New Zealand Teenage and Children's fiction
I just can't 'get into' nz adult literary fiction any more. I find it too wordy, sometimes pompous and the action too slow. With teenage and children's fiction (mine included if I may be so boastful) is funny, clever, fast, entertaining and I love reading it.
Whenever I need a muse, I read our authors. I race my 9 year old as we are reading very similar books. That's not to say I don't love some of the all time favs you guys have listed (I just love TKAMB and the bone people) but the new stuff is so hard to get into when you've had a hard day dealing with stroppy teenagers and then have to come home to hungry little ones.
And, to add insult to injury, two things happen: novels for children are half the price as adult (not porno) books; writers of children's literature are not quite considered in the same league as writers for adults. Just look at the prizes awarded.
But, I love being a children's author. I don't think I'm sophisticated enough to do anything else.
Thanks for the input. Can you give us some recommendations of NZ Childrens and YA authors to look out for. I'm not familiar with this part of the scene, beyond the surface level.
Re: New Zealand Teenage and Children's fiction
Just finished reading Jolt by Bernard Beckett. This is his third novel and I like it the best of the three. There's Kate de goldie's novels eg Love Charlie Mike, Sanctuary and Closed, Stranger which I liked the best.
David Hill is my all time favourite and I have just read, The Name of the Game, which is set during the 1981 Springbok Tour. It was great. 'Afterwards' was also interesting.
Tessa Dudar's Tiggie Thompson books are very good and very New Zealand.
I've also just finished Ken Catran's Talking to Blue and Blue Murder (the sequel) and enjoyed those. Ken's writing is not really what I get into but these were good. He, like David Hill have won lots of awards for the teenage fiction.
Vince Ford is another new NZ author making a hit. You must read his first book 2Much4U published by Scholastic. I really laughed.
My daughter and I are reading or have read the Gary Pulsen Hachett series which would be particulary of interest to boys; Famous Five is great of course but Mackenna's just started on the Northern Lights series - major fantasy and very popular apparently. I'll get to them when I've finished Susan Coopers The DArk is Rising Series.
Hey, I could go on as I have a book shelf full but that will do for now.
Cheers
Tania
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