Read NZ

Kenakena School

View schoolsView schools

Top 10 team members

  1. 1

    Esther-pester

    5,767 pts
    View this team member
  2. 2

    KirstyA

    677 pts
    View this team member
  3. 3

    Rachel Moore

    1,005 pts
    View this team member

Esther-pester

5,767 pts
(5,189 pages read)

  • The Seven

    By Chris Hammer
    4 stars

    Yuwonderie's seven founding families have lorded it over their district for a century, growing ever more rich and powerful. But now - in startling circumstances - one one of their own is found dead in a ditch and homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan are sent to investigate. Could the murder be connected to the execution of the victim's friend thirty years ago - another member of The Seven - or even to the long forgotten story of a servant girl on the brink of the Great War? This is a great Aussi yarn by the author of Scrublands (which I've also read and which played on TV3 not too long ago.) It dives in and out of time periods without being confusing and you get a good sense of Australian history. The Seven is an exciting crime read. I found the ending a little protracted, although there was a twist, and it kept me going right to the end.

  • Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine (Large Print)

    By Gail Honeyman
    5 stars

    Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills, tends to say exactly what she's thinking, and carefully avoids unnecessary human contact. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. I found this book to be heartwarming yet confronting. Eleanor comes from a horrific childhood yet she is a survivor - both literally and figuratively. I extended my vocabulary reading this book and I loved the turn of phrase on every page. There's a twist at the end (which I kind of guessed). Loved this book.

  • Smoke and Ashes

    By Abir Mukherjee
    4 stars

    I enjoyed this book. It is the 3rd book about Captain Sam Wyndham and his side-kick Sergeant 'Surrender-not' Banerjee, in Calcutta. Together they solve the mysteries of 3 murders, connected by the wounds inflicted on the murder victims, while negotiating the rise of Gandhi's political, non-violent protests for the end of British rule in India. The book's climax comes towards the end with the visit of Prince Edward to Calcutta. Oh...and don't forget Sam's addiction to Opium which seems to be out of control. I found this book riveting. I couldn't put it down. Action, adventure, the ongoing love-interest with Annie, mystery and murder. What's not to love?

  • The Milliner of Bendigo

    By Darry Fraser
    4 stars

    Evie Emerson is a milliner in Bendigo, 1898, Victoria, Australia. She forms an attachment with the wrong man who tries to coerce her to an engagement but when this fails, Evie's reputation is in tatters. On the heels of having to put a case together in court, Evie's life is thrown into further turmoil when the disappearance of her sister takes her to Cobram. This is a twisty, romantic, historical mystery. At some points it read like a Mills & Boon but I read it to the end because I wanted to find out how the happily-ever-after ending happened. My grandmother started as a milliner at David Jones in Sydney when she first left school, so there was that connection to this story as well.

  • The Enigma of Garlic

    By Alexander McCall Smith
    3 stars

    This is a slice of life story from 44 Scotland Street, Edinburgh. Big Lou and Fat Bob get married and we get to meet their friends at the wedding reception. The problem begins when the street hears rumors that Fat Bob is seeing another woman. In the meantime Bruce has been struck by lightning ( has this changed his personality), the dominant Irene returns for 2 months which means that Bertie has to go to summer camp etc etc. I liked the book but found some of the witty and wise words of Alexander McCall Smith a little bit tedious at times. It sometimes felt like a philosophical version of Coronation Street.

  • The Running Grave

    By Robert Galbraith
    4 stars

    Couldn't put this book down...and it's got a lot of pages to read! Private detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Lots of twists and turns and as usual, the author has researched the whole cult scene very well. Better that her previous novel, The Ink Black Heart, because it wasn't so confusing with tweets and overlapping conversations. Loved it.

  • A Necessary Evil

    By Abir Mukherjee
    4 stars

    India, 1920. Captain Sam Wyndham is visiting the kingdom of Sambalpore, home to diamond mines and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. But when the Maharajar's eldest son is assassinated, Wyndham realises that the realm is riven with conflict. Prince Adhir was unpopular with religious groups, while his brother - now in line to the throne - appears to be a feckless playboy. This is the second book in the series , I read the first one and thought it was reminiscent of Somerset Maughan, but it's a bit better than that. This book is full of twists and turns and is a real crime thriller. It is authentic in that the author's parents are immigrants from India and the author gives a good account of a crucial time in Anglo-Indian history. A good book to read. One that you can pick up and put down without being too fussed if you miss an hour or two of reading.

  • Everything to Hide

    By K. V. Martins
    3 stars

    Sydney, Australia, 1933: Wealthy Impresario and amateur Egyptologist Roland Cuthbert Barry is murdered on his 60th birthday, and everyone attending the evening's celebrations is a suspect. This book is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie 'whodunnit' but without the same flair (and in two or three instances - grammatical sense). A little bit repetitive, which made the story drag towards the end, but I kept reading until the end to find out who the murderer was. I hadn't picked the murderer before the verdict was given. A light, holiday, (worthy of a day and night's) read.

  • The Hard Way

    By Lee Child
    3 stars

    This is my husband's book...Not really my style but it kept me hooked. It's a Jack Reacher novel so it was full of suspense and quite a lot of violence once we got to the climax of the story. Jack Reacher is up against a band of hand-picked, combat-hardened, armed-to-the-teeth, ex–special services guys, but, hey, there are only eight of them. It's all Rambo stuff (except that Jack Reacher is a bit more of a thinking man than that) and there's a romantic interest for him as well. Good for a light read.

  • Hamnet

    By Maggie O'Farrell
    4 stars

    'Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright: a boy whose life has all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.' This story had me captivated from the start. A young Latin tutor - penniless and bullied by a violent father - falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. This story is a portrait of a marriage, and a story of grief and loss (The Black Death). It put me right back into the late 1500s - just as Shakespeare's career on the London stage is taking off. Beautifully written.

  • Eddy, Eddy

    By Kate De Goldi
    4 stars

    Eddy Smallbone is grappling with life: identity, love, loss, and religion in Christchurch, NZ. It's been 2 years since the earthquakes felled the city that he lives in, and when he blew up his school life. Eddy is an endearing character. This is a novel about Eddy's time of reckoning. It is a love story, it is humorous, it is full of pathos and I enjoyed this read. Reminiscent of the style of 'The 10 pm question,' also one by Kate De Goldi, and also one of my favourites.

  • The final year

    By Matt Goodfellow
    5 stars

    Nate's life is hard. He's in his final year of Primary School before he goes to Highschool. His Mum's on the cider a lot, his best friend is in a different class (for the first time) and his little brother gets sick. I cried a little when i read this book. Poetry and prose, tightly written. Every word counts. Excellent for readers 11 years old and up.

Add pages read