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46 popular new zealand books
Travel the world without leaving your chair. The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world. All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Oceania Challenge" were written by authors from New Zealand. Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.

21.

Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Description:
Life as a Maori in present day New Zealand, chronicling their poverty, their alcoholism and their despair. The narrator is a Maori woman who has nothing but contempt for Maori men--warriors who degenerated into lazy bums.

22.

Overkill by Vanda Symon EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
First published in New Zealand by Penguin Books (NZ) in 2007.

23.

Potiki by Patricia Grace EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Description:
'Provocative, compassionate and beautiful' - Joy Harjo, US Poet Laureate A moving story of a Maori community's fight for survival, from one of New Zealand's most prominent and celebrated authors On the remote coast of New Zealand, at the curve that binds the land and the sea, a small Maori community live, work, fish, play and tell stories of their ancestors. But something is changing. The prophet child toko can sense it. Men are coming, with dollars and big plans to develop the area for tourism. As their ancestral land becomes threatened, the people must unite in a battle for survival. Weaving... continue

24.

Princess Princess Ever After by Kay O’Neill EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Description:
When the heroic princess Amira rescues the kind-hearted princess Sadie from her tower prison, neither expects to find a true friend in the bargain. Yet as they adventure across the kingdom, they discover that they bring out the very best in the other person. They’ll need to join forces and use all the know-how, kindness, and bravery they have in order to defeat their greatest foe yet: a jealous sorceress, who wants to get rid of Sadie once and for all. Join Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, on their journey to figure out what “happily ever after” rea... continue

25.

Pūrākau by Several EN

0 Ratings
Description:
A lively, stimulating and engaging retelling of purakau - Maori myths - by contemporary Maori writers. Ka mua, ka muri . . . Ancient Maori creation myths, portrayals of larger-than-life heroes and tales of engrossing magical beings have endured through the ages. Some hail back to Hawaiki, some are firmly grounded in New Zealand and its landscape. Through countless generations, the stories have been reshaped and passed on. This new collection presents a wide range of traditional myths that have been retold by some of our best Maori wordsmiths. The writers have added their own creativity, perspe... continue
Genre

26.

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier EN

0 Ratings
Description:
Beautiful Sorcha is the courageous young woman who risked all to save her family from a wicked curse and whose love shattered generations of hate and bridged two cultures. It is from her sacrifice that Sorcha's brothers were brought home to their ancestral fortress Sevenwaters, and her life has known much joy. But not all the brothers were able to fully escape the spell that transformed them into swans, and it is left to Sorcha's daughter Liadan to help fulfill the destiny of the Sevenwaters clan. Beloved child and dutiful daughter, Liadan embarks on a journey that shows her just how hard-won ... continue

27.

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason EN

Rating: 4 (3 votes)
Description:
"This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going. By the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want."--Provided by publisher.
Genre

28.

Teine Samoa by Dahlia Malaeulu EN

0 Ratings
Description:
Teine Samoa means Samoan girl. It's a label that carries with it an unspoken duty to obey, serve and respect your family and Samoan culture. But who can be teine Samoa? When should you be teine Samoa? And how can you be teine Samoa outside of Samoa? Lani is an afakasi, and is unsure of her Samoan heritage and what being Samoan even means. But one thing she knows for sure is that she's afraid of Vai and the 'Real Samoans'. Masina, the free-spirited daughter of a Church Minister, is bound by parental expectations and struggling to fulfill the destiny set by her parents. Teuila is the good Island... continue

29.

The Bone People by Keri Hulme EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Description:
Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three emotional outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner, convinced that "to care for anything is to invite disaster." Her isolation is disrupted one day when a six-year-old mute boy, Simon, breaks into her house. The sole survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, Simon... continue

30.

The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw EN

0 Ratings
Description:
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about her favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life before bookshops. She sailed through the Pacific for years, was held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's King's Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl as an expedition/tourist boat with her husband, Lance. But underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with ... continue


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