Into the River

**A gripping, gritty and award-winning coming-of-age novel for young adult readers.**When Te Arepa Santos is dragged into the river by a giant eel, something happens that will change the course of his whole life. The boy who struggles to the bank is not the same one who plunged in, moments earlier. He has brushed against the spirit world, and there is a price to be paid; an utu (revenge) to be exacted.Years later, far from the protection of whanau (family) and ancestral land, he finds new enemies. This time, with no one to save him, there is a decision to be made: he can wait on the bank, or leap forward into the river.At the 2013 NZ Post Childrens Book Awards *Into the River* was judged the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. It also won the Young Adult Fiction category of the awards. An engaging coming-of-age novel, it follows its main protagonist from his childhood in small-town rural New Zealand to an elite Auckland boarding school, where he must forge his own way - including battling with his cultural identity.This prequel to Ted Dawe's award-winning novel *Thunder Road* is gritty, provocative, at times shocking, but always real and true. The awards' chief judge Bernard Beckett described a character "caught between two worlds ... the explicit content was presented as the danger of people being left adrift by society. And within that context, hard-hitting material is crucial; it is what makes the book authentic, real and important."The Deputy Chief Censor of Fim and Literature ruled that the book is not offensive: 'The book deals with some stronger content. There are sexual relationships between teenagers, encounters with possible child sexual exploitation, the use of illegal drugs and other criminal activities, violent assault, and a moderate level of highly offensive language. These are well contextualised within an exciting fast moving narrative that has as its protagonist, a young teenage Maori boy from a rural community who is finding his way through the strange uncomfortable environment of a boys' boarding school and unfamiliar social mores. The story captures the raw and real extremes of adolescence in teenage boys along with their yearnings and obsessions. The book is notable for being one of the first in the New Zealand which specifically targets teenage boys and younger men - a genre that does not have great representation. The genre character is therefore significant. The content immerses the reader in action, wit, and intrigue, as well as a level of social realism, all likely to engage teen and young adult readers and with particular appeal for older boys and young men.'

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### From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—Te Arepa Santos is a 13-year-old Maori boy living in a remote rural town in New Zealand. Life is slow but rich with family and friends. He can easily spend a day catching eels with his friends, or nights with his grandfather telling stories of the ancestors he is named after. When the teen wins a scholarship to a prestigious Auckland boarding school, he goes with expectations from his family. The school resembles an English private school—Te Arepa is expected to study Latin and to put up with bullying by senior pupils, which is traditional within the setting. His Maori language and culture are not valued. As all the boys are given nicknames, Te Arepa becomes Devon, changing not only in name but in nature as he struggles to fit in. Devon's best friend is Steph, who has his own identity issues. Familiar with boarding schools, Steph manipulates teachers and other students to get what he wants. This work has won multiple awards in New Zealand and has been at the center of much controversy there. Aimed at older teens, the novel contains very strong language, underage sex, sexual relations between a student and a teacher, drug use, and violence. However, these elements are not gratuitous but are integral to the narrative, which the author based on his experiences as an educator in this kind of setting. While the story is firmly rooted in New Zealand, the themes are universal to all teens. VERDICT This is not a book for sensitive readers, because of its content and challenging scenes. The Maori words and setting will be unfamiliar to many, but determined and curious teens will find this work thought provoking, eye-opening, and maybe even familiar.—Michelle Anderson, Tauranga City Libraries, New Zealand

### Review

"Both daring and compulsively readable, in *Into the River* Ted Dawe combines mythology, history and gritty realism into a powerful novel. An outstanding piece of world literature.”

**—John Boyne, #1 *New York Times* bestselling author of *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas***

"I was entirely gripped by INTO THE RIVER, and struck by how relevant its content is to a contemporary teenage audience. This is an important, skillfully-told novel, and it deserves to be talked about. In short, I love this book. I’m not sure I can praise it enough.”

**—Lucy Christopher, author of *Stolen*, a Printz Award honor book, and *Flyaway*, shortlisted for the Costa Award**

"Te Arepa/Devon is a deeply compelling character...Readers will either see themselves in Devon and his story or will reconsider their own roles in their schools' social structures...an object lesson in how systems of power perpetuate themselves.”

**—*Kirkus Reviews***

“Determined and curious teens will find this work thought provoking, eye-opening, and maybe even familiar.”

**—*School Library Journal***

"Te Arepa, who cycles through a believable variety of identities and struggles, is beautifully vivid. The compassionate depiction of the teen’s choices, both good and bad, as well as the candid portrayal of life at an all-boys school, packed as it is with drugs, drinking, sex, and violent bullying, will give this significant appeal for fans of character-driven novels where the conclusions aren’t very rosy, let alone clearly definitive.”

**—*Booklist***

"Riveting...Into the River is a raw story that rings true. Older teens will devour this fresh, engaging coming-of-age novel about personal identity and poisonous social inequality, the excitement and terror of adolescence, the nuances of friendship and freedom and much more."

**—Shelf Awareness**

"Emphasizes the complications of culture, loyalty, and consequences when “there is freedom and then there is everything else.”

**—*Publishers Weekly***