Why read The Porangi Boy?

Book cover of The Porangi Boy

Book description

Twelve-year-old Niko lives in Pohe Bay, a small, rural town with a sacred hot spring and a taniwha named Taukere. The government wants to build a prison over the home of the taniwha, and Niko's grandfather is busy protesting. People call him porangi, crazy, but when he dies, it's up…

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The Māori people

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Porangi Boy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Mandy Hager

Author

A book about conquering bullying and standing up for what you believe in, the Māori word ‘pōrangi’ in title means mentally ill. It tells the story of Niko, who lives in a small, rural Aotearoa New Zealand town with a sacred hot spring—and a taniwha (a water monster of Māori legend) named Taukere. When his grandfather dies, Niko must bring the townsfolk together to stop a prison being built on sacred land and convince them the taniwha is real.

From Mandy's list on feature indigenous Pacific or Māori characters.