Some recs ...

Okay. This isn't a very long list, because I wander away from Kiwi YA and come back ... wander away ... I do have an awesome guest-poster lined up for January, though, who will have many more recs than my tiny list here.

But I'm doing it anyway, because right now this is my little-challenge-that-could - lol.


Okay. I'm starting with Guardian of the Dead by  Karen Healey. Luckily I don't have to dig too far for this one - I reviewed it earlier this year: http://justaddbooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/guardian-of-dead-review.html and it's AWESOME. One of my favourite reads this year.

Next: Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee. I first read this years ago, and it's kind of a rite-of-passagae for Kiwi kids (or it was when I WAS a kid) and it spawned a TV series Back in the Day, and - more recently - a movie starring Sam Neill. Anyway. Red-headed twins Rachel and Theo are set to spend their holidays with their aunt and uncle in Auckland, and soon discover something strange about the neighbours, the Wilberforces.

Rachel and Theo can hear each others thoughts, the Wilberforces are Evil Aliens, and the volcano is about to explode ...

Which brings me to ... The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy. Here's the thing. I remember reading this. And I remember it being creepy and atmospheric and hair-raising. But ... that's all I remember about it. However, I do remember that it was awesome. And it won the Carnegie medal in 1984. I'm ... going to have to put it on my list for this challenge. Once I make a list ...

And so on to Dreamhunter, by Elizabeth Knox, which I read about three or four years ago. I actually need to re-read it so I can read the sequel, Dreamquake. Anyway, it's set in an alternative New Zealand, with a  dreamlike realm called The Place. A whole industry has sprung up around  guided dreaming, and dreamhunters are in great demand. I remember it being vast and (obviously) dreamlike, and loving the characters. :-)

And, finally, Juno of Taris by Fleur Beale, which I read not so long ago. The people of Taris live in a kind of biodome, having been "rescued" by an unspecified plague. Juno is a teen who questions everything - Taris, its rules, why they have to shave their heads ... her questioning eventually leads to some fascinating revelations about the creation of Taris and it's sometimes seemingly random rules. It's a very easy read too, and Juno's a fascinating character.

Five books. That's ... a  little bit sad. o.O I've read more than that (I would hope ...) but those are the standouts for me.

I know that my awesome guest-poster will have way, way more than my teeny-eeny list, but ... it's a start?