David Hill: The sleeper wakes

This explosive story for 8-to 14-year-olds describes an eruption at Mt Taranaki. Corey is a boy who loves the mountain, and spends a lot of time climbing there with his dad. One day, they hear the first rumblings of the sleeper, and after that, life in drowsy Taranaki is never the same again.

Hill transcribes his considerable knowledge of volcanoes into easy-to-read, nail-biting drama, skilfully setting the build-up of those tremendous earth forces alongside the simultaneous human upheavals: Corey's developing friendship with a girl named Alex, and the sheer excitement and danger of people being stuck on the mountain as it really starts to blow.

Puffin

$13.95