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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.
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Review'Shapiro’s writing is artful and assured, and Good Things Come and Go is a heartfelt exploration. It weighs up what could have been, and what really matters...'
Reviewed by Clare Travaglia
3 November 2025
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Review'...a way of talking about what matters to us most, but telling it slant. And the result is rich, complex, skittish and intelligent...'
Reviewed by Sarah Scott
2 November 2025
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Review'Harriet's voice, understated, measured, and eloquent, is clearly of an educated, privileged woman. She often writes metaphorically...'
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
27 October 2025
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ReviewOckham finalist author Bryan Walpert is back with EMPATHY, his tenth novel. Anna Scaife investigates.
Reviewed by Anna Scaife
23 October 2025
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Review'Whitham has meticulously gathered her collection of images of native and introduced New Zealand species with the hope that a reader will look anew at our natural history and its d...
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
21 October 2025
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Review'Her story, which is quite remarkable in the years before she turned 20, becomes even more so when – after the Chicks go their separate ways – she becomes an award-winning solo art...
Reviewed by Graham Reid
19 October 2025
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Review'Horrocks’ characters have a self-aware physicality to them, whether they are at home in their bodies or not. Visuals of pregnancy, the visceral animal qualities of birth and its a...
Reviewed by Claire Williamson
14 October 2025
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Review'This book encourages close reading and gifting - between poems, collections, poets, and generations. The writing is rich and complex, yet offered in a way accessible to anyone wit...
Reviewed by Nicola Andrews
14 October 2025
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Review'This book is a monumental work on an important part of our history...'
Reviewed by David Veart
8 October 2025
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ReviewBecs Tetley takes a long look at STRONG WORDS 4, a collection of twenty essays selected by editor Lynley Edmeades from the Landfall 2023 and 2024 essay competitions.
Reviewed by Becs Tetley
8 October 2025
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Review'These words and phrases don't tell you only about our language. They're insights into our culture, both high and low. The 'Bugger' of that Toyota ad is here. So is 'hua', used so ...
Reviewed by David Hill
5 October 2025
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Review'The book is designed to be nibbled in bite-sized sections or consumed all at once, with the text nicely broken up by an array of amazing artwork from fifteen Aotearoa artists, as ...
Reviewed by Alex Eagles-Tully
2 October 2025
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ReviewNigel Latta's final book was released on the day he sadly died of terminal cancer. Angela Walker reflects on the LESSONS ON LIVING as a final gift.
Reviewed by Angela Walker
1 October 2025
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Review'It feels like a rare peek behind the curtain of what the mission of learning a new language can entail, particularly when that language is one you had a birth right to know, but n...
Reviewed by Isla Huia
24 September 2025
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Review'These are hard stories to ‘like’ but on the terms they have set, the parameters of the worlds Borrowdale has conjured, they command respect by needling at uncomfortable questions ...
Reviewed by Nat Baker
24 September 2025
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ReviewNgā arotake a ngā kaipānui tamariki. 'Ko ngā kupu hou ki a mātou, ka mutu, ka rata pai mātou ki ērā kupu, ko te tupuria, namunamuā, koropupū.'
Reviewed by Nā Te Aranga (11), Beau (8), Tirama (8) ,Te Aurere (10) i arotake
17 September 2025
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ReviewNgā arotake a ngā kaipānui tamariki. 'He pai ki a mātou nga kīwaha me ngā whakataukī pēnā i te, “ko tōku reo tōku ohooho, ko tōku reo tōku māpihi maurea.”'
Reviewed by Nā Eden (11), Titan (9), Ngakuru (10), Rumi (8) i arotake
17 September 2025
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ReviewNgā arotake a ngā kaipānui tamariki. 'Ko ētahi kupu hou ki a mātou, ko te tarakaka, ko te māminga, ko te manohi anō, ko te angiangi.'
Reviewed by Nā Ngahuia (8), Zara (11), Te Amio (8), Elijah (9) i arotake
15 September 2025
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ReviewNgā arotake a ngā kaipānui tamariki. 'He pai tēnei pukapuka ki a mātou nā te mea he pukukata, he momo pukapuka ki te ako mō te tiaki ngāngara...'
Reviewed by Nā Atareria (9), Maia (10), Amokura (9) i arotake
15 September 2025
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ReviewReviewed by Savannah Patterson
15 September 2025
Review'Hei whakakapi ake, he mārama te āhua o tā Hone whakatakoto i ngā kōrero. Kia pono, he uaua te wetereo, engari kāore ia e whakauaua ake i te kaupapa, e whakatoimaha rānei i a te ka...
Reviewed by Hēmi Kelly
14 September 2025