Falling into Rarohenga - Steph Matuku

Published by Huia Publishers: Wellington, Aotearoa, NZ, 2023 (2021).

This is the second book I've read by this author, and - I think - the second book by this author, too! The first book, Flight of the Fantail, was very weird, and in my review I mentioned that I was still processing whether I liked it or not. Falling into Rarohenga is somewhat similar in that way.

We follow twin siblings, Tui and Kae, who live with their mother after their no-hoper father left. Tui is the academic, Kae is the musician slacker, and both have that semi-antagonistic-but-secretly-looking-out-for-one-another thing that many siblings do, both in fiction and real life. The twins arrive home from a bad day at school (Tui loses her prefect status and Kae is suspended) to find that their mother has gone missing, kidnapped by their father and taken into Rarohenga - the Māori Underworld. Tui and Kae then also end up on Rarohenga, and must try to rescue their mother while resisting the urge to eat anything from Rarohenga, no matter how long their rescue mission takes. On their way, they encounter various extinct New Zealand creatures and a large number of gods and mythological creatures from traditional Māori beliefs. 

As with Fantail, author Matuku doesn't shy away from portraying violence or other adult moments, although Rarohenga is a little bit more PG than Fantail's hard M. The story is also a bit more straight-forward than Fantail was - there is a clear mission from the get-go, and all mystical/magical elements immediately fit the context (where Fantail took a while to reveal its hand).

Overall, this is another decent read, a very New Zealand text, and is one that I would more quickly recommend than it's predecessor. Considering I have recommended Flight of the Fantail to a number of reluctant readers, and seen many enjoy it, that is a good sign. 

I will continue to look forward to whatever Steph Matuku next writes.

Completed 26 November 2024.

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