Author and storyteller LP Hansen is a New Zealand based author of young adult and youth fiction. These are her most recent books:
The Fire Keeper’s Girls (2018)
Two rebel teenage cousins uncover their true talents and outwit oppressors in this fast-moving real time story. Sent to spend summer at a lonely beach in the care of an eccentric mentor, they’re introduced to a mysterious women’s network through a game. Gradually the girls gain clarity and insight into their own troubled histories. They learn from other women’s lives and acquire new, practical skills. But when they return home and dangers threaten once more, will this be enough to keep them safe? The Fire Keeper’s Girls is called ‘the book every woman wishes she had read as a teenager’ by Alexia Hilbertidou, Founder and CEO of GirlBoss NZ and Winner of Westpac Women of Influence (2016). Twenty-five brief biographies of influential women from twenty-five countries are included.
Bad Oil and the Animals (2016)
Relevant at this time of Greta Thunberg and climate protests, this fast-moving and exhilarating tale involves teenagers’ exploits to expose the threat to orangutan habitat from factory farming’s use of palm kernel extract. There’s daring, disguise and quite a lot of mischief as the multi-cultural group aims a spotlight at animal welfare in New Zealand and elsewhere. Their stunts attract public attention but with scholarships at stake, maintaining their anonymity is critical. So when the police come calling at their school, has there been one prank too many? Sources for further study included.
An Unexpected Hero (2014)
Matt, a city boy plunged into the unfamiliar world of a small rural New Zealand school, encounters his worst nightmare; he has to speak in public. Under pressure Matt stammers, and the pressure intensifies as he decides to speak about World War 1 pacifist Archie Baxter, father of poet James K. Baxter. In a district where almost every family has lost someone to war, it’s not the smartest choice. There’s tension, trouble and triumph as Matt, described by David Hill as ‘a very likeable, very credible and genuinely unlikely hero’ startles everyone, including himself, by what he’s able to do. An Unexpected Hero has twice been chosen by teachers for Year 7-8 in NZ ReadAloud, the national reading programme, in 2017 and 2019.