Each month, librarians will bring you a choice selection of stuff for Christchurch youth - books, events, exhibitions, music, movies, tv, podcasts, YouTube channels and more.
Youth Week - 18 to 26 May
There are a bunch of cool events happening at libraries for Youth Week. There's an Art Competition, Comic characters / graphic art workshop, Rap Starter Pack, Black-out poetry, Bad Art Night, and Just Dance-off - find out more.
Alicia - Tūranga
Greek pots and pieces painting night - Friday 24 May 6.30pm to 8.30pm
The Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities is a really interesting place for Classics/History nerds.
Girls with Sharp Sticks Suzanne Young
“Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.”
Mena attends Innovations Academy, an illustrious boarding school for girls. The girls are grateful to the Guardian who protects them from the world, to the Analyst who keeps their emotions in balance, and to their Headmaster who ensures they always look their best. Innovations Academy will make them beautiful and well-behaved girls, free from worry or dangerous opinions. But Mena is beginning to spot cracks in the Academy’s perfect façade. Together her and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what actually happens at the Academy and what will happen to them when they graduate.
Girls with Sharp Sticks is a subversive thriller set in the near future that will appeal to fans of The Handmaid’s Tale. This book examines the double standards that govern women’s lives and challenges the misogyny they face. It’s an impactful and engaging read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
I'm looking forward to Internment by Samira Ahmed
My hold on this just arrived and I can’t wait to get started! I've been trying to read more books with diverse voices and I'm always keen for dystopian/speculative fiction reads which challenge how we view our society. Fingers crossed it's as good as it sounds on the blurb.
Sally - Upper Riccarton
Art Exhibition: Uncovering Hidden Talent - Thursday 23 May 5.30pm to 8.30pm
The Creators’ Room are holding their inaugural art exhibition in Christchurch’s CBD this May. The exhibition is showcasing a collection of artworks from Christchurch Secondary School Visual Arts Students.Opening Night tickets are $25. Limited Tickets. No door sales. The exhibition is also open to the public during the day: Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May from 9am to 4pm. Free entry. Subscribe to the Facebook event.
The online gallery launching this May will be selling limited edition prints of the students work. The original work (approximately 105 pieces of artwork) will be up for sale during the 4-day exhibition with prices ranging from $200 - $800.
20 guest artists from around Canterbury will also be exhibiting at the exhibition including Amelia Guild, Ben Reid, Mark Soltero, Rebecca Stewart, Sarah Anderson, Kate Rivers, Zara Dolan, Rosalind Getty, Olivia Pinckney, Anneke Stewart and Phoebe Senior.
Donna - Web Team
Take a look at these exhibitions that are finishing soon:
Love lives here at CoCA (exhibition finishes 2 June)
Share your thoughts and aroha for those affected by the Christchurch mosque attacks.
We do this at Christchurch Art Gallery (exhibition finishes 3 June)
An awesome lineup of art by New Zealand women artists. I've revisited this one many times, there is lots to love including Judy Darragh's jaunty Rug, Roberta Thiornley's stately photo of her Mum)
Go visit local op shop landmark Tasman Traders at 61 Montreal Street before it closes on Friday 7 June. Any opshoppers know that this is a place where you can CHEAP FASHION GOLD. I'm sorry to hear it is going, plenty of my wardrobe comes from here.
And this new street art is a new fave - you can find it a quick walk from the Bus Interchange. It's in Evolution Square in Tuam Street, between EPIC and Little High Eatery, on Lichfield Street.
Greta - Tūranga
Mean Girls Micol Ostow
Mean girls is now available as a book, not just a movie and it’s a bit of a scream to read. Based on the screenplay by Tina Fey, author Micol Ostow does an excellent job of taking you right back to the gritty trials and tribulations of Cady Heron and “The Plastics”. Life in Cady’s new high school is brutal and her sneaky infiltration into the popular girls group “The Plastics” provides many laugh out loud moments.
Read it for light relief, it's worth it!
Ky - Te Hāpua
I really enjoyed reading The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is about the difficulties of being a teenager, finding new friends, and navigating relationships of all kinds. This novel in verse tracks Xiomara as she decides whether or not to perform slam poetry in her school’s new poetry club. If you like Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Sarah Crossan, this should be going on your TBR list now.
Monique - Fendalton
I Hunt Killers Barry Lyga
I first picked this book up with the intention of reading a ‘trashy paperback’ and was delighted to find that it was far from that. Centred on the son of a notorious serial killer, this series is a must read for all those that enjoyed the likes of Making a Murderer, and Shane Dawson’s The Mind of Jake Paul series.
Falling in the gamer category, YouTuber CallmeKevin has 1.8 million subscribers and produces hilarious videos where he always seems to find some way to accidentally break whatever game he plays. Kevin’s channel has a focus on lesser known games like I Am Bread as well as the more popular titles like Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Sims 4; anything where he can cause a little chaos.
Amy C - Tūranga
My YA book pick is ‘The Belles’ series. I loved this series because it was set in a half-modern/half-steampunk world full of folklore and whimsy. Beauty is the be-all and end-all and the Belles are able to alter physical features to keep up with the latest trends. There is a darker side to this world though, and this has great consequence.
A TV series I enjoyed is Rhys Darby’s Short Poppies. It's also also available at TVNZ OnDemand. This mockumentary stars Rhys Darby who plays a different character in each episode. With his signature quirky wit and creative personalities, this show is a great watch.
Zoe - Papanui
The Skeleton Creek series by Patrick Carman is quite exciting – it’s a mixed-medium horror/mystery book series. Ryan and his friend Sarah are exploring the mystery of Skeleton Creek, with Ryan writing in his journal and Sarah emailing him videos of her investigations. The book has links to a website and webpages with Sarah’s videos, resulting in a super immersive reading experience. Really cool idea and the guys I’ve recommended it to here at Papanui have come back and told me they loved it.
I was introduced to Feed by M.T. Anderson while I was in high school a few years ago, and it became one of those books that really stick with you. ‘Feed’ tells the stories of teenagers in a dystopian near-future where most of the population have brain implants that connect them to an advanced version of the Internet. Written in 2002, it eerily prophesises many of the technological features we have today, especially in data mining with cookies and information fishing programmes running rampant in our use of the Internet and apps. It encourages readers to critically examine issues of corporate power, consumerism, data mining and the deterioration of our environment. Hard-hitting and powerful, this is a must-read – fully recommend!
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a sci-fi novel by Mary E Pearson follows the story of 17-year-old Jenna, who awakens from a coma remembering little of her life. There is a tone throughout the book that is unsettling. Part coming of age, part romance, part mystery, this will be one you can’t put down. Readers I’ve recommended this book to have come back with a resounding 5 star review!
Andrew - New Brighton
This Book Is Gay by James Dawson - a no-hold-barred look at growing up LGBT, funny and informative with great illustrations.
The Arsonist by Stephanie Oakes - two teenage misfits, a boy and a girl, meet and then have to solve a mystery about a teenage girl who died at the time of the falling of the Berlin Wall.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve - I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard it's not a patch on the source material.
Half in Love With Death by Emily Ross - a bit of a slow-burning thriller about a girl whose sister goes missing.
Bronwen - Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre
My daughter just finished reading Consider and Contribute which she really enjoyed! Why she loved them… lots of geeky references to Star Trek, and a bit of Harry Potter and Dr Who too. And the story was exciting and there were several different things going on in the story which made it interesting.
Also of course the latest Miss Peregrine came out not that long ago ...
Riccarton High School
Check out the Riccarton High School Book Club recommendations.
3 word reviews - tu meke!
Armageddon Expo - Saturday 1 June to Monday 3 June
Armageddon Expo is on from Saturday 1 June to Monday 3 June 2019 (Queen's Birthday weekend).
Read Renee's post: Armageddon at Tūranga: Tools for expo prep.
Term one is coming to an end, so we had to have a catch-up with our students to hear about their reading. We tried to use three keywords to sum up our books.
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- Teen booklists We've compiled lists of great books and resources on a bunch of different themes and topics including some aimed at NCEA reading.
- Want to discover some great rainbow reading? Try our topic guide to LGBTQIA+ books and resources for teens, and explore Out on the Shelves:
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