Reviews
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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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ReviewLoren Thomas enjoys the small and intimate moments in WHAT TO WEAR by Jenny Bornholdt.
Reviewed by Loren Thomas
19 February 2026
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Review'...a dystopian post-apocalyptic world where control and obedience are valued above all else, and technology has taken a sharp turn...'
Reviewed by Katarina Stretton
28 January 2026
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ReviewDavid Veart is impressed by Atholl Anderson's THE WELCOME OF STRANGERS, a definitive history of Ngāi Tahu.
Reviewed by David Veart
15 January 2026
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ReviewLucy O'Hagan's memoir EVERYTHING BUT THE MEDICINE impresses reviewer Bernadette Cassidy with its honesty and empathy.
Reviewed by Bernadette Cassidy
18 December 2025
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Review'The American Boys is more compelling as a love letter to Kiwi women and how they upheld domestic and industrial responsibilities despite being told that their place would only be ...
Reviewed by Krysana Hanley
18 December 2025
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Review'It is dense. It is modern. It contains some of the best of Aotearoa’s new and not so new writers...'
Reviewed by Claris Harvey
17 December 2025
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Review'Thirty years of Pikihuia Awards has created space for voices that might otherwise go unheard...'
Reviewed by Savannah Patterson
10 December 2025
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Review'The narratives of any home always appeal more than descriptions of it, and THE SPIRIT OF A PLACE offers an abundance of events, crises, anecdotes, even jokes...'
Reviewed by David Hill
30 November 2025
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Review'Resistance, in a multitude of forms, could very well be the collection’s central theme. Barford’s own, beautiful voice comes across strongly in the poems, yet this is a collection...
Reviewed by Hebe Kearney
25 November 2025
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Review'Reading Hoods Landing feels like sliding into the middle seat of a packed van bound for a funeral. Everyone is talking at once, you’re not entirely sure how you’re related to the ...
Reviewed by Mairātea Mohi
23 November 2025
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Review'The past, with its bush memories, is always there, ‘lapping at her shins’...'
Reviewed by Jessie Neilson
19 November 2025
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ReviewDavid Hill muses on the Victorian collector-type in this review of THE COLLECTOR, a biography of Thomas Cheeseman.
Reviewed by David Hill
17 November 2025
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Review'...her poetry was notable for its clarity, refinement, economy and engagement with the landscape of Southland and Otago. It was sometimes dismissed as too regional, too sentimenta...
Reviewed by Graham Reid
11 November 2025
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Review'...a rich and raw homage to her father, a deeply moving and personal reflection on his death interwoven with poignant descriptions of a daughter’s grief and family trauma.'
Reviewed by Gina Cole
9 November 2025
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Review'Iti’s life, which for most of his adulthood has been sketched out broadly in the media and exist in the public domain, gains a new urgency and freshness...'
Reviewed by Jade Kake
6 November 2025
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Review'Main character Caris Ironside is badass. Unconventional, trained as a blacksmith and swordsperson, Caris has a mission...'
Reviewed by Nicola and Eliana Johnstone
4 November 2025
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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