Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books

Fiction Literary Fiction Māori Novel Speculative Fiction

The Mires
by Tina Makereti

A novel about the might of Nature, and the power of neighbourhood.

Paula MorrisAugust 16, 2024

Essays Nonfiction

Bad Archive
by Flora Feltham

Evocative essays on 'memory, remembering, and personal history'.

Sara BucherAugust 2, 2024

Fiction Māori Novel

All That We Know
by Shilo Kino

A young woman navigates the perils and promise of being her 'ancestors’ wildest dream'.

Rebecca HillJuly 24, 2024

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

Performance
by David Coventry

An 'immersive experience' about living with a debilitating disease.

Guy SomersetJuly 24, 2024

Children’s Literature Fantasy Fiction

The Raven’s Eye Runaways
by Claire Mabey

An adventure 'set in a magical, medieval world' where reading is dangerous.

Clare TravagliaJuly 19, 2024

Poetry

Still Is
by Vincent O’Sullivan

A final poetry collection that is 'a book rich with wonder'.

Sophie van WaardenbergJuly 19, 2024

Poetry

Meantime
by Majella Cullinane

Poems that chronicle 'the inhuman, uncanny experience of losing someone at huge distance'.

Sophie van WaardenbergJuly 1, 2024

Fiction Literary Fiction Novel

At the Grand Glacier Hotel
by Laurence Fearnley

Nature is volatile and isolating in an evocative novel 'aimed at the senses'.

Sally BlundellJune 21, 2024

Art History Māori Military Nonfiction

Te Ata o Tū / The Shadow of Tūmatauenga
by Matiu Baker, Katie Cooper, Michael Fitzgerald and Rebecca Rice

Stunning objects from Te Papa that provide 'a much-needed corrective and fact-based lesson in our own history.'

Hamish ConeyJune 12, 2024

Art Biography Māori Nonfiction Photography

Ans Westra: A Life in Photography
by Paul Moon

An account of a photographer who 'lived and worked in the epicentre of a cultural debate'.

James LittlewoodJune 7, 2024

Memoir Nonfiction

First Things: A Memoir
by Harry Ricketts

'Resilience and honesty lift from every page' of this coming-of-age memoir.

Stephanie JohnsonJune 7, 2024

Anthology Essays Memoir Nonfiction

Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child-adjacent
ed. Alie Benge, Lil O’Brien & Kathryn Van Beek

A 'kaleidoscopic' collection of essays and 'a testament to the various connections that shape our lives'.

Sara BucherJune 5, 2024

Asian Māori Poetry

Tidelines
by Kiri Piahana-Wong

'Even in the darkest moments, there is curiosity and hope': a collection about 'the flood and ebb' of grief.

Joanna ChoMay 29, 2024

Māori Poetry

Hopurangi – Songcatcher: Poems from the Maramataka
by Robert Sullivan

Poems set over three months of the Māori lunar calendar, the 'ultimate star waka'.

Tru ParahaMay 29, 2024

Asian Fiction Poetry Verse Novel

Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud
by Lee Murray

Exploring the 'wilderness of the uncharted' in a stunning mix of history, myth, poetry and fiction.

Angelique KasmaraMay 24, 2024

LGBTQIA+Māori Memoir Nonfiction Politics Society

Hine Toa: A story of bravery
by Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku

A compelling memoir: 'vital to write, vital to publish and vital to read.'

Paula MorrisMay 24, 2024

Illustrated Nature Nonfiction Science

Six-legged Ghosts: the Insects of Aotearoa
by Lily Duval

A visually stunning' account of our insect world, 'part story, part history, part philosophy'.

Amy McDaidMay 15, 2024

Art History Māori Nonfiction Photography Society

A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa
ed. Catherine Hammond and Shaun Higgins

'Mirror and portal': photographing New Zealand people and places in the nineteenth century

Joyce CampbellMay 14, 2024