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Join the Kete community. Stay up-to-date on the latest in new books from Aotearoa, from reviews and events to giveaways.
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Join the Kete community. Stay up-to-date on the latest in new books from Aotearoa, from reviews and events to giveaways.
Read our independent reviews of the latest books from Aotearoa.
Pānuihia ā mātou arotakenga tūhake o ngā pukapuka hou nō Aotearoa.
ReviewA distant land, a new life, an escape from the past - acclaimed historical fiction writer Jenny Pattrick returns with her tenth novel.
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
12 April 2022
ReviewRuth Shaw’s resilience, optimism and willingness to always help others is to be admired; her remarkable story, told in The Bookseller at the End of the World, is to be read and ref...
Reviewed by Dionne Christian
10 April 2022
ReviewMeat Lovers, Rebecca Hawkes’s debut full-length collection, is a triumphant display of the power of words.
Reviewed by Paula Green
4 April 2022
ReviewGrand is funny, clever, beautiful, sad. It’s more of a eulogy and less of a diatribe than it could have been.
Reviewed by Ruth Spencer
4 April 2022
ReviewKurangaituku is brilliantly written. Clever. Precise. Prosaic but not cluttered. It expects you to be an intelligent consumer of words and images.
Reviewed by TK Roxborogh
30 March 2022
ReviewMany new buildings have arisen from the rubble of post-earthquake Christchurch but none, perhaps, is as remarkable as Ravenscar House in the heart of the city’s heritage precinct. ...
Reviewed by Peter Simpson
29 March 2022
ReviewSo far, for now: On journeys, widowhood and stories that are never over is a beautiful, must-read memoir from one of Aotearoa’s most treasured writers and activists, Dame Fiona Kid...
Reviewed by Caroline Barron
28 March 2022
ReviewThe Shadow Broker is a solid, compelling thriller that touches on topical issues like state surveillance, post-Trump politics and corruption in the halls of power.
Reviewed by Greg Fleming
23 March 2022
ReviewThe conclusion to Eileen Merriman’s Black Spiral trilogy, this book moves past the heady and desperate days of new romance to focus on survival, both for the protagonists and for t...
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
22 March 2022
ReviewNo breakdown of the contents in Poetry New Zealand Yearbook 2022 prepares you for the thought, beauty and disruption within the pages.
Reviewed by Erica Stretton
21 March 2022
ReviewReading Mary's Boy, Jean-Jacques and other stories is the literary equivalent of realising everyone around you has the same rich, complex internal life as you do.
Reviewed by Jack Remiel Cottrell
16 March 2022
ReviewRemember Me weaves a riveting tale of betrayal, love and deception centered around the disappearance, 25 years ago, of a vibrant young woman who walked into the Ruahine Ranges and ...
Reviewed by Greg Fleming
15 March 2022
ReviewSuspend disbelief for much of the story and you'll find an author whose name you'll want to remember.
Reviewed by David Hill
14 March 2022
ReviewA compilation of work from a number of independent publications by Peter Hooper, as well as previously unpublished or uncollected work, Rejoice Instead is a beautiful, worthy and n...
Reviewed by Richard Reeve
9 March 2022
ReviewNor’ East Swell is a tale full of heart, family and surfing and a great read for teens and adults.
Reviewed by Denika Mead
9 March 2022
ReviewHow you respond to The Fish may depend on whether or not you love the bold and experimental stylistic choices…
Reviewed by Angelique Kasmara
7 March 2022
Review“A dawn chorus of praise for an exceptional artist.”
Reviewed by Peter Simpson
7 March 2022
ReviewWell-edited, well-produced and excellent value for money, this companion catalogue to the major Rita Angus show at Te Papa is also an excellent introduction to the artist and her w...
Reviewed by Peter Simpson
2 March 2022
ReviewThe Surgeon’s Brain is not only a narrative - albeit one shattered and shivered to a purpose - it is also gathering of bright human sensations and thoughts.
Reviewed by David Herkt
23 February 2022
ReviewDan Salmon’s Neands 2 is a perfect fit for young adults who enjoy dystopian science fiction stories and will immerse readers in the world of a virus that causes exaggerated de-evol...
Reviewed by Link Pickering
22 February 2022
Review.Douglas Lloyd Jenkins’ debut novel Shelter is an engaging tale of gay love, won and lost, amid Auckland’s changing skyline; the wonder is that it succeeds on both counts.
Reviewed by Greg Fleming
21 February 2022