I actually thought this was a stunning novel about a young boy struggling to find his place with his whakapapa always on his mind, the weight of expectations of his family, and how adrift he feels in his new school surroundings. It was a really good exploration of how youth can become disconnected from the past as they work to adapt to the harsh realities of a new environment. The more time Te Arepu spent away from his home and family, the more he began to identify as Devon. There are some graphic sex scenes, issues with consent, adult figures exploiting teens, and frequent drug use. I thought the characters were utterly engaging and loved the way they connected with each other both in his home town and at the boarding school. In parts the writing was wonderful however, I couldn't get enough sense of when this story took place with some mixed messages throughout. Still thoroughly enjoyed this one. ( )

It took me a good 3/4 of the way through the book to even get a glimmer as to why this book was banned. It felt like a book about stupid kids doing stupid things and getting caught. I don't know, I was bored most of the time. I'm mostly annoyed I felt compelled to read it. I would never have picked this up had it not caused such a ruckus. ( )

I absolutely loathed this book for a multitude of reasons; i too was disappointed in the way that the river's significance dwindled away to nothing. The rest of the novel for me operated in a moral and cultural void - perhaps this was what Dawes was trying to achieve; a vision of Maori adrift in the Pakeha city without tikanga and taonga to connect him to whanau. Im not sure and Im sure some boys' boarding schools were/are like this .. Again the timing seems all over the place - they're taking ecstasy pretty freely which has got to be in the last 20 years .... ( )

Te Arepa lives on the East Coast with his grandfather, Ra. Nearby is a river significant to his iwi. During a eeling trip Te Arepa catches an enormous eel which drags him into the river and underneath the water. Whilst there he feels visited by his Maori Tipuna as well as his Spanish ancestor Diego Santos.

Later, a poem he writes about the experience earns him a scholarship to a privileged boys boarding school in Auckland. There he is renamed Devon and experiences a very different type of life that makes his small town seem dull and boring. The choices he makes have predictable consequences.

Yes, as the media storm said, there are descriptions of sex and drug-taking. But, if anything, they didn't add to the story and I feel were added in as an afterthought to cause controversy and heighten publicity about the book. As a librarian, I don't agree with censorship. The blurb on the back cover of the book seems to have been written for another story. I kept waiting for the river to be significant and come into the story and by the last pages I was disappointed.

I find that I have to also agree with Morag Gray's review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/669590443 There is significant weirdness with the timeline of the story: "Ra remembers his own grandfather, Diego, a Spaniard who arrived in New Zealand a fugitive and helped save their tribe from Ngapuhi, who, armed with muskets, were slaughtering smaller, unarmed tribes. This puts Diego's arrival, as an adult, in New Zealand as some time in the 1820s or early 1830s. Presumably Ra was therefore born in the 1850s or 1860s. Let's say 1860. Even if he was fifty when his daughter, Te Arepa's mother was born (1910), and she was thirty when Te Arepa was born (1940), that makes Ra 92 at the start of the book and the date no later than 1952. However, we must assume at least the 1970s or 1980s because Te Arepa's cousin Paikea (who is a lesbian) drives in kilometres per hour, and his schoolmate Wade's father drives a Ford Fairmont. Wade's grandfather was in Austria at the end of World War 2." ( )

Like many others I read this book only because of the social media storm that followed the two awards that it received - 2013 Young Adult Fiction category and the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. My stance has always been that before I form an opinion I should actually read the book. Well I've read it so here we go.

Te Arepa comes from the small rural community of Goldsmith's Bush where he has grown up among whanau and friends knowing his place and his whakapapa. When he gets noticed at school for his writing he is offered a place at Barwell’s Collegiate in Auckland. Ra, Te Arepa's grandfather gives him the choice to go or stay. Te Arepa chooses to go. The world of Barwell’s Collegiate is very different to home and there are a whole new set of rules and lessons to learn. Many of them stark and cruel. Te Arepa must learn to survive. His name is changed to Devon via the tradition of nicknaming and he changes along with it. When he visits his home he begins to realise that he is not the same person anymore and he no longer fits. Te Arepa/Devon is left on the outside not quite fitting in at either school or home. Along the way we are given a glimpse of the lives of the other boys that he has met and see different sets of lifestyle and attitude. These form a blunt contrast to Te Arepa's experience.

Eventually Te Arepa/Devon forms a close friendship with Steph who helps him keep up with his school work and in return expects that Te Arepa will join the choir with him and hang out in the music dept. This can be an uncomfortable choice with the majority of the school labelling all things music and drama 'gay'. Steph shows Te Arepa/Devon his method of coping. He has the school wired and enjoys bending the rules and finding ways to turn things to his own advantage and form of fun.

This novel is a dark story that my description so far does not convey. Devon is slowly submerged into a world of casual cruelty, drug taking and all the other sordid activity that goes alongside. His friend is selling himself to his teacher for favours. While Devon knows that all of this is wrong he seems to have no ability to act. He cannot speak out against any if it, he cannot remove himself from it and he also cannot embrace it.

In the end when it all comes to a head, we are left with no idea what Devon's future will be.

I enjoyed this novel. I did not find it outrageous or particularly shocking. I had a good laugh at myself when the "C Bomb" was not the one I was expecting. I feel that this book is an intelligent read and that the reader will need to be an intelligent reader to persevere with it. In my humble opinion this book absolutely deserved its awards. ( )