Ella West wins LIANZA Award

Ella West and Leonie Agnew with their awards in The
Children's Bookshop CREDIT: The Children's Bookshop

Dunedin author Ella West won a top prize for her young adult thriller NIGHT VISION at the LIANZA Children's and Young Adult Book Awards at the National Library on Monday night.

The New Zealand books community had gathered in Wellington to celebrate some of our amazing authors and illustrators who are penning terrific tales for younger readers.

Ella West (Karen Trebilcock) was named the winner of  the LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award, for NIGHT VISION, her intriguing tale about Viola, a girl who has a rare condition that makes her dangerously susceptible to sunlight.

Here's the official blurb for the award-winning NIGHT VISION:

Viola was born with a genetic condition that makes sunlight deadly. In the dark of night, when most teenagers are tucked up in bed, Viola has the run of her parents' farm and the surrounding forest. She is used to seeing hidden things through her night-vision goggles, but one night she sees something that could get her into a whole lot of trouble...  

Viola has always believed she would be dead before she was twenty, but now she must decide just how far she's willing to go to help her parents keep their beloved farm. Is it okay to steal from a thief? What if the thief might be a killer? And what if the killer threatens to come after her and her family?

I read and really enjoyed NIGHT VISION last year, and it's great to see Kiwi authors choosing to pen tales of mystery and mayhem for readers of all ages. I remember I was very fond of mysteries and thriller-style books as a child and young adult reader, from the Hardy Boys to Agatan Sax and Sherlock Holmes.

Congratulations to Ella West on her award. It's a great book, and I'd recommend it to those with adolescents and teenagers looking for a good read (especially daughters, with its strong female hero).