A review by superleeni
Into the River by Ted Dawe

5.0

This book should not just be not banned, but it should be read in schools. It explores themes of bullying, drugs, racism, sex, and all sorts of difficult topics, but it does it extremely well. There are great lessons to be learned from it, even as an adult. I couldn't be more different from the main character - I'm a middle class Pakeha woman, compared to a Maori teenager from a poor rural community, but I absolutely loved it. The things that happen in this book can be shocking at times, but they are things that happen commonly for NZ teenagers. I love this book and I hope more people can read it soon.