From the back cover: "Boy, without allowing himself time to be shocked at his own audacity, ran forward, grasped the "sea beast" Thunder's leathery fin and hauled himself astride... his disappointment at missing a fishing trip gave him the courage to try anything rather than walk - with only girls for company."
Another wonderful book by Anne de Roo. This time she enters the mind of a young Maori boy who lives on a Pa with his mother, two grandmothers and many sisters! Struggling with being over-mothered, he longs for the day his father will return and claim him.
One afternoon a dolphin arrives in their bay and Boy (that's his name) decides to confront this "taniwha" (one of grandmother's claims it is). Instead, they make friends and so begins the remarkable story of Boy and the Dolphin and what happens in the Maori and Pakeha communities.
I love all the characters, especially the two grandmothers - they are very funny. Anne de Roo is remarkable in the way she has entered Boy's head and created his character. He is shy and unsure of who he is. He is desperate to know his father - to be a man, but of course, he is still a child. He struggles to protect his new friend from the threats that come from the adult world but doesn't understand why they don't act more quickly. He makes rash and childish decisions, which as the reader you totally understand and empathise with. When Boy's father returns, it's bittersweet. It's great Boy's father is back, but the dolphin returns to the wild. I really enjoyed reading this book.
This is definitely a living book. Two scientists visit the Pa and provide a lot of information about dolphins including how to save one if it is stranded. Anne de Roo states in a note at the beginning of the book that the story is inspired by the stories of Pelorus Jack and Opo - real-life dolphins that visited New Zealand shores. Also, the story provides insight into the life of a modern Maori Pa.
The story contains no objectionable content or language.