Red Rocks is New Zealand writer Rachael King’s first novel for children and is a delight to read. The book focuses around Jake- a young fellow who is visiting his father who lives near Wellington’s wild South Coast.
I’m liking
The landscape in this novel is evocative and anyone who has visited Red Rocks will feel very at home. There is a sense of the wild, rugged, wilderness and something of the quirky, eccentric nature of this piece of the coastline.
Drawing heavily on the myths of the Selkies- seals who come ashore as people- this story mixes the magical of myth with some lovely everyday moments between Jake and his dad as well as a very grounded subplot about bullying.
The conclusion
This book would would be well suited to pre-teens… perhaps 8-12 year olds? Having a boy as the central character as well as a few good moments of action means that it’s very accessible for boys. However, I’m sure that many girls would also enjoy this story.
