Dawn Raid is a finalist in The Wright Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, in the NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults.
Another in the very good Scholastic series – My New Zealand Story, Dawn Raid is told from the perspective of 13 year old Sofia Savea, who lives in Cannon’s Creek, Porirua. Her story starts with the opening of the first McDonald’s in New Zealand. Sofia is typical of a lot of Kiwi children at that age – concerned with friendships and having enough money to buy her dream pair of white boots. She gets a milk run to help with buying clothes.
The book seeks to explain ‘Dawn Raids’ through the eyes of a typical Samoan family. At school Sofia uses school speeches to explain about her culture, then the impact of raids on the community. Mirroring this, Sofia’s family are personally touched by a raid, and experience great upset and confusion as a result. Multiple voices and perspectives are acknowledged. The support from the community after the raid – legal advice and the role of the Polynesian Panthers was interesting to learn about. The book further references Dame Whina Cooper’s long march to parliament, and David Lange’s legal help (this is of course prior to him entering politics).
I really liked how Sofia’s character developed over the course of the book, from a somewhat reserved person, to a student who confidently delivers a powerful speech on an issue close to her family.
This book is suitable for ages 10-15, and is a fictionalised account of an era in New Zealand characterised by a lot of political protest. As a resource to learn about racism, politics and how media bias can direct the wider conversation, it is very powerful book.
I’m so glad that this series is so wide ranging and has such a great range of writers behind it. Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith is an Invercargill-based writer, and this is her first book.
Reviewed by Emma Rutherford
Dawn Raid
by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith
Published by Scholastic NZ
ISBN 9781775434757
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