The best local books published this year, as selected by books editor Claire Mabey and a panel of experts.
Welcome to the first of three best-of-books lists for 2024. These are the New Zealand books, for both children and adults, published in 2024, that stuck with our panel of writers, reviewers and literary programmers over the course of their year in reading.
Adult novels
All that we know by Shilo Kino (Moa Press)
Kino’s starring character, Māreikura, has got to be one of the characters of 2024. As Natasha Lampard wrote in her rave review on The Spinoff, Māreikura is “magnetic, fractious, both fearless and fearful, at times, wholly exasperating. She’s skilled in overthinking, filled with paradox and potent ideas, and with a yearning: a deep longing for belonging.” Kino’s cast of characters and deeply inquiring tone gives depth and multiplicity which is a rare feat of art-making in today’s increasingly polemical world. / Claire Mabey, books editor, The Spinoff
Amma by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press)
From the get you know you’re in good hands as de Silva vividly paints her intergenerational family saga, seamlessly moving between timeframes and countries while showing a particular gift for establishing place. Amma feels like the work of a seasoned pro; the fact that it’s De Silva’s debut makes her achievement even more astonishing. / Victor Rodger, writer and producer
Ash by Louise Wallace (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
I was hooked from the first sentence to the last. This short, explosive, funny novel about motherhood, work and the natural world lit the fire of recognition in me. Wallace is a masterful craftsperson, too: the form of Ash (prose spiked with poetry that accentuates and distils the voice of the main character, Thea) is inventive and exhilarating. I’d recommend this novel to anyone and everyone because it’s got everything in one compact package: anger, animals, history, fear, comedy, and love. You can read my more thorough review of it on The Spinoff, here. / CM
Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
A stunning novel about the beginning of the last stage of life. Wilkins’ deeply drawn portraits of a couple in their seventies is moving, at times funny, at time spiky, at times surprising. The novel is generous in all ways: towards its characters, towards its readers, and towards the idea of life and death itself. “I have a very tender heart and it feels stronger for having read it.” wrote Gabi Lardies in our conversation about this book. / CM
Kataraina by Becky Manwatu (Mākaro Press)
Becky Manawatu’s extraordinary debut novel Auē knocked me for six and I didn’t think it would be possible to love the sequel even more than that special book. Yet here we are. Revisiting the Te Au whānau, Kataraina is a refined and evocative novel written with such hospitable, attentive delicacy, steeped in the natural world, Te Ao Māori, kai, women as the bracings of family and community, and it chimes in the key of the Kāi Tahu dialect. Manawatu’s writing is as intensely beautiful as it is diamond hard. / Kiran Dass, programme director, WORD Christchurch
My Brilliant Sister by Amy Brown (Simon & Schuster)
An undersung triumph of artistic inquiry. New Zealand writer Amy Brown’s three-part novel takes the iconic Australian writer Stella Maria Miles Franklin as a catalyst for looking at the struggle for creative fulfilment for women across time. Brown’s story is told by three different women: two in the present time and one in the past (Miles Franklin’s sister). Names are mirrored and Miles Franklin’s influence echoes through the characters to prompt readers to question what it means to yearn for, and seek, creative freedom. / CM
Poorhara by Michele Rahurahu (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Poorhara is about two cousins on a turbulent road-trip in search of – or escape from – big parts of themselves and their histories. It’s a journey and a narrative with no easy resolutions, and Rarurahu demonstrates skill beyond her years in how she balances grit with grace, hard stuff with humour, huge societal issues with the personal. And perhaps most impactfully: crafts two central characters you root for hard throughout the ride. / Lyndsey Fineran, artistic director, Auckland Writers Festival
Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin)
I’ve read over 100 books this year, and I’m genuinely delighted that one of them was Danielle Hawkins’ Take Two. It might not have been the best or most challenging book I’ve read this year, but few authors proved to have such a handle on both their material and audience as Hawkins does. She presents the real world with the crusts cut off – characters with believable dramas but non-triggering traumas, a setting that is familiar without being ingratiating, and a plot that is believable without being completely dull. It’s a comfort read, and in 2024 of all years, comfort is a privilege that can’t be turned down. / Sam Brooks, author of Dramatic Pause newsletter
The Mires by Tina Makereti (Ultimo Press)
Makereti’s novel is timely and timeless: taking on the intense pressures of the climate crisis, the toxic effects of racism and the patriarchy, the novel is, nevertheless, ultimately hopeful and uses the power of water and mothers to weave a story about community to engage in the projects of connection and deep empathy. / CM
The Royal Free by Carl Shuker (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Dazzling, compulsive, original. James Ballard has recently lost his wife and is now the sole carer for their baby. He’s also an editor at The Royal London Journal of Medicine and an acute observer of both language and people. This novel had me holding my breath (god, Shuker writers tension so well, too well), and lingering over linguistic wit and revelation. Absolutely brilliant. / CM
Adult Nonfiction
Bad Archive by Flora Feltham (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
This is a masterclass in the personal essay, weaving the raw emotional stuff of life together with the author’s explorations of memory, textiles, romance writing, archival practice, gulls, grief, marriage, the tip, and more. Rarely has a book found such an immediate and lasting place in my heart. / Ash Davida Jane, author of How to Live with Mammals
Becoming Aotearoa by Michael Belgrave (Massey University Press)
A doorstop of a book that is absolutely worth the time investment. Belgrave’s book is major: it covers an astonishing breadth of Aotearoa’s storied existence from the arrival of the first waka to the anti-mandate occupation of parliament. The real success of the book is its accessibility: Belgrave avoids the obfuscation of an academic writing style in favour of fluid, compelling storytelling that marries deep research with an obvious passion for how events shape who we are. / CM
Bound: A memoir of making and unmaking by Maddie Ballard (The Emma Press)
A gorgeous essay collection about sewing. I loved what Rose Lu said about this book at Ballard’s launch so I am going to steal her words (with permission): “We learn about all the different techniques involved in sewing. We learn about the properties of cloth. And we learn how to fix our mistakes, which thankfully is much easier in sewing than it is in real life.” And this: “Every essay breathes life into the materials from which it is made. Maddie writes of the corduroy that sulks, the cobalt linen that’s so beautiful that its sentient, the crunkle of freshly washed denim in the hand.” A tactile, evocative collection from a brilliant writer. / CM (and Rose Lu, author of All Who Live on Islands)
Do You Still Have Time for Chaos? by Lynn Davidson
Something I read in very early 2024, but really stuck with me, was poet Lynn Davidson’s compelling and wide-ranging memoir Do You Still Have Time for Chaos? Ostensibly it’s about Davidson’s decision as a 50-something to leave her life in Aotearoa to build a new one in Scotland. But it also spans witches, courageous women in her family history and gives an almost rebellious respect to women who choose to live outside of expected domestic lines. What a title too. / Lyndsey Fineran, artistic director, Auckland Writers Festival
First Things by Harry Ricketts (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
I absolutely loved this memoir from creative writing teacher and professor of English, Harry Ricketts. It’s an immersive drop into Ricketts’ early life at boarding school in England, then prep school, Oxford and working in Hong Kong. It’s thoughtful, honest (bringing the reader so close to the alarming and the charming – it’s gripping stuff!). When I finished First Things I immediately yearned for part two to find out what happens to Rickett’s first marriage, his move to Aotearoa and everything that came with it. / Claire Mabey, books editor, The Spinoff
Future Jaw-Clap: The Primitive Art Group and Braille Collective Story by Daniel Beban (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
I will always champion the DIY spirit of the musical underground and Aotearoa has a long, rich tradition of radical and influential sonic exploration. Dan Beban’s thrilling Future Jaw-Clap is not only a celebration of Wellington free jazz ensemble Primitive Art Group and the inventive Braille Collective community around them, it’s also a fascinating look at the social geography and cultural history of Wellington in the 1970s through to the early 90s. The group surfed the shifting ground of the Muldoon era and Rogernomics to contribute a compelling chapter in Aotearoa’s music history, documented here. Meticulously researched, thoughtfully structured and beautifully produced making effective use of archival images, this is an inspirational portal to the local history of a freak music zone. / Kiran Dass, programme director, WORD Christchurch
Geckos & Skinks: The Remarkable Lizards of Aotearoa by Anna Yeoman (Potton & Burton)
This book has just been published and is full of beautiful photography and tight, engrossing chapters. / Catherine Woulfe, editor, NZ Geographic
Hard by the Cloud House by Peter Walker (Massey University Press)
I love nonfiction that investigates an idea from all angles. Hard by the Cloud House takes the Pouākai or Hōkioi, the Haast Eagle, as the centrepoint from which to search Aotearoa and the world for stories, and evidence, of giant eagles. Gorgeous writing, an expansive journey, a passionate quest to right wrongs./ CM
Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery by Ngahuia te Awekotuku (HarperCollins NZ)
As a recovering historian and forever gossip, this was an easy choice for me. I haven’t been a reader of autobiographies since I was at high school and my English teacher suggested to my sports-mad self that I read biographies of rugby players. Hine Toa not only amazed, inspired and shocked me but, in the same vein as Josh Kronfeld’s On the Loose for 14-year-old me, it gave me titillating insights into a life being lived truly to the full. / Matariki Williams, ATE Journal
Kahurangi: The nature of Kahurangi National Park and Northwest Nelson by Dave Hansford (Potton & Burton)
Potton & Burton regularly publish some of the finest nature books in New Zealand. My favourite this year is Kahurangi, a sweeping, enormous book with photos that take your breath away. It’s a close encounter with the biodiversity of Kahurangi national park and why we have to protect it: lush, beautifully written and urgent. / CM
Leslie Adkin: Farmer Photographer by Athol McCredie (Te Papa University Press)
In this beautiful book curator Athol McCredie has gathered together photography by Leslie Adkin who captured early New Zealand farming life in black and white. The images are incredibly evocative, sensational: reproduced so crisply there is real magic in these windows to the past and its people. A book to keep on the coffee table to return to again and again. / CM
Sight Lines: Women and Art in Aotearoa by Kirsty Baker (Auckland University Press)
I cried when I opened this book. There was nothing like it when I studied Art History in the early 2000s which left huge gaps and a yearning to fill them. This book does that with its deep dive into 35 women artists, with stunning design and images. A landmark book for anyone remotely interesting in art in Aotearoa. / CM
The Chthonic Cycle by Una Cruickshank
Una Cruickshank’s The Chthonic Cycle is at the top of my list. These are essays about geological time, and what we value, and where it’s leading us. “All of the amber in the world was born from wounds,” is how she opens one essay. Clear and golden. / CW
The Mermaid Chronicles: A Midlife Mer-moir by Megan Dunn (Penguin NZ)
This book tells you everything you always wanted to know about mermaids but were afraid to ask. It’s also a book about love and hope. (And funny, too.) / Harry Ricketts, author of First Things, and Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes: The Story of an Ashes Classic
The Team That Hit The Rocks: The Inside Story of the Wāhine Disaster by Peter Jerram (Bateman)
I love a page turner and history lesson in one. Retired Marlborough veterinarian Peter Jerram tells a cracking yarn packed with action and sensitive reflection recalling his and his uni cricket teammates’ experiences onboard the doomed Wāhine. He also brings his sailor’s experience and much research to his argument about why the ship foundered (spoiler alert: it wasn’t only the weather). / Sonia O’Regan, Marlborough Book Festival Trustee
The Unsettled: Small stories of Colonisation by Richard Shaw (Massey University Press)
Richard Shaw’s generous and expansive companion to his memoir, The Forgotten Coast. The Unsettled is part of Shaw’s project to untangle the truth from the mythology of Pākehā stories of settlement in Aotearoa. In this book, Shaw speaks to other Pākehā who are looking fearlessly at their own stories of settlement and seeing them for what they are: stories of colonisation. The brilliance of the book is Shaw’s generous and fair approach: there is no judgement of our ancestors, only the cathartic process of understanding and perspective. Once the facts are sorted and properly acknowledged, we can figure out what to do from there. / CM
Whaea Blue by Talia Marshall (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
I doubt that Talia Marshall could write an unoriginal sentence if she tried. Whaea Blue, her wildly inventive/ hard-to-pigeonhole non-fiction debut features a collection of unforgettable stories which each contain memorable lines too numerous to mention. Three tasters:
“Bad luck attaches itself to me like lint.”
“I have a lazy person’s tendency to romanticise service workers.”
“Our past is told to us by the settlers through the murky filter of their colonising sentiments, and worse, their anxieties.” / VR
Children’s novels
Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie by Shelley Burne-Field (Allen & Unwin)
Burne-Field is a superb writer for adults and now children can experience her crisp and immersive prose style. Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie is a raucous, riveting adventure story about sibling dynamics and navigating big, difficult facts of life. It brings to mine the great Watership Down but it in truly distinctive Aotearoa style. / CM
Brown Bird by Jane Arthur (Penguin NZ)
I adored this novel about shy, anxious Rebecca and her summer with effervescent Chester. Arthur manages to hone in on the drama of everyday life trying to be yourself within family, within friends, within community. It’s a bold, perfect little novel that hits close to the bone in beautiful and moving ways. / CM
Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg (Penguin NZ)
I love this book so much, so does our Festival’s 12-year-old reading consultant (thanks Penelope). Gregg weaves history, fantasy, and comedy seamlessly through this coming-of-age experience set in late 70s and early 80s Ngāruawāhia. The protagonist Titch is looking for buried treasure on her family farm, and along the way is learning about her identity and heritage as a Māori girl. The reader is alongside her as her world expands; there’s laugh-out-loud humour and deeply moving moments too. I love the way this story illuminates history and reveals how connected the past is to the present, to the future and to the very personal experiences of individuals and communities, without ever being instructive. Simply brilliant story telling. / Sonia O’Regan, Marlborough Book Festival Trustee
Migration by Steph Matuku (Huia Publishers)
I am constantly astounded by Steph Matuku’s skill and ability to write for such a broad range of ages, regularly gifting children and young people with unique and humorous stories. Migration is a thrilling science fiction YA that transports us far into the future. Steph has conjured a vivid new reality with great care and authenticity. She weaves her signature humour together with fast-paced prose while powerfully tackling topics such as colonisation, violence and enforced migration. Reviews have said it stands up to The Hunger Games, and I cannot agree more./ Gabrielle Vincent, programmer, Auckland Writers Festival
Rimu: The Tree of Time – an Amorangi and Millie Adventure by Lauren Keenan (Huia Publishers)
A fabulous time-travel adventure from passionate writer and history buff, Lauren Keenan. I absolutely love how Keenan manages to make history live through objects and pure, thrilling plot-fuelled storytelling. / CM
The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
MacDibble is a pro. Bastienne Scull is a witnesser of miracles in a small village of women and girls, in a world where men fall ill to a sickness. The worldbuilding is four-dimensional, the storytelling rich and crystal clear. It’s atmospheric and hopeful and absolutely perfect for young readers. / CM
The Grimmelings by Rachael King (Allen & Unwin)
I have been devouring middle-grade fiction this year and Rachael King’s The Grimmelings had me spellbound. It is a fantasy adventure novel full of mystery and magic and steeped in Scottish folklore. A family is haunted by a monstrous kelpie, a black horse-like creature that appears after Ella utters a curse to a boy at school, who then goes missing. King has expertly crafted this story and had me gripped from start to finish. The suspense is intense, so don’t forget to breathe! / GV
The Raven’s Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey (Allen & Unwin)
We gave this novel to our boy for his 11th birthday and he loved it so much that we’ve gifted it on to two other kids. From the mouths of future arts critics, here are their whakaaro. Te Ahuru, 11: “It’s good, too good for words. Five stars. I hope there’s a sequel!”; Escher, 11: “It wasn’t a quick and easy read but good all the same. I enjoyed it.”; James, 10: “Funny and witty, when you think it’s smooth sailing, it suddenly goes up a level. Set in an old-fashioned time but the author makes it feel like the future.” / MW
Children’s nonfiction
Kiwi Bees Have Tiny Knees: Native Bees of Aotearoa New Zealand by Rachel Weston
I absolutely love this gorgeous nonfiction picture book which has had our Bay of Plenty tamariki in its thrall since its release in September. Readily recognisable by its cover – a bee resplendent in pōhutukawa red – the text, photographs, and interactive activities are equally vibrant, perfect for shared reading in schools and at home. Informative and engaging, no other book features our native bees and their importance to our ecosystem. Already a Notable Book Award-winner for nonfiction, this book is sure to be a Kiwi classic. / Lee Murray, author of Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud
Saving Wānanga: The true story of a kea rescue by Kris Herbert and illustrated by Dїne (Potton & Burton)
My son and I read this book three times within a week of receiving it. The illustrations are stunning, watercoloury beauty. The writing is clear, compelling; and the story of a sick Kea is gripping. A reminder that Aotearoa is a goldmine of natural history storytelling that can emotionally bind children to the beautiful, but human-impacted, world around them. / CM
Tasting with your feet by Ned Barraud (Potton & Burton)
Exceptional illustrations accompany fascinating facts about butterflies tasting with their feet, sharks sensing their prey’s electric pulses, and godwits using the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate from Alaska to New Zealand. Barraud has woven in some human comparisons to help us put the animal and insect senses in context. A very cool non-fiction book to trigger all kinds of discussions and, hopefully, spark an interest in science and the natural world. / Kate Gordon-Smith, author of the Red Collie Mysteries and owner of the Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore.
Tramp to the Blue Range Hut by Caz Bartholomew
This slim pick-a-path adventure story for teens by tramping enthusiast Caz Bartholomew is about two friends taking a tramp in the Tararua Ranges. Bartholomew’s lean style of writing takes the reader from one possible storyline after another, depending what you think the friends decide at each point. Safety tips, with input from Land Search and Rescue NZ, form an underlying theme to the stories. I ended up reading every possible path – be prepared for some blunt realities of not being well prepared for tramping adventures! / KGS
Poetry
Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud by Lee Murray (The Cuba Press)
This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. The central premise is that a fox spirit inhabits the lives of migrant Chinese women in Aotearoa and reveals the intimate details of their lives. There is violence, racism, struggle. But there is profound beauty in Murray’s writing and in the indomitable fox spirit who carries as through, shows us resilience and reflection. A truly remarkable read. / Claire Mabey, books editor, The Spinoff
Faces and Flowers: Poems to Patricia France by Dinah Hawken (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
This collection carries on a series of imagined conversations with Dunedin artist Patricia France (1911-1995) and her work. Hawken’s quietly arresting unrhymed sonnets, like the beautifully reproduced paintings, meditate on families, friendship, feminism, ageing, enduring, climate change …. A feast for eye, ear and mind. / HR
Hibiscus Tart by Carin Smeaton (Titus Books)
I have been a huge fan of Carin Smeaton for years and Hibiscus Tart doesn’t disappoint. Smeaton reframes and reclaims words, gobbling them up like ripe fruit and spitting out the seeds. It’s a collection about personal and societal resistance from a voice that refuses to wear other people’s shame. / Michelle Rahurahu, author of Poorhara
i’m still growing by Josiah Morgan (Dead Bird Books)
This is a book that requires you to read while in a trance; the language will run you over and sweep you into the realm of chaos that “young people” inhibit, seemingly with a sense of patupaiarehe-ified mischief?? Morgan is a startling talent, I hope he kills me one day. / MR
Killer Rack by Sylvan Spring (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Earlier this year, I reviewed Sylvan Spring’s Killer Rack, and wrote that I wanted this line tattooed on my soul: “I’m as in love with you as I am with this song, and being in love with my friends is all I really aspire to in this life.” There has barely been a day where I don’t think about that line, or some other gorgeous observation from this debut poetry collection. It’s what the best poetry should be: emotionally febrile, world-view expanding, and devastatingly authentic. / SB
Liar, Liar, Lick Spit by Emma Neale (Otago University Press)
A brand new collection from Ōtepoti poet, Emma Neale. This book features lies, fibs, myths and misunderstandings. Mostly though, I found it to be a compelling exploration of loss and love. A vulnerable, generous work. / Louise Wallace, author of Ash
Plastic by Stacey Teague (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Plastic is a generous and finely honed collection that both grounds me and makes me braver. Stacey Teague takes us on a journey of uncovering and reconnecting with her whakapapa, reaching back to her tūpuna, her literary ancestors, and to her younger self through her poems. / ADJ
Town by Madeleine Slavic (The Cuba Press)
This is a stunning collection of 50 poems and images by the poet-photographer-storyteller, her startling reflections on the quirky strangeness, the off-beat sharpness, of small-town Aotearoa. I bought my full-colour volume (signed!) after hearing the poet in conversation at Featherston Book Festival where she shared insights into her process and her inspiration. I went home and devoured the book in a sitting, immediately forlorn at the nostalgia of never being able to have that first immersive, lemon-zest experience again. Since then, I have been dipping into the poems before bed, re-discovering my country and its people through fresh eyes. “Turn left and the heart blinks.” / LM