiss Alps was a good one  for me- cheeky they are. These poems make you chuc

Everything Left Unsaid

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By: Jessica Davidson Location: FIC DAV Genre: Sad!! Why do I read these books at the end of the day and why when I read them do I get visitors. I was reading the end of this book,  and overwhelmed by where this story was heading, I started to get to the teary eyed stage, it developed into the runny nose phase and then as the tears started to stream a Year 13 students walks in- she understands, offers me lollies and leaves me to wallow. At this point the emotion takes control as I empathise, I have seen this story, I have seen a teenager battle a brain tumour, I have watched the journey of friends, family and the battler, this journey is never fun, and now I am reading about it, too fresh. Sobbing- into the office walks the IT manager..... all he asks is "do you have enough tissues"

Replay

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By: Photosport Location: 796.0993 REP I  wonder what photos will become famous from Saturdays All Black- Argentinian Test Match over the weekend.None probably - the lights went out. But the World Cup rugby final- oh yes forever we will indulge of those images to make us feel national pride until next time. The who can forget Valerie Adams with a flag draped round her, or Peter Blake with his red socks on the boat, Danyon Loader with his gold medal proudly places around his neck, or John Walker stridding to a gold with his hair flowing behind his back, or Richard Hadley arms in the air making an appeal, or that underarm bowl... ouch. Another ouch- the faces of the Silver Ferns when they lost the world cup, but oh the delight when they got it back! What about Jock Hobbs giving Richie his cap, or Sarah Ulmer gasping in the air after her Olympic gold..oh so many sporting moments all captured  and most of them in this book for us to reminisce by. This is a goody and makes me wants to say

The Deserter

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By: Peadar O Guilin Genre: Dystopia Location: FIC GUI Sci Fi cross nano technology with a bit of dystopia and a bit of a love stort as well.  It is the sequel to Inferior. Humans are weak and vulnerable. Soon the beasts that share their stone-age world will kill and eat them. To save his tribe, Stopmouth must make his way to the Roof, the mysterious hi-tech world above the surface. But the Roof has its own problems. The nano technology that controls everything from the environment to the human body is collapsing. A virus has already destroyed the Upstairs, sending millions of refugees to seek shelter below. And now a rebellion against the Commission, organized by the fanatical Religious, is about to break. Hunted by the Commission's Elite Agents through the overcrowded, decaying city of the future, Stopmouth must succeed in a hunt of his own: to find the secret power hidden in the Roof's computerized brain, and return to his people before it is too late.

Stolen Night

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By: Rececca Maizel Location: FIC MAI Genre: Vampire Not a fan of the blood sucking vampire genre - but I guess you all might be, so go on - be a sucker and read this - it has a really cool cover, so that made it worth getting! After 500 years as a Vampire Queen a sinister ritual transformed Lenah Beaudonte into a living, breathing teenage girl- a girl with a beating heart, capable once again of human love. Now Lenah has been represented with an impossible choice: to go back through history to before she became the cruel vampire that she once was  and undo all her evil deeds, but never meet and fall in love with the darkly gorgeous Rhode. Or continue her life in the present with Rhode nearby but beyond her reach forever.

My Brothers War

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  By: Davd Hill Location: FIC DAV Genre: WWII   di·chot·o·my /dīˈkätÉ™mÄ“/: A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different. 2.       Repeated branching into two equal parts This story is one of those- a dichotomy.Two brothers - same mother, same upbringing but two very different choices. One enlists in the Second World War, the other becomes a Conchy- a conscienous objector. Edmund believes his duty is to fight for his country, but William cannot bear the thought of killing another man, ever. William ends up in prison and Edmund on the front lines- that is until William is sent off to be a stretcher bearer- the most dangerous of all jobs at the front. He scuttles into no-mans land to rescue the fallen, he cares , he heals, but he refuses to kill. Brothers- yet so far apart, but are they, and is William really a coward, and when his brother needs him- William is there carrying his strecher. Th