Awatea and the Kawa Gang
Fraser Smith
2019
Huia

June 17, 2022

Awatea and the Kawa Gang by Fraser Smith is a fun, adventurous story. Awatea goes to visit his Nan and Pop in Mangokuri. He and his friend Tredget make a tree hut, and Awa is determined to sleep there. He’s a daring, bold boy, and with his faithful sidekick, Carrot the Parrot, they can get through anything.

Then mysterious tyre tracks appear, leading to the beach. Holes have been cut and messily strung back together on the paddock fences. Will the Kawa gang find out what is going on?

The book started out fun and easy to read, and was like that the whole way through.  I enjoyed it a lot.

Awatea and the Kawa Gang is a highly descriptive book.  I can imagine what Awatea’s tree hut looks like, how he is fishing in the sea and what he feels like when his Nan makes him clean up into nice dry clothes.

Here is an example of some of Smith’s descriptive writing: “Its colour and texture, red, yellow, white rippled, were just like the seaweed.

Another example: “he woke several times in the night and listened to the wind, rain, trees and sea outside his shelter argue noisily. Gusts of wind smacked rain against the tarpaulin, and the branches under him heaved and creaked, but the Kawa gang were dry and warm. The storm eased as day began to break, and with gentle rain pattering on a tin roof, Awa slept again.” I really felt like I was there, huddled in the small hut.

Awatea and the Kawa Gang is such a nice story, I really wanted to be there – sleeping in the tree hut, playing on the rocks near the beach, fishing and cooking my own food over in a  billy.

I really got to know Awatea, and feel like I have met him before.  Another thing I really love about this book is how some words are in te reo Māori, which makes the book feel more like it’s from Aotearoa.

I recommend Awatea and the Kawa Gang for readers aged ten and up, but it definitely is good for 12-14 year-olds as well. The writing isn’t too advanced, but the context makes it so enjoyable that I would recommend it for anyone looking for something new to read. My favourite books at the moment are fantasy and adventure, but I loved this one and I would read it again!

So climb some trees, run away from crazy magpies and find out who is making those mysterious tyre tracks with Awatea and Carrot, the crazy parrot.

• Iris is 12 and lives in Nelson.