RaveStuff (NZ)... highly accomplished ... a very impressive debut that sweeps you along with its characters ... Manawatu\'s real achievement lies in two aspects of the novel. Firstly, she deftly intertwines several narrative strands, mixing the trajectories of Taukiri, Arama, their mother, Jade, and her husband, Toko. She moves easily between the past and the present, never revealing the cause of the death of Toko and the disappearance of Jade until the final few chapters. The younger brother, Arama, is the lynchpin. His story binds the others together, creating huge sympathy for his innocent plight...Secondly, Manawatu has caught the nuances of the different voices of the tale ... The only jarring note is the inclusion of unnamed, italicised voices in the last-third of the book. These are unclear and need more focus ... Where Manawatu\'s inexperience shows is in her climax. In a riot of implausibility, she brings all her strands together in one melodramatic rush. Coincidences pile on top of one another to stretch our credibility way beyond breaking point. This is a real pity, as it undoes much of the good, steady work she has done before ... Nevertheless, Auē signals the entrance of an impressive talent. Roll on the next!
