COMP CLOSED | Book Giveaway | the year i turned thirty

The Year I Turned Thirty
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We are very pleased to be giving away two copies of Nikki Addison’s book, ‘the year i turned thirty’, to our GrownUps members.

All you need to do to enter the draw is be a GrownUps member, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter and fill in your details near the bottom of the page!

The Year I Turned ThirtyAbout the year i turned thirty

Three friends from Aotearoa New Zealand, their thirties looming.
An impulsive flight to sunny Los Angeles.
The road trip of a lifetime.
An evocative debut novel for readers everywhere.

Bailey is a sweet and confused beagle owner, stuck in a dead-end job and reeling from a breakup with her partner of ten years.

Rach is a hyper-organised Instagram chef with body image issues, a boring marriage and a healthy dose of imposter syndrome.

Harper is a carefree, ruthlessly honest surfer, newly unemployed thanks to COVID-19 and struggling with her sexuality.

Each looking for their own escape, they spontaneously plan a three-month road trip across the United States. What follows is a string of deep and meaningful, sweaty hikes and too many margaritas, set against a vivid backdrop of red desert, dense forest and electric cities.

Fuelled by burritos and bottomless coffee, they question themselves, their friendship and the societal pressures of adulthood. By the end of the trip, all three women will have left their twenties behind – and none of them will be the same.

Like a conversation with your best friend, the year i turned thirty is a novel for anyone who has had their heart broken or ever wondered what they hell they’re doing with their life.

Author Note

‘My affinity for America began when I was nine, and my parents took my sister and I out of school for a two-month road trip across the US. I got the bug! As I grew older, I became deeply interested in American history, particularly around African American freedom struggles. This led me to study literature and history at university, eventually writing my Master’s thesis on Harper Lee’s brilliant novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the Civil Rights Movement.

I had always wanted to see the places I studied, and when the world finally reopened following the COVID-19 lockdowns, it felt like the right time. My partner and I quit our jobs, moved everything we owned into storage, flew to Miami and bought a van. We spent seven months driving across 21 states, visiting as many National Parks as possible, literally living “on the road”.

That trip gave me the seed for the setting of the year i turned thirty, but I wanted it to have a unique New Zealand angle, and I really wanted it to be a love letter to female friendship. At the time I was living on the road, I turned 29 and began having conversations with my girlfriends about how our lives looked totally different to the way we thought they would at this age (we were all childless, unmarried and non-homeowners). Those conversations about rejecting societal expectations, reclaiming our narrative and making the thirties our decade inspired the novel’s story and themes.

All of the locations the characters visit on their road trip are places I visited – and most of the specific hikes, campgrounds, and restaurants are hikes I did, campgrounds I stayed at, and places I ate – so I hope the novel’s setting feels authentic and honours the great American road trip life.’

About the Author

Nikki Addison is from West Auckland. She has a Master of Arts with First Class Honours in English and began her career as a magazine journalist before moving to the book publishing industry. She loves cats, coffee and hiking, and her hero is Barack Obama. Her favourite authors are John Steinbeck, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Stephen King and Sally Rooney.

The inspiration for the year I turned thirty came after Addison quit her job and embarked on a seven-month road trip across the United States in 2022. Many of the events in the book are based on real life, including breaking down in Death Valley.

Addison decided to centre the book on three best friends after a conversation with her own friends about turning thirty. This is her first novel.

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Terms and conditions

    1. You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
    2. Competition closes on the 28th May 2025, winners will be notified via email by 29th May 2025.
    3. It is your responsibility to ensure you correctly enter a New Zealand postal address where the prize can be sent. GrownUps will not take responsibility for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
    4. Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
    5. GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
    6. By entering the giveaway, you approve for GrownUps to use your name on social media as winner of the competition.
    7. One entry per household.
    8. Prize in non transferrable.
    9. You must reside in New Zealand – the prize can only be redeemed within New Zealand.
    10. You must be over 50 years of age to enter, please check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.