Rachael King: What I'm reading

“Eleven-year-old Maddy’s diary of the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 (My New Zealand Story: Canterbury Quake, by Desna Wallace) makes me wish I kept a diary of my own family’s experiences. But having this record is the next best thing. As I read I find myself remembering exactly where I was on any given day and what I was feeling.

“While some Christchurch kids might not be ready to be transported back there, this is essential reading for children outside Christchurch, to witness not the terror and excitement, but what they haven’t seen on TV as much: the stress and the sheer drudgery of life in the city after the earthquakes — disrupted schooling, broken roads, Portaloos and liquefaction clean-up. And at the centre, a gorgeous girl whose best friend has fled to Timaru and who loves to sing.”