Friday 18 October 2019

A New Zealand book every kid should read before the age of 12 - Alex by Tessa Duder




The New Zealand Book Council came up with a list of books by New Zealanders that they reckon every kid should have read by the age of 12.  I decided to check out the ones I haven't read and post about the ones I agreed were good (in no particular order).

Alex was written in 1987 but was set in 1959.  The protagonist is a schoolgirl who is a bit of an overachieverl.  Amongst other things she is trying to get selected for the Rome Olympic swimming team.  The story has quite a few twists and turns and I enjoyed it as an adult and can see why teenage girls went for it big time.

This was the first of a quartet of books about Alex.   I am going to read the others as well.

Flawless writing – at times hilarious, at times heart wrenching.  Cracking good.

1 comment:

  1. I knew a girl in high school who made the Olympic swimming team and won a Gold Medal!

    ReplyDelete

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