This book is pure poetry. It is beautiful and you should read it.
TL;DR – A story of whales, mythology, history and culture. A must read.
RAGDOLL RATING: Exceptional.
What I thought…
This is the story of Kahu and the whales. Kahu, a young Maori girl, grows up desperate to connect with her grandfather, Koro. She wants nothing more than to learn about Maori culture and win her grandfathers love and respect. But Koro will not have it. But Kahu is destined for great things, and when the great whales come, everything starts to change.
I loved this book. I really don’t know what it was specifically I liked so much about it. Perhaps it was the poetic use of language, the way the Maori language was woven in with the English. Or the beautiful way the story of Paikea was told, and linked artfully into the main story. It could have been the characters, and the interplay between them. It could have been the account of how the people banded together to save a troop of whales. Or it could have been any number of other things.
The point is, I read this book and I loved it. I didn’t love bits of it, I didn’t really like the ending and the rest was a bit naff. I loved all of it, from beginning to end. Something about it just spoke to me on a deeper level than just enjoying the plot. But until I can figure out why that was, I’m going to assume it had something to do with the whales.
Just read it, I can’t promise you’ll like it the same way I did, but it’s certainly worth a try.
___________________________________________
Please note: I am in no way affiliated with the author or publishers. I bought this book with my own money for my own reasons. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
Ragdoll Reads 
2 thoughts on “Kwik Review: The Whale Rider (Witi Ihimaera)”