Singing Home the Whale by Mandy Hager

Will Jackson is hiding out, a city boy reluctantly staying with his uncle in small town New Zealand while he struggles to recover from a brutal attack and the aftermath of a humiliating YouTube clip gone viral.

After he discovers a young abandoned orca whale his life is further thrown into chaos, when he rallies to help protect it against hostile, threatening interests. This threatens to tear apart the small fishing community and forever changes Will's life.

I loved this book, really loved it.  The plot is full of drama and excitement and at the same time it is a touching story of the relationship between a boy and a young whale. It’s a rich, multi-layered story but most of all I loved it because it connected with me emotionally and I have to admit I shed a few tears at the end.

Reviewed by Carolyn

 

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

Don’t tell your secrets.

A whisper can betray you.

Don’t trust anyone.

Not even yourself.

Sixteen year old Noa wakes up on a table with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there. A computer hacker who’s been living off the grid Noa needs help to discover who’s hunting her and why. Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance. Peter needs people with Noa’s talents on his team. But what they both don’t realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who’d stop at nothing to silence her for good.

Don’t turn Around is a book that I highly recommend you should read. Noa and Peter form an unlikely friendship because they need to survive, and the only way to do that is to stick together and help each other. The other characters in this book also have great storylines that will make you want to read chapter after chapter so you can find out what happens for them next. When the book ends, you will want more of Noa and Peter’s journey.

Don’t miss out on the next book of the trilogy Don’t Look Now and the digital novella, No Escape, a prequel to Don’t Turn Around which is available from iBooks and Kindle for free. Both Don’t Turn Around and Don’t Look Now are available from the Paraparaumu Library, so I higly recommend you read them!!! 

Reviewed by Ashleigh

 

 

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Cal Thompson is infected with a parasite after a one night stand with a mystery woman. The parasite turns the infected person into "Peeps" (short for parasite positive) they are more commonly known to us as Vampires. While Cal is not physically affected he becomes a carrier. Unfortunately he has infected his previous girlfriends, his job is to find them before they can do any harm. 

This was a book which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a refreshing new twist on a classic legend that had a lot of thought behind it. I think even those who do not usually enjoy vampire novels could enjoy this as it is not your typical vampire story.

Reviewed by Hannah

Volunteens

Are you looking for something to do in the summer holidays? Would you like to gain some work experience and volunteer at the library?  We are looking for teen volunteers (Volunteens) to help with our children's Summer Reading Programme.

A Volunteen is someone between the ages of 15 – 18 who volunteers (for no payment) primarily help young people report in for the summer reading programme and finale parties. You must enjoy working with children, be willing to work a total of at least 8 hours during the summer break, and attend a one hour training session. Volunteens may also assist with other projects during slow desk times.

To acknowledge the commitment made by Volunteens we will supply a letter of reference for your work experience and a thank you lunch/dinner at the end of the summer holiday period.

Application forms are available at your local library.  Applications close 28 November 2014.

eREADING

At Friday's meeting the Wrappers decided to focus on ereading this month.  FanFiction was mentioned as a good site for reading online.  Another option is to buy ebooks (e.g. from Amazon) or to borrow them (from Kapiti District Libraries!). Most devices (except Kindle) are suitable for borrowing books from the library. 

The links below give you some ereading options. Maybe you'd like to try something new and report back to us on your new reading experience. Also if you know of any other ereading websites let Carolyn know so they can be added to the list. 

https://www.fanfiction.net/

https://www.wattpad.com/

epukapuka  (Kapiti Libraries ebooks)

Getting Started  (help setting up your device for ebook borrowing)

The Wrappers Recommend

Books discussed, liked and recommended at the November Wrappers meeting.

The Keepers     Lian Tanner    (the catalogue link goes to the first in the series)

Lamb         Christopher Moore    

What’s Left of Me      Kat Zhang

The Red Poppy      By David Hill   Illustrated by Fifi Colston    (sophisticated picture book)

Death on the Nile        Agatha Christie     (Melanie’s favourite Hercule Poirot story!)

Popular: a memoir: vintage wisdom for a modern geek        Maya van Wagenen

The Blood of Olympus (final book of the Heroes of Olympus series)     Rick Riordan