Tim Tipene

Okay.
Here we go.
I'm sorry to say, but this was not good. It meanders off so much into little slices of the many characters lives that it is basically a collection of pointless tangents. The main storyline is insubstantial as a result. There is one very emotional moment but my overwhelming annoyance at the writing and characters clouded that for me. And the ending! So unsatisfyingly abrupt and disappointing. There was also some problematic stuff in there too that was not addressed or resolved. Sorry to be so harsh, especially about a piece of NZ fiction. And the audiobook narration was unpleasant with constantly mispronounced te reo that set my teeth on edge. It's a no from me.… (meer)

“To defeat a taniwha, you must strike it in the heart, not scratch it’s skin”

“Your heart is your taiaha, your head is your patu. These are the weapons with which to strike down a taniwha.”

A simple and short story that follows Haki as he, with guidance from a Māori elder, explores his connection to the land and his role as a kaitiaki of Papatūānuku. The taniwha is a stereotypical white developer who is desecrating tapu land. There were a couple of wonderfully powerful moments as Haki channels the strength of his iwi's tīpuna. I think it is incredibly important that we have more uplifting stories, like this one, where young Māori are exploring their cultural traditions and values. Inā rawa!… (meer)

16-year-old Jahnine's mother is battling cervical cancer. Her family are convinced that a greenstone (ponamu) patu stolen from a fallen Maori warrior during the New Zealand Wars by Jahnine's great-great-grandfather is the source of a family curse. Jahnine decides that in order to lift the curse and save her mother the patu must be returned to it's rightful place with Maori. A disturbed Maori boy named Andy leads Jahnine into a Maori world that is foreign to both of them - or is it actually the patu leading them?

It wasn't until about a third of the way through this book that I started to enjoy it. It covers some themes that will be uncomfortable for some but which I feel are honestly done. Urban Maori's loss of identity and the journey to discover this I found touching. I also appreciated the wonderful sense of welcome and belonging to a community that a marae gives. Unfortunately I didn't feel that the cover was that appealing. We need more of this type of book on our New Zealand library shelves.… (meer)