Notes

White Lies, Maori Legends and Fairytales is a powerful, engaging story about a boy called Petera, and his best mate Hone, growing up in small town Aotearoa. The book is full of childhood antics and adventure - surfing the sand dunes, dreaming of being an All Black, doing anything they can to stop a weirdo girl from joining their gang, and avoiding Wiremu, the school bully, who wants to smash their faces in any chance he gets!
But meeting new people prompts the boys to ask questions about their world. What happened between Maori and Europeans over land all those years ago? Was it fair? What does it mean today? Why did there have to be a war where people died? Why did people sign the Treaty of Waitangi? How different are New Zealand Maori people, from New Zealand European people, and what do they think of each other now?
The boys discover that not everyone views the world in the same way and that sometimes you have to fight for who you are in a world that seems to be changing around you.