Anaru Bickford

I was drawn to this book by the name. Aroha is the Maori word for love. And Aroha, the character, is perhaps the most unloveable character I have ever met. She's rude and unpleasant and perhaps she has reason for being guarded and anti-social, but that doesn't change the fact that I could not feel any real empathy towards her.

This book is bad. It is the sort of book that I would imagine was self-published, except that it's not. This book is published by Pear Jam books, a small NZ company that in order to be considered for publication by them, you have to go via a book editting service. And I would say, there were no spelling mistakes and the ebook layout was impeccable. Yet, somehow a "where" had slipped in instead of a "we're". Anyhow, grammatical errors are small niggles, and this book failed me on so many levels.

Aside from the distinctly unlikeable protagonist, the plot is lame and linear - Aroha has known from the time that she was four that the world was going to burn and she was going to be the sole survivor. She frequently dreams of fire and devastation. Meanwhile, she's going to school in a future America, which was probably the most interesting part of the book. Future America has shut its gates to the outside world, and appears to be at war with some unknown enemy. Security is so tight that you cannot even go to the shopping mall without a full body scan and leaving the country to return to your homeland of New Zealand is impossible. Aroha lives here with her Aunt and Uncle and a cousin that hates her and indeed tries to kill her (for reasons that become known later in the plot). At about 56% of the way through the story stops being a dull but readable account of life as a teenager in this other America, and the supernatural side kicks in. Aroha is attacked in a limousine - in what is a rather poorly written fight scene - and rescued by a beautiful man called Gabe. Upon seeing him, Aroha - the antisocial and guarded girl, suddenly realises that not only does she love him, but she has for years (he appeared in one of her previous dreams)and they then go on a roadtrip across Arizona and end up in some meteor crater with a false prophet.

Then the bad thing happens - and it is the moon breaking from its orbit and moving closer to the earth.
Something that has been done far more convincingly in the Last Survivors trilogy.

At this point I gave up reading in detail and skimmed to the ending. But the relationship between Gabe and Aroha was completely flat, and as a reader I felt no emotional linkage whatsoever to any of the characters. Even when the reason for cousin Mary's hatred was revealed it was unaffecting - surely Aroha's mother could have explained a better reason for her unexpected pregnancy than to say her brother had raped her? I mean... you must really hate your brother if you decide to pin your virgin pregnancy on him.

And for those of you who have read through this review and are still considering this as a read for teenagers, I should also mention that the "F-bomb" is dropped on several occasions, and although Gabe and Aroha do have sex, it's entirely between chapters and included just so that when the world ends and she survives she can be pregnant with his children. So presumerably she's birthing a litter (okay, they're twins). Alone. In a world devastated by fire. Good luck to her.

Basically, if I could ask for my money back, I would. I cannot believe this is a book that is professionally published. I have read so many self-published books that are better designed and far better executed.
… (plus d'informations)

'How will love survive, when the whole world's on fire?" Tauranga author Anarau Bickford has written a story about a Maori girl named Aroha, which means 'love' in Maori. She has moved to America to live with her Aunt and Uncle, along with her cousin Mary. Aroha's cousin takes any opportunity to harass her or do her harm. Aroha is no cowed victim, however, she stands up to the bullying and can best anyone in a fight.

Aroha is different from other people; she has been dreaming of the end of the world since she fell out of a tree at age four. The dreams of late have been becoming more scary and realistic, as if the end of the world is coming fast. The reader discovers who Aroha really is when the angel, Gabe, is sent to help her and they fall in love. We also find out why Mary hates Aroha so much, enough to want her dead as payback for things in the past that happened before Aroha was even born.

Aroha is a very strong character, and she will need to be for the journey ahead. It's great to see such a strong female protaganist. The language is easy to read and the content would be suitable from early teens upwards. An excellent first book.… (plus d'informations)

Aroha, a proud Maori teenager, moves to the USA to live with her aunt, uncle and a cousin Mary. Mary believes it is Aroha that has torn apart the family they both shared, she hassles her daily, trying to under mind her. But along with Mary’s anger Aroha has to cope with scarily vivid dreams ones she has had since childhood and they are starting to recur more often as the months go on; flames, death, destruction and a vision of out of the ordinary young man.
She is anxious to find out what the dreams mean, and who the young man is, and why she can sense the end of the world coming.

I just love reading New Zealand authors, and having Anaru Bickford’s book to read was a delight. The plot line and word pictures bring together the plight of Aroha and her life’s meaning, she is a strong and energetic character filled with the passion to succeed.
The language is easy to comprehend, making it suitable for reader over 11 years old who are just getting into the dystopian genre. An extra plus for the book is cover of Aroha is just stunning and makes you want to pick it up to read. Looking forward to the next novel written by Anaru.… (plus d'informations)