Niko is having a hard time. His older cousin Tu and his mates bully Niko mercilessly. Everyone calls Niko Porangi (crazy) boy, just as they call his Koro (grandfather), porangi.

Niko grew up with Koro’s story of Taumete, the Taniwha in the local river. When strangers arrive to talk about the construction of a prison on their land, Koro steps up his stories, worried the building will displace the treasured Taniwha. The ridicule steps up too, and by association, Niko is porangi too.

He’s not sure what to believe. His favourite little cousin Moki swears she has seen Taumate – even ridden on his back, but Niko is still undecided.

Koro protests the building site by camping on the hill where the prison is to be built. His solitary protest is quickly shut down, leaving Niko to decide which side he will take.

Will he take the easy way, and believe the hard sell of the prison owners, or make the hard decision bringing more bullying and persecution, to protect his beloved Koro’s land, mana and ancestral Taniwha?

The Porangi Boy is told in alternating, Before, After and then Now chapters, revealing the background of the story and why Niko is given this nickname as the current events unfold.

The relationships between whanau were heart warming and others heart wrenching. Niko has to dig deep for what his Koro and ultimately what he believes in, despite the fallout he faces daily. His troubles are raw and real, the fact that his own whanau are part of his battle, making it even harder.

The Porangi Boy is published on dyslexic friendly paper. A truly captivating, Kiwi story. Loved it.

Author – Shilo Kino

Age – 12+

Read more on the origins of this NZ novel here

WINNER,Young Adult Fiction Award, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adult, 2021

(2020, Huia, NZ, New Zealand, Family, Whanau, Beliefs, Taniwha, Cousins, Bullying, Drug problem, Love, Land Protests, Greed, Control, Self Belief, Mana, Confidence, Marae)