Childrens' & Young Adult / Teen Books > New Zealand Childrens' Books > New Zealand Young Adult / Teen fiction

Seventeen-year-old Will is clever but he can't find answers to any of his questions after his mother dies in a car accident. His father seems to be drifting and his older brother stays away from home. And Will just can't get past being either angry or in tears. A compelling novel about grief, ideas and experience, suitable for older teens as it contains strong language and adult themes.

It would take a very special person to crack the computer systems of the White House. An expert. A genius. A devil. All of the above, some would say. Someone like Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker. But Sam's obsession is about to lead him into a dangerous world. A world of espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war. A world where logging on to your computer could mean the difference between life and death. A thrilling action novel set in the not-too-distant future in which a brilliant young computer hacker f... read more

A dark forest. A single horseman is struck down by two assailants. But this is no ordinary horseman, and these are no ordinary murderers; the repercussions of their deed will reverberate far beyond the lonely pathway through the giant trees of the Forest of Fagus. To unravel the mystery of the horseman?s disappearance and exact the necessary vengeance, the Brotherhood of the House of the Stone Toad send Tobias Swallow, a recent initiate into its dark practices. This fast-moving sequel to The Assassin Of Gleam follows Tobias further... read more

The story of a young Emperor Penguin. First published 2006.

NZSHORTLISTED YOUNG ADULT CATEGORY NZ POST BOOK AWARDS 2008 This is the third volume in Penelope Todd's Watermark Trilogy The preceeding books are Watermark and Dark. It's a strong, thoughtful and affecting novel, which brings its main character, Zillah fully into womanhood. Zillah revisits her special hideaway, Roimata, on the West Coast, as she tries to absorb the trauma of a blighted working holiday in Spain. It's an attempt to give herself time to make sense of her immediate past and clarify her feelings for her friend, Jose... read more

Johanna is in hospital. She can only have visitors, leave her room, or even use the phone, if she starts to eat. Johanna suffers from anorexia, and her condition has reached a point where doctors, nurses, and counsellors have had to find new ways to encourage, bribe, cajole - or, as she thinks, punish her - into returning to a normal weight. Peppered with extracts from Johanna's diary, quotations from the hospital notice boards, poems, and even bathroom graffiti. Johanna offers us wry, insightful portraits of her fellow patient... read more

Young Adult Fiction Winner in the 2007 NZ Book Awards Young Adult Science Fiction Go forward in time: it’s nearing the end of the century. Do you see a dramatically altered New Zealand/ In Genesis, Bernard Beckett, one of our most provocative writers for young adults, gives us his view of a brave new world. In a terrifying and stifling examination environment a young Academy candidate, Anaximander, is put through a gruelling exercise ... read more

The year mum died and Dad went mad I was packed off to a farm for a while.The first sentence of Ted Dawe's new book sets the scene for this tender and dramatic story. But this is no ordinary farm: our narrator's Aunt Lorna, Uncle Frank and five cousins belong to the Jerusalem League, a William Blake cult. Their house is unusual, in that the rooms are hexagons - six-sided - as are the doors and windows, the dinner table and plates. And you guessed it; they're bee-keepers.Our young narrator takes us through his initiation to farm lif... read more

Nicky is asked to read some of her work aloud in class. She dreads it ÃÂÂÃÃÂ... read more

Anchored in a fearsome past of tyrant rulers and black magic, Gleam is a fiefdom gripped in the clutches of its ruler, the Markgrave, who has crushed freedom and hope. An ancient prophecy promises a bright new beginning for Gleam, but to destroy any chance of its being fulfilled, the Markgrave seeks the help of the Brotherhood, a mysterious order of scholars and practitioners of the dark arts. Into this menacing world comes a young woman, Johanna, and her brother, Tobias. Tobiasâ€ÂÂÃ... read more

In a land called the Whykatto, south of the city of Orklun, the sun rises angry in the sky, eats the winter grass and flames towards the western horizon. As the sky turns fiery, figures appear in the landscape: a boy, limping, accompanied by an old woman. Cast out from their tribe they make the journey alone, away from the sun's rage, away from the deserts of the north, toward the southern lands. This is Ish's tale, a tale of rejection, of survival against the odds, of growing up in an age when much is feared, and few can be trusted.

In a timeless story, Ish gains wisdom and a place. He learns the profound power of knowledge, the terrifying force of superstition. But in this land of blinding light there lurks a dark, menacing presence. This is the third title in the "Travellers" series.

When Paddy, a young New Zealand schoolboy, becomes so obsessed with a book about the Second World War Battle of Guadalcanal he's lucky not to killed in a traffic accident, his parents ban him from reading it ever again. But Paddy begins to hear the voices of men who died during the battle, leaving him both horrified and fascinated. Gradually he realises the voices wish him no harm, and are his Australian grandfather’s lost shipmates. They all served together on the HMAS Canberra, one of the Australian ships lost in the battl... read more

In The Bone Tiki, David Hair began a cycle of compelling action-packed fantasy novels, steeped in the mythology and history of New Zealand. The spine-chilling adventure continues in The Taniwha's Tear. Matiu Douglas has promised to help the storyteller's daughter, but there are a few problems. The daughter is dead - she's been petrified in stone for centuries. And she's no longer human - she's a taniwha. When Matiu Douglas and his friends defeated Puarata, the tohunga makutu, they thought they'd won the war. Instead they started on... read more

Fat boys don't run. They just don't. High school is hell. Corey is overweight and shy, so no wonder he spends all his spare time playing Counter-Strike on the computer. When his mum gives him an ultimatum - join a school sports team or broadband will be cancelled - he's horrified to find that she means it. Realizing that for once he's not going to get his own way, Corey looks for the easiest sports option. Orienteering, he reads, can be 'like a stroll in the park' - yes! But when Corey joins the orienteering team, he finds out the ... read more

A young English boy, Tom, has come to settle in Northland with his English family. In the weeks before his mother and younger sister join them, he and his father are alone. Tom gradually makes friends and settles into a completely new environment, but begins to see a mysterious running boy, and with the help of a kaumatua he unravels the mystery of the other English boy, another Tom, and why he is running through time, here in Spirit's Bay. As the past begins to reveal itself, Tom and his new friend Ana must decipher its message be... read more

A sequel to Frog Whistle Mine. Tony Hogan-White now lives in Christchurch, with his Mum and her geologist partner. Tony and his new stepfather have a holiday bonding trip back to Fox Glacier, where another exciting adventure ensues.
Combines eco themes, NZ geology and flora and fauna, global warming and the foibles of human nature. Will be supported by detailed teacher's notes. Includes additional material about glaciation and keas at the back of the book.
First published July 2007.

Alana is twelve and she’s slowly losing her sight, and sheÃÂÂÂ... read more

All Greg wants to do is drive a rally car, and be a mechanic. But his parents think he is the dumb one in a family of brains and stop him driving. But then he meets the Chattertons and look out, world, this dude's about to hit the road! Winner of the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book 2007.

A Young Adult historical romance novel set in both New Zealand and England during the 19th century. The main character is Hannah, a strong Elizabeth Bennett-like personality, who lives in Taranaki with her father, twin brother, Maori step-mother and step-brother during the time of the land wars. Hannah and her twin, Jamie, travel to England, for a number of reasons - one of which is to find the family of their dead mother. There they encounter the culture shock of upper-class English county behaviour. In Hannah's search for her own... read more