My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid 2, The Apology product reviews

I was already familiar with the character of Sofia Savea from Dawn Raid, the earlier publication by the same author. This time the story is set in today's Aotearoa New Zealand, just after the COVID-19 lockdown and the formal apology to those affected by the Dawn Raids decades earlier. I appreciated the way the authors had woven a work of fiction aimed at an audience of young people into a historical narrative. Sometimes it is really hard to work out whether or not characters like Jeremy and Granfia are real, so effectively are their characters portrayed. To write this book from a multigenerational point of view, Pauline Vaeluaga Smith joined forces with her grandson Brooklyn Taylor.

There are touches of humour to temper the serious nature of the book's content. At the very start, a police officer calls to Jeremy's house and is met by his dog. She takes pains to explain that the dog farted in case she gets blamed for the smell! Jeremy thinks that is priceless. Later in the book, the J-Club members accidentally burn down a fence, and their online exchanges seem to feature a great deal of poo emojis. In a role-playing activity during class, Jeremy hosts a session on making a 111 call, and the other students offer various emergency situations. The problems include needing advice on how to deal with "my Alexa who will not stop farting". It seems that toilet humour is alive and well among teenage boys!

In terms of appeal to young readers, the subplot which revolves around the J-Club (since all the boys have names starting with J) is perfect. The dialogue that the boys indulge in, both in person and through texting, supplies a lot of the background to the story. This avoids the use of too many long, descriptive paragraphs, but ensures that the reader is aware of the issues involved. Some older readers will have lived through lockdown themselves, and this will bring back memories of how it affected them. Others will have family members like Granfia and Grandpa who were personally affected by the Dawn Raids.

I appreciated that the authors were careful not to take sides over the actions taken by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19. Everyone has their own opinion on how this played out, but any comments on its management come from the boys as part of their interchanges. The text does offer a positive comment on Jacinda Ardern's apology which was delivered with a strong Pasifika bias, but since the government contingent included members from all parties, not just Labour, it cannot be said to be partisan. Again, this is historical fact, not author bias.

The theme of identity is vital in this story. Through Granfia, Jeremy recognises his Samoan roots and by exploring them learns their value. Most young people in Aotearoa New Zealand were born here and their knowledge of their own whakapapa may be sketchy, depending on how much weight their parents place on it. This is apparent no matter whether their families came from overseas recently or a couple of centuries ago, and is even applicable to some urban Maori who may have lost touch with their own hapu and iwi. Jeremy is also a typical kiwi teenager living in the modern world, so he gradually learns to reconcile the two aspects of his identity: pride in one's culture, both current and ancestral; the place and relevance of activism; and the importance of belonging whether within an extended family or within an entire culture.

At the conclusion of the book there are copious notes to inform the reader and to fill in some of the gaps, even down to a recipe for Granfia's brandy snaps. There is an expanded examination (supplemented by relevant graphics) of the effects of COVID-19 and the lockdown, as well as the Dawn Raids and the subsequent apology. In light of the current ICE raids in the USA, this book is especially timely and could be a useful stimulus for informed discussion in Social Studies classes.