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My New Zealand Story
Canterbury Quake
Maddy is a typical 11-year-old girl living in Christchurch - her diary starts in early August with her desperate for a mobile phone, and talking about her best friend Laura, Glee and singing in the school choir, homework, teachers, her siblings ... And then the first earthquake hits on 4 September and her world changes.....
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2014
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129 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 21, 2014
11 year old Maddy’s dairy of the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 made 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 found 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 Christchurch post-quake - 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. Highly recommended.
March 23, 2014
I thought I knew a lot about the Christchurch earthquake, but Maddy's diary entries give a far better insight into the ongoing difficulties faced by the people living through it than anything I read in newspapers or saw on TV. The entries are mostly short and simple, yet convincingly portray the fear, the stress and the huge disruption to everyday life for the kids and adults in Maddy's life. Details of the earthquakes and aftershocks are effectively interspersed with Maddy's attempts to carry on life as normal with new friends and singing events. The portrayal of Maddy's deepening relationship with her sister and their gradual willingness to open up and discuss their feelings was particularly moving. An excellent but emotional read.
March 26, 2014
Very well written. It shares the usually very adult emotions well along with the stages of grieving. I, as an adult, can remember doing so many of the things Maddy did and the story reminds me to be very proud of the young people who have lived through this, especially those whose families chose to stay so they had to as well.
April 21, 2014
At times this book was hard to read. Many of the book's details about how people felt and were (and still are) affected have not made it into the national news.
May 16, 2016
I read this book to feel and to know what it was like to witness the devastating Canterbury earthquake. I made a real connection to this book as this natural disaster effected my whole family, I had cousins, old family friends and even people that have moved from Auckland who were one of the victims of the earthquake.
This book is a diary of what Maddy struggled through at the time of the earthquake. Maddy is a persistent character in this book, she looks to make new friends and get on with life even though what has happened to her. I found Maddy a very interesting character because she is someone that never gives up and always puts in 100% to everything.
"At about 1:30 this morning we all woke up to another horrible shake." This is what people in Canterbury had to deal with every day, in the morning, at night, during the day, there was always many horrible earthquakes. To me this quote explains the tough times people went through, getting woken up at 1:30 and never going back to sleep because you're to scared. I just can't imagine the pain and exhaustion these people went through.
I learned that in this book people never give up, even in horrible disasters people are still fighting for themselves and helping each other. People come together as a community to help out one another. People in Christchurch till this day are still repairing their houses. It is a struggle for everyone but no one gave up.
By Archie
This book is a diary of what Maddy struggled through at the time of the earthquake. Maddy is a persistent character in this book, she looks to make new friends and get on with life even though what has happened to her. I found Maddy a very interesting character because she is someone that never gives up and always puts in 100% to everything.
"At about 1:30 this morning we all woke up to another horrible shake." This is what people in Canterbury had to deal with every day, in the morning, at night, during the day, there was always many horrible earthquakes. To me this quote explains the tough times people went through, getting woken up at 1:30 and never going back to sleep because you're to scared. I just can't imagine the pain and exhaustion these people went through.
I learned that in this book people never give up, even in horrible disasters people are still fighting for themselves and helping each other. People come together as a community to help out one another. People in Christchurch till this day are still repairing their houses. It is a struggle for everyone but no one gave up.
By Archie
April 22, 2019
I initially started reading this book to see if it would be suitable for my 9 year old daughter to read. I really enjoyed it. The quakes described through Maddy's experiences gave me a small insight into what it was like for a child, but also for her parents during those difficult times. I never understood how frequent and disruptive all of the aftershocks were until reading this book, and how so many children had to move schools and have such a disjointed education for those couple of years. Maddy and her family showed vulnerability, courage, resilience and kindness. My daughter did read this after me, and she found the quakes scary to read about, but she really connected with Maddy and liked reading about her everyday life, how she coped with the quakes, her friendships and school.
March 7, 2020
First published in 2014, this 11 year old's story of living in Christchurch through the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 is so very well written that it must have seemed like an obvious reprint for this, the tenth anniversary of that time. Canterbury Quake is one of the very best in Scholastic's My New Zealand Story series, with the diary form suiting it perfectly.
As Maddy discovers, writing in her diary really helps her cope: “Since the earthquake I have written so much in this diary I can hardly believe it, but there is always something happening, and with so many people in the house now, it is getting really crowded. It's hard to find a quiet place to write, but it does make me feel better when I do get to write things down.”
Maddy describes her reactions to the September 4 earthquake – disbelief, fear, horror, shock, and her responses to the necessary restrictions to this family's lives – a hole in the garden for a toilet – yuck! She observes and records the reactions of her older sister Tessa and young brother Jackson, their parents, grandmother, aunt and uncle as they attempt to pick their lives up and continue on.
Maddy even attempts to express her feelings in poems.
Her life appears to be a roller coaster of highs and lows, progress and setbacks, school jealousies, family bickering, times with her best friend then a lengthy separation, even the Boxing Day shopping is interrupted by a strong aftershock. “Then February 22 – 'The WORST day EVER, EVER, EVER.
New Zealand is not called the Shaky Isles for nothing. Earthquakes are an ongoing feature of life here, and while there are reminders to have emergency kits, our readiness is as much mental as it is physical. The resilience of Maddy and her family represent the resilience of their city. As Christchurch rebuilds, it is important to remember the different ways people responded, both immediately and over time.
Canterbury Quake by Desna Wallace serves this purpose very well and will continue to be important in senior primary and intermediate school libraries.
Reviewed by Chris Wright for Bookrapt.
As Maddy discovers, writing in her diary really helps her cope: “Since the earthquake I have written so much in this diary I can hardly believe it, but there is always something happening, and with so many people in the house now, it is getting really crowded. It's hard to find a quiet place to write, but it does make me feel better when I do get to write things down.”
Maddy describes her reactions to the September 4 earthquake – disbelief, fear, horror, shock, and her responses to the necessary restrictions to this family's lives – a hole in the garden for a toilet – yuck! She observes and records the reactions of her older sister Tessa and young brother Jackson, their parents, grandmother, aunt and uncle as they attempt to pick their lives up and continue on.
Maddy even attempts to express her feelings in poems.
Her life appears to be a roller coaster of highs and lows, progress and setbacks, school jealousies, family bickering, times with her best friend then a lengthy separation, even the Boxing Day shopping is interrupted by a strong aftershock. “Then February 22 – 'The WORST day EVER, EVER, EVER.
New Zealand is not called the Shaky Isles for nothing. Earthquakes are an ongoing feature of life here, and while there are reminders to have emergency kits, our readiness is as much mental as it is physical. The resilience of Maddy and her family represent the resilience of their city. As Christchurch rebuilds, it is important to remember the different ways people responded, both immediately and over time.
Canterbury Quake by Desna Wallace serves this purpose very well and will continue to be important in senior primary and intermediate school libraries.
Reviewed by Chris Wright for Bookrapt.
April 16, 2016
The first book in the My Life series that I've read. Each is based on a historical event and seen through the eyes of a fictional person (usually a young person as the books are written for young adults) Written in the form of a diary making them easy to read.
Canterbury Quake starts Sunday 8th Aug 2010 with young Maddy excited about her upcoming 11th birthday. The one thing she really wants is a cell phone. Her older sister Tessa has one as does Maddy's best friend. Maddy pulls off an all out attempt worthy of any 10 year old: sticking pictures of cell phones where people will see them (including the back of the toilet door) placing brochures on her mothers bedside table and on the coffee table near the remotes, even making note of all the times it would have been beneficial for her to have a cell phone. The quake hits nearly a month later ( 4th Sept @4.35am) and the real story begins. We slowly see this average recently turned 11 year old see her city and the people in it go through immense changes as the town is rocked by aftershock after aftershock - culminating in the bigger quake of 22nd Feb @12.51pm.
As a person who is terrified of quakes this story really shook me ... I dread the feeling of helplessness that quakes cause, I work in a 4 level building and everytime we have a quake I'm positive my 1st floor office is going to tumble into the Gym below us.
The last entry of the diary is just beautiful. At the beginning when the quake hits Maddy refers to her mother being most upset that her brand new daffodils that had just flowered were ruined by falling debris. In the last entry (July 30th) Maddy and her mother happen to be outside when they notice that despite the snow there are new buds rising up to greet the sun - just like the line in that Bette Midler song The Rose. In less than a year this 11 year old girl has witnessed events most adults has trouble dealing with and at the end you see a matureness in her writing.
A must read
Canterbury Quake starts Sunday 8th Aug 2010 with young Maddy excited about her upcoming 11th birthday. The one thing she really wants is a cell phone. Her older sister Tessa has one as does Maddy's best friend. Maddy pulls off an all out attempt worthy of any 10 year old: sticking pictures of cell phones where people will see them (including the back of the toilet door) placing brochures on her mothers bedside table and on the coffee table near the remotes, even making note of all the times it would have been beneficial for her to have a cell phone. The quake hits nearly a month later ( 4th Sept @4.35am) and the real story begins. We slowly see this average recently turned 11 year old see her city and the people in it go through immense changes as the town is rocked by aftershock after aftershock - culminating in the bigger quake of 22nd Feb @12.51pm.
As a person who is terrified of quakes this story really shook me ... I dread the feeling of helplessness that quakes cause, I work in a 4 level building and everytime we have a quake I'm positive my 1st floor office is going to tumble into the Gym below us.
The last entry of the diary is just beautiful. At the beginning when the quake hits Maddy refers to her mother being most upset that her brand new daffodils that had just flowered were ruined by falling debris. In the last entry (July 30th) Maddy and her mother happen to be outside when they notice that despite the snow there are new buds rising up to greet the sun - just like the line in that Bette Midler song The Rose. In less than a year this 11 year old girl has witnessed events most adults has trouble dealing with and at the end you see a matureness in her writing.
A must read
Read
August 8, 2016I chose this book because it is A New Zealand book and it encouraged me to get off my lazy bum and learn some new past events that have happened in NZ. I've heard this was a 4 star rated book for my friends. I didn't believe them at first until I read the introduction, which was kind of strange I had never seen a book quite like it. It was a journal or should I say diary about a little girl and her life in Christchurch with her family. It had a date to tell me what days she wrote in it, to me it was quite odd. It started with a great hook in "ive been dropping hints for ages", it was great not only because it was different from other intros but also made me want to read more. I kept wondering why was she dropping hints, what did the hints all conclude to, and would she ever get what she wanted.
The story is about an eleven year old girl called Maddy who is quite upset for not getting the gift she had hoped for on her birthday until she is able to convince her mum, but not long after she must worried about other things as there town had been struck by an earthquake. Her Family would learn to live with the after shocks and bad supply of water but they kept moving forward always preparing for what might happen next. The character I really enjoyed reading about was mum because she was always caring for others, packing emergency bags and a lot of other important things, she always put others befor herself.
I learnt that even the darkest moments we must keep our heads high and spend as much time as we have wisely as we never know when it will end
The story is about an eleven year old girl called Maddy who is quite upset for not getting the gift she had hoped for on her birthday until she is able to convince her mum, but not long after she must worried about other things as there town had been struck by an earthquake. Her Family would learn to live with the after shocks and bad supply of water but they kept moving forward always preparing for what might happen next. The character I really enjoyed reading about was mum because she was always caring for others, packing emergency bags and a lot of other important things, she always put others befor herself.
I learnt that even the darkest moments we must keep our heads high and spend as much time as we have wisely as we never know when it will end
April 28, 2019
Really good, and very strange to be able to know where I was during all the events - even the snow of winter 2011, and the book Quaky Cat. This book really got to me in a way none of the other My Storys ever have. I'd never really understood before what it would have been like to live in what was such a terrifying place for so long. I didn't realise what it was like to live with incessant aftershocks - like many others from the North Island (or just further from Chch) I only really thought about the two big ones. Canterbury Quake brought home to me the aftermath of the quakes more than any other book has, even From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle. Anyway, this book has changed my understanding of what the people of Christchurch went through.
At times I was frustrated with the writing style, thought it too adult-pretending-to-write-like-an-eleven-year-oldish, but thinking back to the diaries I had to write at school in year 6 and 7 I sounded exactly like that. So spot on, Desna Wallace!
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Before reading:
It's weird that there's a My Story about an event I know - with a protagonist the same age that I was when it happened!
Very keen to read this.
At times I was frustrated with the writing style, thought it too adult-pretending-to-write-like-an-eleven-year-oldish, but thinking back to the diaries I had to write at school in year 6 and 7 I sounded exactly like that. So spot on, Desna Wallace!
-----
Before reading:
It's weird that there's a My Story about an event I know - with a protagonist the same age that I was when it happened!
Very keen to read this.
November 20, 2018
This was an excellent read , sensitively written and graphically described how people reacted after the earthquakes which hit the Canterbury are during 2010-11. The author has written the story through a young persons eyes and this should help a lot of young people who have experienced disasters and learn to cope and get on with life . I had 2 grandchildren in the area at the time and they were both very traumatised and still get stressed with any earthquake. This is the first book in the My Life Series I have read and I would recommend it for any age group as it contains good factual information as well as recording the emotions prevalant in the city.
December 7, 2015
I loved this book by Desna Wallace The Canterbury Quake gives a young persons look in to the Christchurch Earthquake that happened in 2010-2011It opens your eyes to the problems that Christchurch have with dealing with Councils and the EQC Committee that are still being worked through today its a must read to realize what Christchurch is going through or dealing with I would highly recommend you read Canterbury Quake by Desna Wallace for yourself it had me in tears in some parts but was still a really good read
December 19, 2015
Wow! A great story that gives those of us living out of Christchurch a real feel for the things that the media could not show us. The roller coaster of emotion that goes on and on. How things that we take for granted are no longer normal for those still living in the aftermath. Now even a trip to the mall will require checking for cracks and noting where the nearest escape route may be. This book beautifully tells the story of how an ordinary family deal with an extraordinary year. Love it!
June 28, 2014
Having lived through this and knowing Desna, I had to read this book. It brought back so many memories and feelings of what we all went through. I think it will help non Canterbury people understand the emotions and feelings here during that period.
July 15, 2014
A well written story in diary form through the eyes of an eleven year old of the Canterbury Quake 2010-2011.
You get a good insight in what really happened.
A great book for all ages.
I really enjoyed reading this book, great for primary age students.
You get a good insight in what really happened.
A great book for all ages.
I really enjoyed reading this book, great for primary age students.
Read
April 16, 2015This is an amazing book it was written from a child's point of view and had every that happened in the quake. It shows how sad people get when their homes get destroyed, how sad it is sometimes when someone close moves away
September 7, 2021
Another excellent historical read for kids. This one is a lot more recent than some of the others, but it really gives insight into what it must have been like to live in Christchurch during the big earthquakes.
Read
June 8, 2014A really good book!!
August 5, 2015
This book is so Good , I loved the description and the detail . At times it made me cry but it was just an amazing book.
June 18, 2017
This Is a great book by Desna Wallace about a 10-year-old student in the 2011-2012 quake it really touches and makes me recall where I was at that moment
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2020
One of the best in this NZ series, this book captures everything about that day, and the aftermath. I remember the terror of being separated from my children on the other side of the city (at my mother-in-law's for the night for September 4th so we could celebrate a wedding anniversary!) and the sheer futility of attempting to hold onto short-pile carpet to stop moving across the floor. The terror revisited when February came and, again, I was separated from my children by broken bridges.
Maddy's story encapsulates for many the horrors of being a very small entity in a turbulent seismic world, where you never know what the next minute will bring for you and your whanau. Great writing, great insight ... very well done.
Maddy's story encapsulates for many the horrors of being a very small entity in a turbulent seismic world, where you never know what the next minute will bring for you and your whanau. Great writing, great insight ... very well done.
November 29, 2022
Tells the story of Maddy and her family after the Christchurch Quake. For me, the dialogue felt somewhat forced and trite. The story also felt very repetitive. Still a solid read, but not a great read.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews