Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea
TK Roxborogh
Huia Publishers
Pub. 2020

18 May, 2021

I chose to read this book because I like action books and ones with mermaids.

This book is about a normal boy called Charlie. Charlie and his brother Robbie live in Taonga Bay. Charlie is a sea cadet and while cleaning the beach one day, they stumble across a mermaid. This mermaid is going to change their lives. My favourite part of the book is when Charlie and Robbie find Po-nuia (the mermaid) on the beach when they find her they need to figure out a way to hide her and figure out how to fix all the many problems they now face. I like this part of the book because it shows how the characters can juggle between situations and it really shows their personality traits.

Charlie is the hero; he holds himself together when everything around him is crumbling.

Po-nuia is the mermaid who gets washed up on the beach, she is determined to make things right from what she thinks she has caused. Jenny is Charlie’s friend and helps him on his journey to make Taonga Bay safe from the Māori gods Tane, Tangaroa and Tahiwhirima again.

My favourite character is Jenny. Jenny is strong and resilient. Under the worst conditions she doesn’t complain. Jenny is a friend of Charlie and is by his side for most of the story. She helps him when he needs it. Without Jenny in the book there wouldn’t be a twist in the story which kept me on the edge of my seat when reading.

What makes the book good is that it is very descriptive and detailed. It is like I am in every moment and scene. It took me a bit longer to read than others, because of the amount of detail which made me think and picture the scene in my head. On the other hand, at some points in the book I was confused, mainly because there was too much going on.

The theme of the book is family relationships but there are so many other themes too such as caring for the environment, having courage and overcoming obstacles. I think that it is appropriately age rated at 9-12 years old. I would recommend this to anyone who likes action and traditional stories. I would read other books by this author because I did really enjoy reading this book; I thought the characters were well written, the story itself was entertaining and I liked the writing style.

The language of the book draws the reader into their world and what is going on. Whenever there is a new scene the reader feels like they are in that moment. The author goes into detail with the scenery and what is happening which has introduced some new words to me.

The message of the book is have courage and never give up and I think that it is good advice for every reader.

• Kendal Morgan is 12 years old and lives in Christchurch.