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emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
At its core this story is about Nikora, about him connecting with his community, finding his place, standing up for himself, and figuring out what he values. This is a character-driven story, and the character development is superb. The dual-timeline worked well for me, as I think it was important to see Nikora’s “backstory” in detail, as this brought another layer of significance to both his character and the present narrative.
I loved the theme of community present in this book, how it stressed the power of solidarity and support. I liked how Nikora was depicted figuring out how to be involved in his community, how to organise for a cause and enact collective action. It was excellent seeing him become empowered in this way.
The book also explores how white supremacy uses mental illness to undermine and discount people of the global majority, in this case Nikora and his koro who are simply trying to protect their own land and the taniwha Taukere, who is their guardian.
Furthermore, the story presents a collection of other ways in which colonisation impacts Māori. The main focus is on infringement of land rights, but it also looks at poverty, poorer health outcomes, addiction, loss of language, micro- and macro-aggressions, and overrepresentation in prisons.
Rep: Māori MC + SCs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Addiction, Excrement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury
Major: loss of loved one Moderate: death of pet Minor: loss of a loved one, imprisonment, gambling, misinformation on OCD
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