Nga Tawa Diocesan School

85,212 pages read and 6,551 team points

Team members

TeHanu2

3,393 pts

(2,208 pages read)

The Power in Our Truth / The Truth of Our Power: Recollections of Moana

By Various contributors

5 stars

Following his death 3 years ago, I've felt bereft of Moana Jackson's presence in the world. I was given TPiOT for Christmas & reading these chapters by people who loved Moana & respected him profoundly has reconnected me with hope. Personal recollections by whanau & friends, colleagues discussing his formidable expertise in constitutional law, Te Tiriti o Waitangi & international indigenous issues while also revealing his favourite kai (Hazelnut meringue with berry sauce at La Bella Italia in Petone), and why his nickname as a kid was the bandwidth of the local radio station. We're reminded of Moana's patient, gentle & measured way: power & fight, his scorching intellectual analysis of the crimes of colonialism, his nurturing of generations of thinkers & activists. A number of the contributors while honouring his life's work make reference to MJ leaving us with a blueprint, a pathway for the future. I can't think of anyone who I trust more to guide me personally & us here in Aotearoa through our current turbulence as a nation. Last words, Patricia Grace: "...The way to best honour him is to take up the challenges, do the mahi and let the stories be told."
Brave Kahu & The Põrangi Magpie

By Shelley Burne-Field

4 stars

Sonya Wilson wrote a stellar review of this which says everything I want to say & she's a far better writer than I will ever be so if you want a longer review, try this. (Hopefully that'll leave me time to finish her book Spark Hunter before deadline.) Heart-stopping swoosh into the world of manu. Superb sibling/whanau relationships. Lots of death, yet strength of aroha pulses through. And a brilliant reo glossary. https://www.nzreviewofbooks.com/brave-kahu-and-the-porangi-magpie-by-shelley-burne-field/
Whaea Blue

By Talia Marshall

5 stars

I love this book. Someone once advised Talia Marshall to “write as you talk” & although Whaea Blue’s a memoir you want to read slowly, a massive tension counterpunches as Marshall’s voice scatterguns across the motu and plumbs the depths of our history, at pace. That voice is riveting, funny, sharp. This book has taken me the longest time to read casting a spell that definitely alters reading time. Detail-dense, multi-dimensional, a crisscross weave across the country, while locking tightly ancestral connection & generational closeness. Names & places: Macdonald, Sciascia, McGregor, Westra, Koputaroa, Wairau, Foxton, Freeman’s Bay, Glendhu Bay, Porangahau, Furneaux, Dunedin, Wellington. Marshall crosses bars of realities /worlds constantly. She holds the deep past clearly & (mostly) lovingly in the present, seared through biting humour and tight observations you could quote forever. A brilliant read.
Depraved Heart

By Patricia Cornwall

1 stars

Another Covid read. Read close on the heels of an earlier Scarpetta (Trace), this one was irritating, particularly because the entire narrative pretty much takes place in 1 day & that's a lot of stretch for 400+ pages. Scarpetta's self-absorption, overthinking & over-doting on her niece was too much for Covid-head. I'll stick in future to Cornwall's earlier works.
Trace

By Patricia Cornwall

3 stars

Late to the Scarpetta fan club, I'll be looking for more. I read this & another in the series early in the new year when I had Covid and was brain-fuzzy. Enough brain fodder and forensic detail to keep reading, without being too taxing.
The Grimmelings

By Rachael King

4 stars

"One moment it hadn't been there, and the next it was there, its great shape like a black shadow sucking all the light of the day. Fiona stood in front of it, holding out the rope she had made, bursting with flowers and feathers and now tied in a loose circle." A forever-generational curse plays out in contemporary horse-trekking Central Otago, invoking an ancient Kelpie's intent for revenge on ageing Griselda. Granddaughters Ella & Fiona, pony Magpie & a murmuring mischief of magpies fight alongside her to bring an end to her family's misfortune and terrible loss. You'll cry.
Treacle Walker

By Alan Garner

4 stars

Sparse, deep writing grounded firmly in myth, magic & the circular movement of time. Garner is now in his 90s and this story deftly picks up threads, characters & anchor stones from his earlier novels and weaves them into this, possibly his last book. I savoured every sentence.

16 - 0 - 1

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Nga Tawa Diocesan School

85,212 pages read and 6,551 team points

Team members

CD

NatashaM

Sally Jane

Nana

LuluC

Suzette

Fiona

Junebaby

AM

Kylie RR

Coco

TeHanu2

VickyP

melaniepasco

Kathowood

Nicole S

TeHanu2

The Power in Our Truth / The Truth of Our Power: Recollections of Moana

Brave Kahu & The Põrangi Magpie

Whaea Blue

Depraved Heart

Trace

The Grimmelings

Treacle Walker

Nga Tawa Diocesan School

85,212 pages read and 6,551 team points

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