Canterbury Quake

An eleven-year-old’s straight-from-the-heart account of life through the Canterbury quakes and shakes of 2010-11.

Anyone would think Maddy’s world had crumbled when she didn’t get a cell phone for her eleventh birthday. But Maddy soon has far more important things to worry about.

In the dark of night, with a terrifying rumble and a deafening roar, the world turns upside down! Suddenly, words like ‘liquefaction’, ‘aftershocks’ and ‘state of emergency’ bubble to the surface of her vocabulary.

As Maddy navigates the bumps and crashes of life after the big quakes, she discovers how strong family ties can be, and finds friendship in the most unlikely of places.

Canterbury Quake by Desna Wallace captures a child's perspective on surviving a natural disaster, highlighting resilience and the importance of community.