• click here to return to the homepage •
or 
Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > The Blue Lawn review
David is soon to turn 16. He is a talented rugby player, but rugby is losing its appeal and he decides to give it up, much to the disappointment of his Dad and coach. Theo is just slightly older and is new to town, staying with his grandmother while his mother is overseas. The boys become firm friends and it is not long before they realise there is more to their friendship.
First published in 1994, 'The Blue Lawn' is a compassionate novel about two young men as they deal with their emerging homosexuality. 'The Blue Lawn' won the 1995 AIM Children's Senior Fiction award and has just been reissued as a Collins Modern New Zealand Classic.
The Burning Girl
Lizzie, love
Ivy Loves To Give
The Great Big Book of Monsters, Goblins, Dragons & Giants
Wolves of the Beyond - Star Wolf
Rapture in Death
Judgment in Death
Animal Record Breakers
Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs the Voodoo Vultures from Venus 
Sebastian Lives in a Hat
The Pet Pawlympics
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
A Maori Phrase A DayProduct reviews...
Review by: diogenes (Rob)
Dated: 15th of February, 2006
Had I been out to buy a book and read the back of the cover of this book I would have put it down straight away. Books about relationships are really not my area of interest, and certainly a book about a blossoming gay relationship would interest me even less.
So, upon seeing this book and beginning to read it, I began to see it was far more than just about a relationship between two boys, but also a relationship between parent and child, brother and sister, friends and family, and finally a relationship between a boy and an old woman.
This book can be read on many levels and although I think I missed the homosexual relationship between the two boys, what stood out for me was the relationship between one boy and the other boy's grandmother and the story of the grandmother's life.
As a personal choice for a book? Probably not. Would I reread it? Almost certainly. I think it will be the sort of book I would bring out to read to my daughter at a later date, because it is less about gay relationships, and more about relationships in general.
The author has written a clear story and has developed each character well. The personality of the characters in the book stand out and are believable as a commentary of small town New Zealand. The story jumps from the page and compels the reader to finish the book. Although it is something I would generally not have chosen to read, I did feel the need to finish the book. William Taylor truely has written a modern classic for New Zealand.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Mel and her cousin Harriet are keen to nurse brave Kiwi boys fighting in the Great War, half a world away. But when they join the NZ Army Nursing Service and board a hospital ship headed for Egypt, Anzac Cove and beyond, they have little idea of the horrors they will face, the wounds they will tend, and the hearts they will help to heal.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Never invoke the gods unless you really want them to appear. It annoys them very much."
G.K. Chesterton
