White Lies, Māori Legends and Fairytales - Falstaff Dowling-Mitchell
Printed by yourbooks.co.nz: New Zealand, 2019. Despite the outsized title, White Lies, Māori Myths and Fairytales is not a collection of white lies, Māori myths and fairytales; it is a novel. 12 year old Pētera (Pete) and his best friend Hone (John) dream of making the under-14s side at their local school, and eventually the All Blacks. Pete, however, is starting to become less confident that he will do so, as he is one of the smallest in his year and is also starting to be targeted by the bully Wiremu, who wants to steal his prized Damian McKenzie autograph. On top of this, Pete is having to cope with a racist principal and his annoying daughter Wendy, a sister who smirks at him constantly, the pressures of his father, the departure of his mother, and before too long, a serious illness that strikes close to home. If this sounds like a lot of storylines, it is. This is Dowling-Mitchell's first book, and although it does show a very authentically 'Kiwi' voice coming throug...