- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (29 April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0618047565
- ISBN-13: 978-0618047567
- Product Dimensions: 21.9 x 15.1 x 2.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,026,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
Kotuku
Deborha Savage's Kotuku is an interesting read. There is some mystery and Savage is very clever in the way she gradually reveals how Wim's best friend Jilly actually died. Wim is extremely well drawn also. She is a true young adult with all the uncertainties that go with that age and a fair amount of self-absorption. A believable real person is revealed from time to time through the trappings of adolescence.
Yet at times, although the novel is well-written, the narrative can be a little too introspective for even an adult reader. It may irritate a young adult who needs fast pace and high drama. There is risk taking - Wim is very brave in the way she handles her demented great aunt - but it does not go quite far enough. In addition Savage is a little too insistent on the reality of a fantasy thread. It would be much wiser to leave the decisions about this to the imagination of the reader.
This book doesn't quite have the impact of some other similar more literary Young Adult novels. However, it is very readable and it's conclusion is reasonably satisfying.
Deborha Savage's Kotuku is an interesting read. There is some mystery and Savage is very clever in the way she gradually reveals how Wim's best friend Jilly actually died. Wim is extremely well drawn also. She is a true young adult with all the uncertainties that go with that age and a fair amount of self-absorption. A believable real person is revealed from time to time through the trappings of adolescence.
Yet at times, although the novel is well-written, the narrative can be a little too introspective for even an adult reader. It may irritate a young adult who needs fast pace and high drama. There is risk taking - Wim is very brave in the way she handles her demented great aunt - but it does not go quite far enough. In addition Savage is a little too insistent on the reality of a fantasy thread. It would be much wiser to leave the decisions about this to the imagination of the reader.
This book doesn't quite have the impact of some other similar more literary Young Adult novels. However, it is very readable and it's conclusion is reasonably satisfying.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Maoris, horses, and finding our place
3 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover
This wonderful book may have a hard time finding its audience, but I hope it finds you. Readers who bring to it their curiosity and imagination, and a romantic fascination for the world will find their own worlds all the richer for it. And find enough to whet their appetites for further adventures, as it contains a splendid spread of tantalizing elements: horses, history, adventures of the heart and on land/seafaring, exotic cultures (Maori/New Zealand), and the powerful ways myths make a people connected, no matter how scattered across the globe, no matter what families we find ourselves in. These things are all enlivened by characters you grow to love, which after all is the thing that draws us into any book's world, isn't it? Some of the characters you'll wish you got to know better... But I found I knew their counterparts in my own circle of friends, over the years. I thought the author brought them to life with few strokes. I liked that the author put a glossary of Maori terms at the back; her love and respect for these people shows in the details, knowing touches. The main character's life is shown both gentle and harsh, and I think you'll like that. She reacts to its complexity with a confusion natural regardless of her age, finding mysteries hidden within mysteries, like Chines boxes. Life is like that, and there's a nice wisdom here for the reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
This was an interesting book
13 Jan 2005
Format:Hardcover
When i read books i only go up to the first three pages but when I was reading Kotuku it was different because i kept reading. This book was so interesting and it tought me new things about other cultures and that it was different view on other things. This book was just very interesting and fun to read because it was a mystery book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Wow
22 Oct 2003
Format:Hardcover
I have read some of Ms. Savage's previous work, and it's been on my mind lately. I finished this book today, after checking it out yesterday reading the bulk of it in a few hours. I could not put it down.
The story is perhaps farfetched, but I found myself identifying in so many ways to Wim that it didn't matter. There are little words of wisdom in here everywhere, and it addresses a lot of real life issues. I found the ending somewhat less than satisfactory, but as a whole, I'm rather in awe of the book. Worth reading.
The story is perhaps farfetched, but I found myself identifying in so many ways to Wim that it didn't matter. There are little words of wisdom in here everywhere, and it addresses a lot of real life issues. I found the ending somewhat less than satisfactory, but as a whole, I'm rather in awe of the book. Worth reading.
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