Whakaari
Price: $29.99 NZD
Published by Marion Day
Available in all good bookstores and online.
Roa is a troubled teen.
She is from a small town and has too many dads.
She lives near Whakaari/White Island, which
is both beautiful and dangerous.
Roa is being crushed by the weight of two secrets. The men her mother has brought into their lives have damaged her. Although her mother is aware of this, she has no idea that Roa is a criminal.
Whakaari never leaves Roa. She hangs out with her street gang and compares the volcano to her own feelings. A botched robbery, a rash encounter with a boy. Can she escape the ruins?
These are some reviews:
I wanted to let you know that I got Whakaari out from the Carterton library this morning and have JUST finished reading it tonight. I love, love, loved it. A beautiful book that brought out so many emotions - my gosh what a day!!! Thank you for such a special book. NgÄ mihi, Ariana Te Whetu. Congratulations again, a wonderful and beautiful story that I will recommend to friends and colleagues.
I have just finished Whakaari and what a compelling gutsy story, so well written -- hope to get a class set -- great redemption in the end.
New Zealand secondary school teacher.
I just finished reading your book Whakaari and wanted to send you a brief thank you for writing such an amazingly sincere, heartfelt, well written and well-rounded story. I am not originally from Aotearoa but have lived here with my family for a few years. For the last year and a half I have been teaching in an intermediate school where I have come in touch with the stories and challenges of girls and boys - and their whanau - who remind me of the main characters in your book. Your story has helped me better understand the harshness some of the people in this country are faced with. I am hoping that my own teenage children will read the book next - it was them I initially bought the book for, and then couldn't resist reading it myself.I am already looking forward to reading your next novel. Again, many thanks for being a great writer and putting so much care and effort into your mahi.
I have finally had time to finish reading Whakaari this morning. What a great book! Storyline, the writing, time and place, the gentle weaving and hard jolts. I loved the taking ownership and taking responsibility message. Congratulations! I hope you're going to enter it into the NZ Young Adult Book Awards as it's certainly a worthy contender.
Previous Award Recipient
Contact me
Marion Day801 Manaroa Road, Clova Bay
RD2
Picton 7282
P: (64) 03 579 8448
E: become-inspired@MarionDay.nz
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2024
Marion won the Rural Women's New Zealand National Short Story Competition - Present category. Her story will appear in the 2025 RWZZ Centennial Book, available in bookshops when published. Wellington City Libraries has chosen Pakupaku Pīwakawaka to have its pages transformed into billboards for a nature trail in one of Wellington's central parks. WCL works with the city's Parks, Sports, and Recreation staff on a project called Te Ara Pukapuka (Book Pathways). The billboards will be placed throughout nature trails and reserve pathways in Wellington for tamariki and their whānau to discover while exploring the region.
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Marion is a member of:
- New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA)
- Storylines
- Rural Women New Zealand
- NZSA Top of the South
- Writers of Marlborough
- Writers in Schools Programme