Mt Roskill Grammar

229,041 pages read and 6,088 team points

Team members

Claire

22,768 pts

(20,562 pages read)

Class Act

By Jerry Craft

4 stars
The Sad Ghost Club 2

By Lize Meddings

4 stars
It's Trevor Noah: Born A Crime

By Trevor Noah

4 stars

This is the Young Adult version and it's very readable. Trevor's mum is black and his father is white and he was born in a time when inter-racial relationships were illegal. This book tells of him being too black to be white, too white to be black, he felt too black to be coloured and definitely didn't fit in with the Asians. Life in South Africa was tough for a kid like him, yet it's a story that had me laughing out loud, whilst also cringing at what happened.
Vicious

By V E Schwab

4 stars

A tale of jealousy, ambition and superpowers. Victor and Eli start as roommates and end up trying to kill each other. But which one is the hero? I've already started to read Vengeful - the second one!
Bugs

By Whiti Hereara

4 stars

Young adult. Looks at the life of 3 teenagers in their last year of school in small town New Zealand.
New Kid

By Jerry Craft

4 stars

A graphic novel aimed at 8-12 year olds about fitting in at middle school, or rather not fitting in, plus finding yourself in the world - with new friends and old.
Strays & Waifs

By Mandy Hager

4 stars

An Aotearoa mystery thriller based on the Kapiti Coast. I loved the interaction between Bella and Freyja - their humour made me smile. Well-written, tough subject
Under the Whispering Door

By TJ Klune

5 stars

A book about life and death and what happens next. The one question I have is do authors cry whilst writing their books? I think this one probably did.....
Like A Girl

By Rebecca Westcott

5 stars

In 2022 1,024 10-15 yr olds completed a survey about social media. This book is written based on the responses. It allows us to learn what their life is like and the effects of cyberbullying ...
Our Missing Hearts

By Celeste Ng

5 stars

A hard read, but more because this could be a future reality - one which we must work hard to avoid. At it's heart though, it's the story of the love between a mother and her son.
Long Way Down

By Jason Reynolds

5 stars

A YA verse novel about a younger brother about to avenge his brother's death by following the Rules - no crying, no snitching, get revenge. He just needs the elevator to get to the Lobby asap, but other people keep getting in.....
Impossible Creatures

By Katherine Rundell

4 stars

Beautiful fantasy story about magic and good versus evil.
This Book Won't Burn

By Samira Ahmed

4 stars

A YA book about life in small town America where Liberty Parents try to ban books in the school, and how Noor, newly arrived in town, pushes back against racism and homophobia. It's worrying about how this is happening in America.
Stargazing

By Jen Wang

4 stars

This is a powerful book about Asian American children growing up in America who aren't "Asian", yet not "American" and are trying to figure out exactly who they are. Based on the author's real life experiences
The Librarian Spy

By Madeline Martin

4 stars

A story on the brutality of Nazis and the amazing strength of the French resistance and the spys in Lisbon who helped rescue people.
The Lost Art of Mixing

By Erica Bauermeister

4 stars

A feel good book - follows on from The School of Essential Ingredients
Pumpkinheads

By Rainbow Rowell

4 stars

A cute YA graphic novel about Deja & Josiah who both work at the pumpkin patch every September & October, and then go their separate ways. Josiah has spent the past 3 years in love with the girl at the Fudge Shoppe and tonight, their last night, Deja is determined to get Josiah to talk to the girl he loves from afar.
Untethered

By Ayesha Inoon

4 stars

This book is a perfect example of why people should read to learn about other cultures, customs and beliefs. Based a little bit on the author's life of growing up a Muslim in Sri Lanka and emigrating to Australia, leaving behind friends, family & everything you know to start afresh amid fear, loneliness and freedoms.
Stitches

By David Small

4 stars

This is a graphic novel memoir of the author's life and it's a dark, hard read.
The Briar Club

By Kate Quinn

5 stars

This one took me a little bit of time to get into it, plus i kept forgetting which characters were which, but got to the point where I couldn't put it down! I always like learning about different periods in history, especially ones not really well known about, and Washington in the early 1950s didn't disappoint.
Icebreaker

By Hannah Grace

3 stars

This one has been talked about a lot by librarians this year. It has an 18+ rating at the front of the book - so to me it's not suitable to have in a school. Having said that it's not spicy bad - descriptions of consensual sex. Also discusses relationship issues such as trust and jealousy, friendships and growing up. I will suggest kids get it from the public library rather than the school one!
Thunderhead

By Sophie Beer

4 stars

Aimed at 10-14 year olds, this is a well written story about 12 year old Thunderhead having to go to school without her best (& only) friend who has changed schools, make new friends and deal with two tumors growing in her brain which will result in losing her hearing when music is the only thing she lives for.
Lights

By Brenna Thummler

3 stars

The third and final book in the Sheets series - this is the one that pulls it all together. I preferred it to the first two, but I've read better graphic novels, but then I'm not the intended target reader (YA)
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul

By Deborah Rodriguez

3 stars

An easy to read heartwarming story of 5 women in Kabul.
Us

By David Nicholls

3 stars
The French Perfumer

By Amanda Hampson

3 stars

An easy to read story set in 1956. Iris leaves behind her staid life in London to become a shorthand typist for a few months in the South of France.
A Deadly Education

By Naomi Novik

3 stars

A bit confusing at first, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down! A book about a magical school with the usual misfit characters.
Delicates

By Brenna Thummler

2 stars
The Stationery Shop

By Marjan Kamali

4 stars

Set against the political turmoil of 1950s Tehran, this is a story of Roya and Bahman - they meet by chance in The Stationery Shop and then continue to meet up over the summer of 1953 as they fall in love. The day before their marriage they arrange to meet in the town square which becomes the scene of violent political protests. Nearly 60 years later they find each other again and Roya gets the opportunity to find the answers to her questions. A story of love, relationships, family and consequences.
Brown Bird

By Jane Arthur

4 stars

A beautiful story (aimed at 8-12 year olds) about friendship. Rebecca is shy, very shy and worries a lot about everything. Chester comes to stay with his aunt who lives next to Rebecca and he is loud, confident and always on the go. They spend a summer together and both influence each other.
Almost Nothing Happened

By Meg Rosoff

3 stars

A fun, easy to read YA book about 17 year old Callum returning home from a disastrous French Exchange trip and deciding to not catch the Eurostar back to England but spend time in Paris instead. What happens is a crazy 48 hours, but at least he's getting to speak French.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold

By Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars

Love these Japanese style books - they're a really nice, easy read where not much happens - sometimes just what I need!
All The Beautiful Things

By Katrina Nannestad

4 stars

Another beautiful book by Katrina Nannestad - this one is set in Nazi Germany and is based around how the Nazi's idolized the pure race and exterminated anyone who wasn't perfect.
First Lie Wins

By Ashley Elston

3 stars

There is nothing wrong with this book - maybe I expected too much as it came highly recommended and for me it just wasn't. It's a good thriller with twists and more twists, but I could put it down.
Two Wolves

By Tristan Bancks

3 stars

Aimed at 9-11 years old this is a good vs evil book. Ben's dad is on the run with Ben, his sister Olive and his mum. He takes them to an old family hideway in a forest by a creek. Ben wants to be a policeman when he grows up, so can he work out what his parents have been up to? Who deserves his loyalty?
The Bee Sting

By Paul Murray

1 stars

What a complete waste of my precious reading time. This book is way too long - it might be good if it didn't go on so much, but I kept hoping it would improve, but it didn't. Written from the view point of 4 separate people, one of whom doesn't use any punctuation, which whilst being clever, is actually quite hard to read, so you have to really concentrate. And it didn't even give you an ending - waste of time - too many other great books out there to read.
Meet Me In Monaco

By Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

4 stars

This is the story of an English photographer & a struggling French Perfumer who meet and fall in love at the same time as Grace Kelly meets Prince Rainier. Whilst the story of James & Sophie is fiction, it is based around the true events. An easy read,
Gracehopper

By Mandy Hager

4 stars

Written for YA. This is a book about friendship, love, family, resilience and fun. Set in Wellington it's about Grace and her family and friends. It's about being true to yourself whilst still being a friend.
The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

By Mitch Albom

5 stars

This book is better than the first one. I cried several times, but basically read it in one go - didn't want to put it down!
Becoming Tangata Tiriti

By Avril Bell

5 stars

It took me a while to read this book, as there is so much to think about. I think it will be a book that I'll re-read and ponder the contents. It's a beautiful book which has made me think about my culture and heritage. Everyone should read this.
The Ministry of Time

By Kaliane Bradley

5 stars

A time-travelling romance is not my ideal genre of book, but I really enjoyed this one.
Sheets

By Brenna Thummler

2 stars

A graphic novel about perseverance, forgiveness and second chances and friendship. It didn't do it for me unfortunately.
Sisters of Sword & Shadow

By Laura Bates

3 stars

This is meant to be a female King Arthur & Knights of the Round Table - but it didn't quite hit the mark. The friendship between the two squires Cass & Lily could have lead somewhere and that pretty much sums up the whole book - it should have meant something / gone somewhere / done something but unfortunately it didn't. There's nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't live up to the YA high standards. I so wanted to like this.....
An Unwanted Inheritance

By Imogen Clark

3 stars

If you discovered a suitcase containing $250,000 under your recently deceased father-in-law's bed, what would you do with it?
The Sad Ghost Club

By Lize Meddings

4 stars
The School of Essential Ingredients

By Erica Bauermeister

4 stars

A student librarian recommended this book to me, and it is beautiful. A story of cooking classes, and friendship, and life and of course food. The equivalent of an Xmas movie - where everything is perfect and life is all sorted at the end
Leo and Ralph

By Peter Carnavas

5 stars

Aimed at 10-12 year olds, this book tells a beautiful story of friendship.
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry

By Ransom Riggs

3 stars
The Radleys

By Matt Haif

3 stars
Nimona

By ND Stevenson

4 stars
All our Shimmering Skies

By Trent Dalton

3 stars
Storm Child

By Ele Fountain

4 stars
The Raven's Eye Runaways

By Claire Mabey

4 stars

A beautifully written fantasy aimed at 8-12 year olds. Three young friends and a one-eyed raven are on a quest to fight against the oppressive regime that restricts the gift of reading to an elite few & aims to squash magic.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

By Gabrielle Zevin

4 stars

Due to an accident Naomi has lost her short-term memory. She's 16, but can't remember the last 4 years. Her boyfriend, her parent's divorce and new partners, her newer friends - they are all forgotten. Is this a chance to reinvent herself?
Wrecked

By Louisa Reid

5 stars

A verse novel that I couldn't put down. This is about Joe and Imogen and their love for each other, in all its forms. It's brutal, raw and heartbreaking.
The House in the Cerulean Sea

By T J Klune

5 stars
The Five People You Meet in Heaven

By Mitch Albom

4 stars

Enchanting novel that explores a mystery only heaven can unfold. When Eddie dies, he has 5 people waiting for him in heaven to help him to find peace.
The Sun is also a Star

By Nicola Yoon

5 stars

This book totally surprised me. I wasn't sure what I was getting, and it was fun, happy, sad and wonderful.
Firekeeper's Daughter

By Angeline Boulley

5 stars

Eighteen-year-old Daunis's mixed heritage has always made her feel like an outsider, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths. But the deceptions - and deaths - keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever known. This book gives a real insight into the beliefs of her tribe, and the strength of a community.
There Are Rivers in the Sky

By Elif Shafak

5 stars

This beautifully written book follows the lives of 3 people - Arthur in Victorian London, Narin in 2014, Turkey and Zaleekhah in 2018, London. Plus the River Tigris and the River Thames. Connecting them all is a single drop of water...
Mophead

By Selina Tusitala Marsh

5 stars

A fun book about being yourself, despite being bullied because of standing out. Beautiful drawings
Monstress 1. The Awakening

By Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda

4 stars

Graphic novel. Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both.
Tsunami

By Ned Wenlock

3 stars

A graphic novel which looks like it's for younger readers, but most definitely isn't! Deals with some dark stuff - bullying, lying, stealing and family relationships to name just a few.
Spark Hunter

By Sonya Wilson

5 stars

Set in the beauty of Fiordland National Park this is the story of 12 year old Nissa who has seen lights in the National Park but never had a chance to find out what they are. On a school camp, she gets the opportunity and learns that each light (or spark) is connected to the flora and fauna of NZ, and she needs to help save the native species from predators. Sonya Wilson obviously loves Fiordland as it is wonderfully described, and this book is enchanting.

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Mt Roskill Grammar

229,041 pages read and 6,088 team points

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