Blog Archives

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Amy Brown

Posted on November 29, 2019 by NZ Books

Winter Of Fire (25^th Anniversary Edition)
Sherryl Jordan
Scholastic, $19.00,
ISBN 9781775435983

I was ten when Winter Of Fire was first released, three years after Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It was a little later that I read Sherryl Jordan’s novel: maybe in 1997, when Jenny Shipley became prime minister, or 1999, when Helen Clark was elected. The unforgettable protagonist, Elsha of the Quelled, would have been another model of female leadership in a patriarchal world. I wonder if 14-year-old Jacinda Ardern read Winter of Fire the year it came out? It might have been inspiring.

Tagged with: Amy Brown, Issue 128, Scholastic, Sherryl Jordan, Summer 2019
Posted in Imprints, Review

Girls galloping horses: unstable identities, Amy Brown

Posted on September 11, 2018 by NZ Books

Rainfall
Ella West
Allen and Unwin, $19.00, ISBN 9781760296834

Showtym Adventures: Casper, the Spirited Arabian
Kelly Wilson
Puffin, $15.00, ISBN 9780143772248

Do You Want to Gallop with Me?
Sophie Siers (Judith Trevelyan illus)
Millwood Press, $20.00, ISBN 9780473408541

The Gift Horse
Sophie Siers (Katharine White illus)
Millwood Press, $20.00, ISBN 9780473408558

Since I learned to read, I’ve read about horses and riders. Did I love horses because of the books I read, or did I read the books because their covers were stable doors? What does it mean to read about a female child desiring and caring for a horse? Answering these questions has felt like psychoanalysis; a girl galloping a horse should be a Jungian archetype – and I have been that girl.

Tagged with: Allen and Unwin, Amy Brown, Ella West, Issue 123, Judith Trevelyan, Katharine White, Kelly Wilson, Millwood Press, Sophie Siers, Spring 2018
Posted in Children, Literature, Review

Out of this world, Elizabeth Crayford

Posted on August 30, 2013 by NZ Books

Snow White’s Coffin Kate Camp Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9780864738882 The Odour of Sanctity Amy Brown Victoria University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9780864738905 Snow White’s Coffin was written when Kate Camp held the Creative New Zealand Berlin Residency from September…

Tagged with: Amy Brown, Elizabeth Crayford, Issue 103, Kate Camp, Spring 2013, Victoria University Press
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

Movement is all, Paula Green

Posted on March 1, 2009 by NZ Books

Magnetic South Sue Wootton Steele Roberts, $24.99, ISBN 9781877448232 Spark Emma Neale Steele Roberts, $24.99, ISBN 9781877448195 The Propaganda Poster Girl Amy Brown Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9780864735744 The World’s Fastest Flower Charlotte Simmonds Victoria…

Tagged with: Amy Brown, Autumn 2009, Charlotte Simmonds, Emma Neale, Issue 85, Paula Green, Steele Roberts, Sue Wootton, Victoria University Press
Posted in Literature, Poetry