Alchemy (novel)

Last updated

Alchemy
Alchemyfrontcover.jpg
Book cover of 2004 paperback edition
Author Margaret Mahy
Country New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy novel
Publisher CollinsFlamingo
Publication date
November 4, 2004
Pages271
ISBN 978-0-00-713135-8
OCLC 55076927
Preceded by24 Hours 
Followed byDon't Read This! 

Alchemy (published in 2004) is a novel for older children by the New Zealand author Margaret Mahy.

Plot summary

Roland, a 7th former who has been caught shoplifting, is given an unusual assignment: to spy on a mysterious girl in his class who is studying alchemy. Jess Ferret is an eccentric girl who likes playing with words. However, an enemy from the boy's past wants the girl's power and is using him for information. Roland eventually finds out that he is not unlike Jess and her abilities, but gets them both into a situation which endangers their lives.

Alchemy has similar themes to two other books by Mahy, The Changeover and The Haunting .

The book won the senior fiction section of the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Gee</span> New Zealand novelist (born 1931)

Maurice Gough Gee is a New Zealand novelist. He is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and has won numerous awards both in New Zealand and overseas, including multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in the UK, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, the Robert Burns Fellowship and a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. In 2003 he was recognised as one of New Zealand's greatest living artists across all disciplines by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, which presented him with an Icon Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Mahy</span> New Zealand childrens writer (1936-2012)

Margaret Mahy was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up. She wrote more than 100 picture books, 40 novels and 20 collections of short stories. At her death she was one of thirty writers to win the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her "lasting contribution to children's literature".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleur Beale</span> Young adult novelist

Fleur Una Maude Beale is a New Zealand teenage fiction writer, best known for her novel I Am Not Esther, which has been published worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandy Hager</span> New Zealand writer

Amanda Hager is a writer of fiction and non-fiction for children, young adults and adults. Many of her books have been shortlisted for or won awards, including Singing Home the Whale which won both the Young Adult fiction category and the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2015. She has been the recipient of several fellowships, residencies and prizes, including the Beatson Fellowship in 2012, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship in 2014, the Waikato University Writer in Residence in 2015 and the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tessa Duder</span> New Zealand author and former swimmer

Tessa Duder is a New Zealand author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction, and a former swimmer who won a silver medal for her country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. As a writer, she is primarily known for her Alex quartet and long-term advocacy for New Zealand children's literature. As an editor, she has also published a number of anthologies. In 2020 she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in acknowledgement of her significant contributions to New Zealand fiction.

David Elliot is a New Zealand illustrator and author, known internationally for his contributions to the Redwall fantasy series by British author, Brian Jacques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hill (author)</span> New Zealand author (born 1942)

Clive David Hill is a New Zealand author, especially well known for his young adult fiction. His young fiction books See Ya, Simon (1992) and Right Where It Hurts (2001) have been shortlisted for numerous awards. He is also a prolific journalist, writing many articles for The New Zealand Herald.

Ken Catran is a children's novelist and television screenwriter from New Zealand.

<i>The Changeover</i> 1984 young adult novel by Margaret Mahy

The Changeover: a Supernatural Romance is a low fantasy novel for young adults by Margaret Mahy, published in 1984 by J. M. Dent in the U.K. It is set in Christchurch in the author's native New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults</span> New Zealand literary awards

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children's and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards were founded in 1982, and have had several title changes until the present title was introduced in 2015. In 2016 the awards were merged with the LIANZA children's book awards. As of 2023 the awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust and each category award carries prize money of NZ$7,500.

<i>Into the River</i> 2012 novel by Ted Dawe

Into the River is a novel by Ted Dawe, featuring a coming-of-age story set in New Zealand, and intended for a young adult audience. It was awarded the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year prize and also won the top prize in the Young Adult Fiction category at the 2013 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. It was briefly banned from sale and supply in New Zealand.

Sherryl Rose Jordan was a New Zealand writer for children and young adults, specialising in fantasy and historical fiction. She wrote a number of children's and young adult works, published in New Zealand and overseas. She is best known for her books The Juniper Game and The Raging Quiet. In 2001, she received the Margaret Mahy Medal for her contribution to children's literature, publishing and literacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gecko Press</span> Company publisher of childrens books in Wellington, New Zealand

Gecko Press is an independent publisher of children's books based in Wellington, New Zealand. The company was founded in 2005 by Julia Marshall, formerly of Appelberg Publishing Agency, winner of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 2021.

The Storylines Tessa Duder Award is a New Zealand award made to the author of a work of fiction for young adults aged 13 and above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Else</span> New Zealand writer, editor and playwright

Barbara Helen Else, also known as Barbara Neale, is a New Zealand writer, editor, and playwright. She has written novels for adults and children, plays, short stories and articles and has edited anthologies of children's stories. She has received a number of awards and fellowships including the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and the Victoria University of Wellington's Writer's Fellowship.

Janice Marriott is a writer, editor, audio producer, screenwriter, creative writing tutor and mentor, manuscript assessor, poet and gardener. Several of her books have been shortlisted for or won awards and she has also been the recipient of a number of writing residencies, as well as the prestigious Margaret Mahy Medal in 2018. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Storylines Notable Book Awards constitute an annual list of exceptional and outstanding books for children and young people published in New Zealand, by New Zealand authors and illustrators, during the previous calendar year.

John Millen Lasenby, commonly known as Jack Lasenby, was a New Zealand writer. He wrote over 30 books for children and young adults, many of which were shortlisted for or won prizes. He was also the recipient of numerous awards including the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award in 2003 and the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction in 2014.

Diana Noonan is a New Zealand children's author. In 2022 she was awarded the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal for her outstanding contributions to New Zealand literature for young people.

References

  1. "New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults – Young Adult Fiction". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 21 December 2016.