The Accident
FIONA LOWE
Life finally seems perfect for Hannah. Following her parents’ death she drifted without purpose for years. But now she has met the love of her life, Jamie, and moved from Perth to his home in small town Western Australia. Embraced by Jamie’s family and friends, working for his business and happily engaged, it seems like things cannot get better.
Jamie’s best mate Ryan and his partner, Freya, are overjoyed when Jamie proposes to Hannah. It seems that the four of them will be moving together into a settled future of uncomplicated friendship. However, the day before the wedding, a car crash upends their lives and starts a chain of events which expose more than one person’s secrets and lies. Soon the bonds between friends and relatives are frayed and trust between them undermined as the consequences of their choices become apparent. When people begin asking themselves what they really want, they find they have to consider what other choices can be made.
The Accident by Fiona Lowe is part mystery and part drama, delving into what happens when relationships within a group are strained. An easy and engaging read, perfect to take away on holiday.
Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie
SHELLEY BURNE-FIELD
Kāhu Poto and her sister Whētu go on a quest to find their missing mother and little brother on a daring escapade through the bush of Aotearoa. Danger lurks around every tree trunk, their friend Nīkau, a matakite (seer), predicts an earthquake and a flood, and the band of adventurers must find their whānau quickly and get them to safety.
This is a rollocking story of unlikely friends finding support and aroha, and pooling skills to fight a common foe. The characters learn about patience and tolerance, and the reader is right there with them, seeking out the mystical white kīwī, facing down the deadly taniwha, and dodging the magpie Tū, wreaking havoc among her own birds and the rest of the creatures.
Fantastic for readers of about nine and up who love a breathtaking adventure story.
Allen & Unwin. RRP $19.99
The Dream Factory
STEPH MATUKU WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ZAK ĀTEA
This picture book is immediately arresting with its palette of dark blue rising above a twinkling town, exploding into a swarm of pink and turquoise dreams. The dream factory releases mists each night that seep into the homes and minds of the townsfolk, filling their dreams with wonders of imagination. As in all good stories, a disaster must strike; a hapless kererū causes a catastrophe and the dreams turn from flowers made of cake to flowers that eat all of the cake.
This is a story that swirls with beautiful, fantastic images; there is so much to pore over on every page. It explores the light and the dark, and asks us who we are without our dreams. The prose wills us to have no limits to our imagination and the illustrations illuminate the importance of vision. If we don’t dream, who will solve, invent and create?
Huia. RRP $22.00
