Showing results for "Whale" in Coming of Age

Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather's love and attention. But he is focused on his duties as chief of a Maori tribe in Whangara, on the East Coast of New Zealand - a tribe that claims descent from the legendary 'whale rider'. In every generation since the whale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir - there's only Kahu. She should be the next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored.

Thirteen years ago, Sarah Richardson's life was shattered after the tragic death of her mother. The shocking event left a grief-stricken teenaged Sarah with partial amnesia. Some things are easier to forget. But now a familiar voice from her childhood sends Sarah, a talented mid-20s ad exec, back to her past. A past that she had thought was long buried.

For nine-year-old Ruby, travelling the country with her charismatic father Mitch and busking for a living is the only life she's ever known. Mitch has been the centre of Ruby's world since she was a baby, and much as she's curious about her mother who died soon after Ruby was born, talk of her is taboo. When repairs to their ageing Kombi strand them in a small coastal town, Ruby is drawn to the town and its people and gains a glimpse of family life starkly different to her own.