No Survivors: The Diary of Jackie Simms, Hamilton, 1979

My New Zealand Story

by Sharon Holt

Growing up in 1970s Hamilton, Jackie Simms is sustained by two great loves: the Swedish supergroup Abba, and her older brother’s friend, Davey. But Jeff and Davey have a great adventure planned that doesn’t include Jackie … a scenic flight to Antarctica.
Through the eyes of one who was left behind we experience the horror and the aftermath of the airline crash on Mt Erebus, New Zealand’s worst air disaster the 30th anniversary of which will be marked in November this year.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Diary, Middle Grade

Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sharon Holt has written books in English and Māori for children of all ages. Publication of her Skipper stories in the Ready to Read series gave her the encouragement to write full-time and, in 2007, she was a finalist in the NZ Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. She researched and wrote two books in Scholastic’s My Story series, and has also had two picture books published by Walker Books.

Sharon’s writing career expanded in late 2011 when she published the first two books in her popular Te Reo Singalong series. There are now eight books in the series, with another due in February 2015. Sharon has been a finalist in the Māori Language Awards for the last three years in a row, and was the winner of the print category in 2013. Her Te Reo Singalong books and CDs are favourites with teachers and children because they are so easy to use, even for those who are not confident in their pronunciation of the language.

Sharon spends most of her time writing and visiting classrooms as The Writing Bug, which is the name of her publishing company. She loves talking to students about the writing process and also enjoys sharing her passion for te reo Māori during workshops with teachers.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second in the My life series I've read. I was really looking forward to this one as it deals with the Mt Erebus air crash on Nov 28th 1979. For those that don't know: Air New Zealand began flying day trips to Antarctica in Feb 77. Each trip took about 12 hours and though the DC10 plane never landed on the ice, passengers were able to get wonderful photos and views that had only ever been seen by a small percentage of the worlds population. Sir Edmund Hilary was an in-flight commentator on a few of these trips. The Nov 77 flight was to be the very last. It was routine until they failed to arrive in Christchurch for refueling. The plane was later found to have crashed into the side of Antarctica's Mt Erebus - an active volcano, instantly killing all 257 on board. It remains NZ's biggest air disaster and biggest single tragedy (with just one more death than the Napier quake of 1931) At the time it was the worlds 4th worst air crash.
This diary is written by 14 year old Jackie who starts a collection of "Random Thoughts" on Jan 1 1979. Jackie is like an other 14 year old at the end of the 70's. She goes to school, has a BFF she talks to all the time, fights with her older brother Jeff, bemoans the fact that her parents don't "get her", loves ABBA and her brothers best friend Davey.
Although there are some little gems in this diary - such as mentions of the hostage situation in Tehere and the nuclear fallout issue in America, it takes forever to get to the disaster itself. In the meantime you have this almost uncomfortable feeling of reading a kids thoughts about her brothers best friend and daily woes. However on the up side - just when I thought I couldn't take anymore of the mundane ramblings I was reminded of the issue at hand. This is after all a 14 year old girl growing up in a time period where the most a kid had to worry about was the return of their fave TV show (she loves CHiPS) the new release single of their fave band (in this case ABBA's Chiquitita) and the possible breakup of that fave band.
The last few pages are dedicated to the disaster and the fallout and suddenly all the ramblings that went before are put into prospective. Suddenly this 14 year old girl has to deal with loss on a scale she never dreamed possible. Her gran died a few months before but as she says the death she grieves over the Erebus disaster is different. It's a loss that rips her apart but at the same time draws her closer to a certain family member as well. Tissues needed for the last entry!!
Accompanied by a few pages of both historical notes and photo's this is another must read ... I gave it 2 stars simply because I have knowledge of the disaster, and the fact that the book dragged a bit and seemed bogged down by daily musings ....

[Jen]

lots of reminders from when I was growing up - like carless days

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great if you like true story's but it's not for everyone I would say from ages 11and up

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so sad that I cried at the desk when I read this one so you know it's good