Red Rocks

I first heard about this book through a REALM (Reading & Literacy in Manawatu)event in Palmerston North. This book was being reviewed and i thought it would be great for our library. It was then a finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards so i bought it and then read it so that i could promote it to students. It is well written and casts an eerie atmosphere throughout, i feel readers will be moved by this captivating story. While holidaying at his father's house, 12-year-old Jake explores the wild south coast of Wellington, with its high cliffs, biting winds, and its fierce seals. When Jake stumbles upon a perfectly preserved sealskin, hidden in a crevice at Red Rocks, he takes it home and, worried his father will disapprove, hides show more it under his bed. Jake meets Jim, an old man who lives in a shack on the beach, and his grand-daughter Jessie, a small girl with dark eyes and a pointy face, who speaks strangely and who frolics in the water without ever feeling the cold (a selkie). Who is the red-haired woman who wanders barefoot around the beaches and the streets, peering into houses? Could she be looking for her skin so she can return to the sea? Is Jake now in danger? Red Rocks takes the Celtic myth of the Selkies, or seal people, and transplants it into the New Zealand landscape, throwing an ordinary boy into an adventure tinged with magic. show less

This proved to be rather a quick read - devoured in less than a day. It was a decent adventure story, set in the wild coast of Wellington and focussing around a male protagonist of unspecified age - but I would guess in the 11-14 margin. the writing style is relatively simplistic - not as lyrical as King's adult novels, and of a good pace for the impatient young read - probably intended for boys aged 10 . The story line was somewhat predictable to a fable veteran like myself, but I imagine to a younger reader there may have been a few surprises. The characters were well developed, and I rather liked the young girl, Jessie. The only thing that jarred with me a bit was the incorporation of Celtic mythology in New Zealand - I'm more used show more to writers using Maori lore, but we're such a diverse country ethnically, it's not surprising that celtic fae might have migrated here too. show less