Saturday, 30 July 2016

Teenage pregnancies, apprenticeships and family relationships


NZ Writer  Mary-anne Scott  Coming Home to Roost Longacre 2016 $19.99pb 251pp ISBN 978 1 7755 3859 2 Themes: Apprentice jobs/ Teenage pregnancy/ Wellington NZ

Elliot is 17 and because his parents feel the girl he is currently seeing is a bad influence on him and for other more minor reasons, is sent to live in Wellington with an old mate of his fathers who supervises his apprenticeship as an electrician.  After a ropey start, life settles into a satisfying routine all to be broken when Elliot returns briefly to Auckland, manages to get the old girl friend pregnant and on return to Wellington is held responsible for a workplace accident in which his new boss is injured. There are plenty of storylines being developed here, the action is full on and non-stop and the topics are important ones to explore. I just wasn't totally  convinced by all the characters and the dialogues they had with each other.  However, I am very aware that the writer is the mother of four sons and hears them talking all the time.  I hope the book continues to do well (it was published in June but I have only just got hold of it) and that the audience at whom it is aimed enjoy it and think about the content.

Year 9 up / Age 13 up



Mary-anne Scott’s first book Snakes and Ladders won the Children’s Choice Award in the 2013 NZ Post Book Awards.
For more about her go to: www.maryannescott.nz

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