by Joanna Orwin
Published by Harper Collins Publishers, 2011, Auckland
I am impressed! Why are all of the new books so, so good? I liked "Sacrifice" so much, it was hard to stop reading to do the other tasks that needed doing this weekend. But now it is finished, and I can't wait to get into another new book.
Sacrifice is set in the South Pacific in the future. But in a way, you could be forgiven if at moments you thought it was in the past. The residents of New Zealand's Northland are finding life to be very tough. The residents are food gatherers rather than cultivators because the land has been devastated by volcanoes and tsunamis. But some of the elders can remember a time when there were particular crops, long gone, which may once again suit the environment they now find themselves in. So five young men are sent out on a remarkable journey across the dangerous seas to see if they can find remnants of those crops in the unknown lands to the north. The survival of the Northland residents depends on the success of these "travellers". Will the god of the sea protect them in their quest?
Recommended for Year 9 - adults
