Opal Plumstead
by Jacqueline Wilson (Random House, $34.99)

Reviewed by Sophie Robinson

Do you like lollies? Opal Plumstead certainly did… until she was forced to work in a lolly factory. You see, Opal’s father wants to be an author. He writes a manuscript and sends it off to the publishers, who say they are interested in perhaps accepting his book. He thinks the publishers will say yes, and pay him lots of money, so he takes the family out to celebrate. They spend a lot of money celebrating … so when the publisher says ‘no’ to the manuscript, Opal’s father has a big pile of bills to somehow pay back. In desperation he steals from his employer to pay the outstanding bills, but gets caught out.

Opal then has to leave her posh school, and her scholarship, to work in the Fairy Glenn Sweet Factory, making fondant moulds. Opal’s older sister has an apprenticeship at a hat shop, and offers to leave to find a higher-paying job to support the family, but her mother won’t let her. So it’s all up to Opal. The story follows Opal as she grows into a young woman starting out in the world.

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Rough on Women: Abortion in 19th-Century New Zealand
by Margaret Sparrow (VUP, $40)

Reviewed by Nicola Whyte

‘Baby die, die baby.’

The words are 20-year-old Miss Annie Best’s, called out as she writhed deliriously on her bed in 1896. After days of intense pain, the young servant had finally lapsed into a coma due to a self-administered concoction of medicines and other poisonous home remedies. She died the same night, trying not to end her own life but that of her fetus.

The tale of Annie Best is just one of the many in Dr Margaret Sparrow’s book, Rough on Women: Abortion in 19th-century New Zealand. The book, compiled from coroners’ reports and newspaper articles, paints a picture of desperate times when women attempted to terminate unwanted pregnancies by taking rat poison or ground-up phosphorous match heads, or performed surgery on themselves using sharp implements. The results were often fatal.

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Prendergast: Legal Villain? by Grant Morris (VUP, $40)

Parihaka Invaded by Dick Scott (BWB Texts, e-book $4.99)

Reviewed by Vaughan Rapatahana

I have reviewed these two recently published books together as they share so much in common as regards subject matter, given that the latter is but a small extract from an earlier and far more significant book by Dick Scott, namely Ask That Mountain, originally published in 1975.

This commonality pertains to Parihaka and the – for all Māori at least – illegal invasion of this most civilised settlement in 1881; an invasion most desired by the then Minister of Native Affairs, John Bryce, and given legal sanction by Sir James Prendergast in his role of Acting Governor of Aotearoa-New Zealand. More, Wi Parata, MP, was also at Parihaka, some years after Prendergast had declared Parata’s chances of reclaiming his Poneke whenua (Wellington land) impossible, because the Supreme Court did not recognise native title, thus inaugurating further repressive parliamentary Acts which further diminished Māori land holdings.

Grant Morris never sanctions Prendergast’s rather nefarious role in the entire Parihaka blot on our country’s history – as so well delineated in the brief BWB Text booklet – and he also makes it clear that Prendergast had no empathy whatsoever for Māori. Indeed, it all seems rather fortuitous in hindsight that Prendergast authorised the Parihaka invasion during the time then Governor Gordon was overseas in Fiji. In other words, for this reviewer, Prendergast was as culpable as Bryce for the unwarranted rape and pillage that took place there. Whether he was manipulative and deceitful at worst, or merely somewhat of a tool of similar-minded politicians, at best, remains for the reader to ultimately decide.

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By Graeme Tuckett

The internet gag ‘Who is Paul McCartney, and why is Kanye West collaborating with him?’ has made the news.

I thought it was kinda funny when I first read it, though I didn’t think it was anything other than a joke then, and I still don’t.

What isn’t so funny though, is the predictable but wearisome outpouring of anti-Kanye hogwash polluting the message boards in the last few days.
Now, musical taste is totally subjective, and unless I’ve had several pints and a lousy day, I wouldn’t ever tell you that my taste is in any way better than yours.

But it is instructive to at least acknowledge that in the last twenty years West has outsold McCartney by millions. If there genuinely are Kanye fans out there who don’t know, or need reminding who Paul McCartney is, then that’s pretty understandable. And if those fans are under thirty, and have been raised outside of the affluent middle-class in the United States of America, then knowing more about West than McCartney is exactly what you should expect. And really, exactly what has MCartney done to trouble the charts in the last few decades anyway? A collaboration with Michael Jackson, and another with Stevie Wonder? Gee, anyone see a pattern emerging here?

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Māori Boy: A memoir of childhood
by Witi Ihimaera (Vintage, $39.99)

Reviewed by Judith Morrell Nathan

Witi Ihimaera, the distinguished Māori author and the first Māori to publish a book of short stories and a novel, has adopted a new genre with his latest book. But despite its subtitle, this book is a great deal more than a memoir of childhood. There is far more in the book about Ihimaera’s whānau and whakapapa – and related stories – than there is about Ihimaera himself. In nearly 400 pages, his personal story only gets as far as School Certificate, with occasional allusions to his future life.

Clearly Ihimaera’s whakapapa deeply affected all aspects of his childhood. It is not just background to be covered in the first few chapters in chronological order: it permeates the whole book, sometimes repetitively to illustrate some aspect of his development, and sometimes with digressions to mythical and historical stories from Paikea to Maui to Cook to Te Kooti to Princess Te Puea and many others. After one such digression he admits, “I need to get a move on”.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Long Haul
by Jeff Kinney (Puffin Books, $17.99)

Reviewed by Ruth Brassington

I reviewed last year’s Wimpy Kid issue, Hard Luck, when someone gave it to me for my birthday. I waited this year, but it was my hard luck that I didn’t get this new one as a present. In The Long Haul young Greg Hefley is at it again – telling us about his life in ways that surprise, amuse and sometimes appal. This time the theme is a long haul family road trip, with an extra character or two on board and a range of car games to help the distances fly and the family dynamic run smoothly. Of course this was never going to happen. Those who’ve ever been on long haul journeys with children will understand that, and with the Hefley family ANYTHING can happen. And so it does – sugar wafers and breath mints for holiday dinner treats dinner anyone? Or shall we visit a pet cemetery?

Reminiscences from past dramas in Greg’s life are delivered by way of entertainment and I, as a parent and grandparent, was reassured about the “normalities” of family life. Although, as Greg says about himself, “Whenever I have a difficult choice to make, I always seem to pick the wrong one.” And there’s a self-send-up by the author, whose character comments that teachers and parents don’t always like their children being keen on a certain series of books.

Eight-year-old Henry liked Jeff Kinney’s latest offering, the ninth in his Wimpy Kid graphic series: “It’s a good book. I’ve read all of them now. I hope he gets an idea for another one next year!” As for me, well, I might be just a bit jaded by these Wimpy Kids, and I don’t think I’ll review any more of the series. But then I’m not a kid.

The Jacqueline Wilson Christmas Cracker
by Jacqueline Wilson (Random House, $19.99)

Reviewed by Sophie Robinson, age 12

On the first page of Jacqueline Wilson’s new book The Jacqueline Wilson Christmas Cracker, the well-known and loved character Tracy Beaker is jealous because her arch-rival Justine has a present from her Dad. The present carries a label saying ‘Do not open till 25th December!’ You will have to work hard to obey that instruction, too, if you are a fan of Jacqueline Wilson. The book has excerpts featuring many of her best characters are packed into over 300 pages of hilarious holiday reading. There’s Hetty Feather, twins Garnet and Ruby, and of course Tracy Beaker, ‘You’re Tracy Beaker, so you get to be big bossy knickers, right?’

Whenever I find a new Jacqueline Wilson book, I just have to sit down and read it straight away. And that is just what I had to do with this book too. Jacqueline Wilson has a way of making the characters come to life, and it feels as though you are really there beside them in the story.

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Once in a Lifetime: City-building after Disaster in Christchurch
Edited by Barnaby Bennett, James Dann, Emma Johnson & Ryan Reynolds (Freerange Press, $45)

Reviewed by Alison McCulloch

Editor’s note: A Q&A with the book’s editors follows this review.

Rather like the city it is imagining, this sprawling book is full of brilliant ideas, clever people and infectious enthusiasm, all leavened – as any city is – with a few cul de sacs best avoided.

And how could it not be: this impressive undertaking comprises 55 written essays (and 39 visual) from academics, activists, journalists, architects, as well as people with métiers I’m less sure about, like ecourbanists, spatial analysts, and futurists. It’s a potpourri (organic, for sure) and not the kind of book you should sit down to read right through. (Though if you do pull that off, it feels a bit like you’ve earned a bachelor’s in urban design theory, perhaps with a minor in futurism.)

Before diving in to the book’s content, it might be useful here to offer up a few facts: • As well as the major quakes on 4 Sept. 2010 and 22 Feb. 2011, Christchurch has suffered more than 13,000 aftershocks. • 185 people from 17 countries died as a result of the February quake. • The entire recovery is estimated to cost around $40 billion. • Most major projects are running behind schedule, and it’ll be at least 2020 before they’re completed. • 12,000 homes have been demolished together with 1,500 commercial buildings.

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Raupo to Deco: Wellington Styles and Architects 1840-1940
By Geoff Mew & Adrian Humphris (Steele Roberts Aotearoa, $69.95)

Reviewed by Simon Nathan

Wellington has its own distinctive architecture. Many visitors, arriving by sea or by air, have commented over the years about the steep winding streets and houses perched precariously around the hills, contrasting with the compact city centre with its government buildings. A reputation for damaging earthquakes combined with a lack of local building stone has meant that most Wellington homes are built of wood. As a Wellingtonian who walks around the city and suburbs, I have often wished that I could identify different architectural styles, and this beautifully illustrated book fills that gap.

Authors Geoff Mew and Adrian Humphris have previously given an account of the development of the suburbs of Kelburn and Kilbirnie in their Ring around the City, but this book covers the whole of Wellington, with examples from almost every suburb and the central city.

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Quake Cats: Heart-warming stories of Christchurch cats
by Craig Bullock (Random House, $39.99)

Reviewed by Kelly Bold

As a crazy-cat-lady in the making, Quake Cats immediately went onto my “must have” list when I heard of its pending publication. And my anticipation of this companion to last year’s best-selling Quake Dogs was well founded: it’s another beautiful, emotional and uplifting read.

The book is laid out with the same winning formula as its predecessor but this time photographer Craig Bullock has done it alone, writing the stories accompanying his truly stunning photography himself.  I loved the juxtaposition of the relatively succinct stories with the generosity of the photos: each tale has at least three images with it and every puss portrait is striking in its clarity and ability to really show us the unique, often plucky and courageous, and sadly all too frequently traumatised kitties Craig shares with us. For like the battered and weary human residents of earthquake ravaged Canterbury, their feline friends have suffered, too.

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