Finding the Right Sky

The book

West Java, 1936. Eleven-year-old Cato asks her mother why she has left the sky unpainted.

"It is not right. I will paint the sky when I find it."

Within a decade, Cato's world of frangipani, tea rows and Dutch colonial comfort is gone, replaced by a bamboo gedek fence, by hunger, and by the daily calculation of what she will risk to keep her family alive.

From a Javanese plantation to a Swiss mountain school, through the Japanese internment camps of the Dutch East Indies, to a strange green country at the far end of the world, carrying one brown suitcase.

A story of colonisation, of cruelty and unexpected compassion, and of a young woman whose courage outlasted an empire.

About the author

Jude Castle lives on the Kāpiti Coast. Finding the Right Sky is her first book, and it is her mother's story, written across ten years.

About the cover

The painting is by Johanna Pantekoek, the author's grandmother, and shows a bay in West Java. This is a scan of the original painting.

The edition

Paperback, A5, about 320 pages, printed in Porirua by Rainbow Creative. First published in New Zealand in 2026. ISBN 9781067311605.

Order a copy

The first print run has gone to friends and family. We are taking orders for the next one.

A koha of $40 a copy covers the printing. Fill in the form below and you can pay by card or bank transfer on the next screen. If a different amount suits you better, that is fine. Judy would far rather the book was read.

Postage, collection and refunds

Price

$40 a copy, in New Zealand dollars. Frangipani Press is not registered for GST, so no GST is charged.

Postage

$9 a copy, anywhere in New Zealand. Collection in Paekākāriki is free. We do not post overseas at the moment. If you are outside New Zealand and would like a copy, please email us and we will work something out.

When you will get it

These are orders for the next print run, so payment is taken before the book is printed. Your copy will be posted, or ready to collect, within six weeks of your order. We will text you when it is on its way.

Refunds

You can cancel and get a full refund at any time before your copy is posted or collected. Just email us. Refunds go back to the card or account you paid from, usually within five working days.

Damaged copies

If your book arrives damaged, email us within fourteen days and we will replace it at no cost. You do not need to send the damaged copy back.

Paying

By card through Stripe, or by bank transfer to Vincent Trading Limited. Both options appear after you submit the form. Card payments show on your statement as FRANGIPANI PRESS.

Contact

Email hello@frangipanipress.com and we will get back to you within two working days.

Frangipani Press
Vincent Trading Limited
Nelson, New Zealand