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My New Zealand Story
Dawn Raid
"Imagine this: You're having an amazing family holiday, one where everyone is there and all 18 of you are squeezed into one house. All of sudden it's 4 o'clock in the morning and there's banging and yelling and screaming. The police are in the house pulling people out of bed ..."
Sofia is like most 12-year-old girls in New Zealand. How is she going to earn enough money for those boots? WHY does she have to give that speech at school? Who is she going to be friends with this year?
It comes as a surprise to Sofia and her family when her big brother, Lenny, starts talking about protests, "overstayers", and injustices against Pacific Islanders by the government. Inspired by the Black Panthers in America, a group has formed called the Polynesian Panthers, who encourage immigrant and Indigenous families across New Zealand to stand up for their rights. Soon the whole family becomes involved in the movement.
Told through Sofia's diary entries, with illustrations throughout, Dawn Raid is the story of one ordinary girl living in extraordinary times, learning how to stand up and fight.
Sofia is like most 12-year-old girls in New Zealand. How is she going to earn enough money for those boots? WHY does she have to give that speech at school? Who is she going to be friends with this year?
It comes as a surprise to Sofia and her family when her big brother, Lenny, starts talking about protests, "overstayers", and injustices against Pacific Islanders by the government. Inspired by the Black Panthers in America, a group has formed called the Polynesian Panthers, who encourage immigrant and Indigenous families across New Zealand to stand up for their rights. Soon the whole family becomes involved in the movement.
Told through Sofia's diary entries, with illustrations throughout, Dawn Raid is the story of one ordinary girl living in extraordinary times, learning how to stand up and fight.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
39 people are currently reading
725 people want to read
About the author
Pauline Vaeluaga Smith
1 book16 followersPauline (Vaeluaga) Smith is an author and educationalist. Born in the small rural town of Mataura, Pauline is of Samoan, Tuvaluan, Scottish and Irish descent. Smith's first book My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid, was a finalist at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young People in the Esther Glen, Junior Fiction and Best First Book categories. It was the winner of the Best First Book for 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
April 29, 2021
Well this is a tricky review to write so I will keep it simple.
5 stars for the subject matter of which all New Zealanders should know about.
2 Stars for the lacklustre delivery with a character who is 13 but seems more like a very young child due to the way she has been written.
I'll give it 3.5 but I really wish this had more teeth to it as it was an outrageous policy where people were terrorised and left traumatised.
5 stars for the subject matter of which all New Zealanders should know about.
2 Stars for the lacklustre delivery with a character who is 13 but seems more like a very young child due to the way she has been written.
I'll give it 3.5 but I really wish this had more teeth to it as it was an outrageous policy where people were terrorised and left traumatised.
February 27, 2020
Well-executed middle grade fiction about an important, and shameful part of New Zealand History. I’m so glad that our publishers support stories like this for our young people.
April 5, 2018
I fell in love with the cover, but it is what inside that brought me to happy tears. I would recommend this book for a tween who is finding their voice in the world, for a Social Studies teacher to pair with lessons about the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement, and to anyone interested in contemporary novels about the diaspora of indigenous experiences throughout the world. This is also a great read-alike for The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, by Sonia Manzano, and If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth. If only there were more books like this!
December 21, 2024
*3.5/5
full review on my YouTube channel, ProblemsOfABookNerd!
full review on my YouTube channel, ProblemsOfABookNerd!
July 6, 2022
Wow I absolutely loved this book! Many people think racism isn't a huge issue in NZ but it's a topic that is swept under the rug, especially pacific islanders who endured racism on a daily basis in the 1970s. I hope the book gets the recognition it needs it's a 5/5 for me 😊
April 3, 2018
Solid read about racism, stereotyping, media manipulation and an awful part in NZ history. Latest book in the My New Zealand Story books.
August 8, 2021
Recently, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand admitted to the events that are discussed in this book - discrimination against Pacific Islanders, beginning under the leadership of Prime Minister Norman Kirk and continued under Prime Minister Rob Muldoon from the early 1970's through the early 1980's. The Islanders were blamed for the lose of jobs for the white majority of New Zealanders, and were under constant threat of being separated from their families by the authorities. In fact, the majority of the "overstayers" (about two-thirds) were from Australia, North America, and European countries.
Pauline's book is filled with facts that make one wonder exactly what century New Zealand was living in during this time ----- ONLY ONE national television station, and one had to have a special license to own a black and white set.......?????????
Sofia is just trying to be a normal girl in 1976, figuring how to earn enough money to buy a pair of white "go-go" boots, just like the ones Nancy Sinatra sings about in her song "These Boots are Made for Walking"....
But, the one thing that is against Sofia is she is considered a "Pacific Islander", she and her extended family are in constant turmoil over the possibility of being sent back to their "homeland".
The fame of the American Black Panther movement has reached New Zealand, with the creation of the Polynesian Panthers, much to the dismay of the forces that be - protests are not something that the government puts up with.
Pauline has added historical information at the conclusion of Sofia's story, along with photos from events during this time.
Pauline's book is filled with facts that make one wonder exactly what century New Zealand was living in during this time ----- ONLY ONE national television station, and one had to have a special license to own a black and white set.......?????????
Sofia is just trying to be a normal girl in 1976, figuring how to earn enough money to buy a pair of white "go-go" boots, just like the ones Nancy Sinatra sings about in her song "These Boots are Made for Walking"....
But, the one thing that is against Sofia is she is considered a "Pacific Islander", she and her extended family are in constant turmoil over the possibility of being sent back to their "homeland".
The fame of the American Black Panther movement has reached New Zealand, with the creation of the Polynesian Panthers, much to the dismay of the forces that be - protests are not something that the government puts up with.
Pauline has added historical information at the conclusion of Sofia's story, along with photos from events during this time.
July 18, 2018
Such a significant read about the injustices faced by Polynesian people in New Zealand book in the 70s. This book teaches the bias connotations the media forces upon us and how this can skew the public opinion. This book taught me that the 70s in New Zealand saw people fighting for equality, recognition and honesty which I did not know about this little country :)
June 29, 2018
Fabulous story, ticked all my boxes.
An essential addition to every school library in New Zealand
An essential addition to every school library in New Zealand
April 14, 2021
Good topic to write a book about and for kids too. But this book doesn’t keep a focus on its story and includes stupid onomatopoeia words such as Wooowe! And dumb phrases. It takes place in the the 1970s so it drops songs and toys with no apparent reason and has a child narrator that talks about anything but the main topic. This is a writing style that it is common in kids books and brings down the measurement for lexile and Fry readability scores. That just lowers the complexity of the words mainly looking at syllables. The primary voice is that if a frenetic speaking, thinking kid saying nonsense and being indirect. A straightforward voice and portrayal of the main topic and why it was important. A picture book probably would have done much better. Very disappointed but it’s common in children’s literature right now and not very impressive. It’s disrespectful to child readers. I’m betting without direct conversation, a kid could read this and have no idea what actually happened.
September 28, 2018
A very quick read about an important part of NZ's history. This is set in 1976 and it is so 1976! I loved reading about the time - MacDonald's opens, milk runs, the price of items, movies, TV shows, music and the political situation of the time. As I was reading, I did wonder that a lot of the references would be totally lost of the kids in this generation. However there is a great section at the back that fills in the reader. Those who lived in the 70s will really enjoy the references - lots of memories.
This is written in diary form of a 13 year old girl living in Porirua. It follows the issues of the time focusing on the dawn raids. It is written from a young girl's perspective but explains the big issues really well - the reader understands the situation as Sofia does. An important read - one all NZ students should read.
This is written in diary form of a 13 year old girl living in Porirua. It follows the issues of the time focusing on the dawn raids. It is written from a young girl's perspective but explains the big issues really well - the reader understands the situation as Sofia does. An important read - one all NZ students should read.
January 22, 2019
Excellent book. I grew up in Porirua in the 70s and 80s, and this brought back many memories of the city in those times, and the political events of the time. Some of the language is more reflective of today than then - we would never have talked about Aotearoa/New Zealand; and as is said at the end, kids would never have challenged parents in the way shown.
I can see many many conversation starters here for kids today.
I can see many many conversation starters here for kids today.
December 22, 2018
So much to like about this book - recommend it for all young New Zealanders.
And for a more... mature person...this is such a nostalgia filled booked; what it was like growing up in NZ in the 70s/80s with only two TV channels and before the internet!
And for a more... mature person...this is such a nostalgia filled booked; what it was like growing up in NZ in the 70s/80s with only two TV channels and before the internet!
July 1, 2021
I've never liked children's books. They tend to reproduce a white middle-class ideology, blind to systemic injustices, and focused, instead, on propping up liberal values as universally experienced and/or desired. Judeo-Christian values, quaint British fluff or Randian hellscapes.
This book is different. It's a complex, intersectional work that, nonetheless, retains the playful and sincere approach of children's fiction.
Set in late 70's Aotearoa, it depicts a working class Samoan/Palagi family navigating a conservative era filled with poverty, consumerism, and systemic state violence on Polynesian people.
There's the haunt of poverty in nearly every interaction. The family sustains themselves on doughnuts, chips and burgers. Their trips into town are to places like McDonald's and KFC. The only time they eat indigenous meals are when the school helps organise a Maori hangi with the help of the wider community, or when they go to a family gathering with the Polynesian Panthers in Auckland. Without these community gatherings, they'd be trapped in the food desert of lowerclass geographies.
Against this poverty is a shimmering world of commodities. Sofia, the protagonist, pines after a set of go-go boots, after seeing them on a pop star on TV. She works for less than minimum wage to obtain them, yet multiple circumstances, not of her own making, repeatedly throw her back into destitution. What is striking about this is that she blames herself — for failing to save up, for buying this or that ephemeral object in lieu of the unobtainable. Deprivation is understood as self-generated under capitalist subjectivity.
Though these two circumstances are never overcome, Sofia and her family do begun to develop a political consciousness through their interactions with certain teachers, activists and police officers.
The dawn raids were a real phenomenon that occurred in Aotearoa. When the state needed workers in the post-war years, they loosened borders to let in immigrants. When the economy declined in the 70's, the state turned against these immigrants. They constructed a media narrative about foreigners stealing our jobs, sent police to raid Polynesian houses at 4am in the morning, and started deporting them (Polynesians were the only ethnicity targeted, despite being only 1/3 of the demographic of overstayers). These were people who had been welcomed as necessary, who'd started families and were, for all intents and purposes, New Zealanders, suddenly betrayed as abject, suspect, and undesirable. They lost their homes, their livelihoods, their loved ones. Families were split apart and left in a state of psychological terror. But organisations such as the Polynesian Panthers helped unite them though direct action, legal aid, community gardens and kai.
I didn't know about this until I read this book, and this is a children's book! I wish I'd read this as a kid. It would have grounded me, and shown me a history far more precarious, fractured and fucked up, than the official one about Columbus saying Maori people were really friendly, and then we signed a treaty. End of history bullshit.
I'm so proud of Pauline for writing this.
This book is different. It's a complex, intersectional work that, nonetheless, retains the playful and sincere approach of children's fiction.
Set in late 70's Aotearoa, it depicts a working class Samoan/Palagi family navigating a conservative era filled with poverty, consumerism, and systemic state violence on Polynesian people.
There's the haunt of poverty in nearly every interaction. The family sustains themselves on doughnuts, chips and burgers. Their trips into town are to places like McDonald's and KFC. The only time they eat indigenous meals are when the school helps organise a Maori hangi with the help of the wider community, or when they go to a family gathering with the Polynesian Panthers in Auckland. Without these community gatherings, they'd be trapped in the food desert of lowerclass geographies.
Against this poverty is a shimmering world of commodities. Sofia, the protagonist, pines after a set of go-go boots, after seeing them on a pop star on TV. She works for less than minimum wage to obtain them, yet multiple circumstances, not of her own making, repeatedly throw her back into destitution. What is striking about this is that she blames herself — for failing to save up, for buying this or that ephemeral object in lieu of the unobtainable. Deprivation is understood as self-generated under capitalist subjectivity.
Though these two circumstances are never overcome, Sofia and her family do begun to develop a political consciousness through their interactions with certain teachers, activists and police officers.
The dawn raids were a real phenomenon that occurred in Aotearoa. When the state needed workers in the post-war years, they loosened borders to let in immigrants. When the economy declined in the 70's, the state turned against these immigrants. They constructed a media narrative about foreigners stealing our jobs, sent police to raid Polynesian houses at 4am in the morning, and started deporting them (Polynesians were the only ethnicity targeted, despite being only 1/3 of the demographic of overstayers). These were people who had been welcomed as necessary, who'd started families and were, for all intents and purposes, New Zealanders, suddenly betrayed as abject, suspect, and undesirable. They lost their homes, their livelihoods, their loved ones. Families were split apart and left in a state of psychological terror. But organisations such as the Polynesian Panthers helped unite them though direct action, legal aid, community gardens and kai.
I didn't know about this until I read this book, and this is a children's book! I wish I'd read this as a kid. It would have grounded me, and shown me a history far more precarious, fractured and fucked up, than the official one about Columbus saying Maori people were really friendly, and then we signed a treaty. End of history bullshit.
I'm so proud of Pauline for writing this.
January 12, 2025
I had never heard of dawn raids. Thanks to Cece Ewing( problems of a book nerd)'s recommendation I got to read about this dark phase of New Zealand's history. I never thought the sweet country could ever have such a racist past. I always thought the Americans , British , and the South Africans pulled this crap!
I suppose there is no age bar to learning new things.
I loved the book. Highly recommend it.
I suppose there is no age bar to learning new things.
I loved the book. Highly recommend it.
January 16, 2024
Really important story about an aspect of NZ history that is hardly ever talked about. I like how it is from a childs POV and in diary format - it makes the story a lot more personal and hard hitting. Sofia is such a likeable and relatable character. Some bits of this story made me quite sad and other bits were so heartwarming. I especially loved her speech at the end and the waiata tautoko <33
September 17, 2018
Fantastic to have a book for young people written about this barely known (to them anyway) shameful part of Aotearoa's history. My sons (12 and 9) were engrossed and one night when I tired of reading aloud the 9 year old carried on reading it outloud to his older brother. They were shocked in parts at the unenlightened attitudes of 1970's NZ. Which sadly still exist in some parts of NZ today...This book should be in all NZ school libraries!
November 13, 2019
Room 26 loved listening to this book set in the 70s. We had lots of discussion about what life was like for kids at that time, and we had lots of questions about the Polynesian Panthers and why they were needed in New Zealand. We could all relate to Sofia having to present her speech, and her ongoing drama with her brothers. I would recommend this book to kids aged 10+, for anyone who is interested in history in New Zealand and wants to learn a bit more about life for kids in the 1970s.
April 15, 2019
What a brilliant piece of NZ literature. Even cooler considering the author is a local. I learnt more from this book than I did from 13 years of mainstream pakeha centric education in Aotearoa. These are important stories that need told and shared! Wonderful read, informative, educational and entertaining! Faafetai Pauline!
June 6, 2019
A valuable addition to the wonderful My NZ Story collection. This was a very dark period in NZ history and good to read about it from a teen point of view. I'd forgotten about chop suey, so it was fun going back in time!
Highly recommended to teen readers.
Highly recommended to teen readers.
September 7, 2021
An easy to read primer on the topic of the dawn raids of Pacific Islander (and Maori) people in New Zealand in the 70's under Prime Minister Muldoon. Perfect for young teens or anyone who wants a quick, easy history lesson!
December 5, 2019
This book is so good that I even tell my mom to buy it for me!!! I hope that one day soon my mom will buy me the Grace book that Miss Smith is reading to us(Room 26)!!!
January 13, 2020
An awesome book that uncovers NZ’s a small part of NZ’s long tail of racism and discrimation through the lens of an adolescent. Can’t wait to teach this to my students
March 11, 2021
Dawn Raid by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith is a wonderful middle grade book about a 13-year old girl in New Zealand in the 1970s whose world is gradually opened to the world of social activism. Dawn Raid is told in journal entries by Sofia, a young girl, who has mixed ethnicity parentage. She is a typical, insulated middle class kid until she begins to learn more about Dawn Raids and the work of the Polynesian Panthers.
Dawn Raids were immigration raids performed in the very early morning by the New Zealand government in the mid-1970s, targeting the Pacific Island population. If a person could not immediately provide correct identification, they would be arrested and detained, and eventually deported if their ID/current visa could not be located. Though Pacific Islanders made up a minority of those in the country illegally, they were specifically targeted, including Maori people--native to New Zealand. I am an American and there were so many echoes to present-day. The economy is struggling, non-European immigrants are blamed for taking jobs and targeted by the government.
When we first meet Sofia, she is an average middle-class girl. She is nervous about giving a speech at school and desperately wants a part-time job so she can buy white go-go boots. Through her older brother and new friend, she learns about the Dawn Raids and fight by Maori people to have their land returned to them. In Sofia’s diary entries, we learn about the racial profiling and stereotyping going on with a backdrop of time and place. I loved Sofia’s journey to activism, learning to identify injustice and stand up for herself. The audiobook is excellently narrated Tameka Sowman Vahatau, who has wonderful inflections. Dawn Raid is a marvelously-written story about family and justice for middle grade readers.
Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
Dawn Raids were immigration raids performed in the very early morning by the New Zealand government in the mid-1970s, targeting the Pacific Island population. If a person could not immediately provide correct identification, they would be arrested and detained, and eventually deported if their ID/current visa could not be located. Though Pacific Islanders made up a minority of those in the country illegally, they were specifically targeted, including Maori people--native to New Zealand. I am an American and there were so many echoes to present-day. The economy is struggling, non-European immigrants are blamed for taking jobs and targeted by the government.
When we first meet Sofia, she is an average middle-class girl. She is nervous about giving a speech at school and desperately wants a part-time job so she can buy white go-go boots. Through her older brother and new friend, she learns about the Dawn Raids and fight by Maori people to have their land returned to them. In Sofia’s diary entries, we learn about the racial profiling and stereotyping going on with a backdrop of time and place. I loved Sofia’s journey to activism, learning to identify injustice and stand up for herself. The audiobook is excellently narrated Tameka Sowman Vahatau, who has wonderful inflections. Dawn Raid is a marvelously-written story about family and justice for middle grade readers.
Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
April 12, 2021
This is such a great middle grade book! It was first published in New Zealand and I was trying to get my hands on a copy of it here in the states but was having no luck. To my surprise, during one of my searches to see if I could get it here, I saw that it was being published in the states. When it arrived, I devoured it in two days and it got me out of a reading slump.
The author and the main character of the story are both biracial Samoan/White New Zealanders. The book is historical fiction set in 1976 during the Dawn Raids in New Zealand when the homes of Pacific Islanders from Samoa, Tonga, etc. were regularly being raided by the police in the early hours of the morning. Police were trying to find "overstayers" or people who had overstayed their visa. This only (or mostly only) happened to Pacific Islanders even though they made up a smaller percentage of overstayers from other countries, particularly European countries, Australia, and the United States. This is a part of history that, if you are not from New Zealand, is something we don't learn about in the united states, but really closely mirrors ways that I.C.E. treat undocumented immigrants in the united states. Another part of the story that was super interesting was learning about the real live group called the Polynesian Panthers who were a group of New Zealanders of Polynesian decent who modeled their program after the Black Panthers and are still working for community rights and justice to this day. They created food programs for kids, homework programs, taught people about their rights, and worked in solidarity with Maori people to reclaim their land. I highly recommend this middle grade, especially if you have Samoan or other Pacific Islander students.
The author and the main character of the story are both biracial Samoan/White New Zealanders. The book is historical fiction set in 1976 during the Dawn Raids in New Zealand when the homes of Pacific Islanders from Samoa, Tonga, etc. were regularly being raided by the police in the early hours of the morning. Police were trying to find "overstayers" or people who had overstayed their visa. This only (or mostly only) happened to Pacific Islanders even though they made up a smaller percentage of overstayers from other countries, particularly European countries, Australia, and the United States. This is a part of history that, if you are not from New Zealand, is something we don't learn about in the united states, but really closely mirrors ways that I.C.E. treat undocumented immigrants in the united states. Another part of the story that was super interesting was learning about the real live group called the Polynesian Panthers who were a group of New Zealanders of Polynesian decent who modeled their program after the Black Panthers and are still working for community rights and justice to this day. They created food programs for kids, homework programs, taught people about their rights, and worked in solidarity with Maori people to reclaim their land. I highly recommend this middle grade, especially if you have Samoan or other Pacific Islander students.
October 21, 2022
This is a really neat historical fiction all about a young teenage girl in the 1970s and her awakening political activism with the Polynesian Panthers. It does have a very young feel to the writing style since it's written as journal entries, but I think that also serves to highlight her growth from just caring about getting the newest fashions and dealing with school friendships and enemies to caring about broader social issues. It's also just such a neat window into teenage life in the 1970s in New Zealand that felt really immersive. Definitely recommend!
Content Warnings:
racism, police brutality, injury
Content Warnings:
racism, police brutality, injury
March 19, 2023
A well written and accessible piece of insight into the dawn raids, normalised racism and the socio-cultural climate in Aotearoa during the 70s from the perspective of 13 year old Sofia, a young girl who’s biggest priority shifted from gogo boots to sharing the inequality and reality of the dawn raids. This collection of diary entries are a complete must read and something I would personally love to see incorporated into primary school curriculum in Aotearoa.
A friendly reminder: Polynesian people only made up a third of the population of overstayers while the majority of overstayers were from the UK, South Africa and the USA.
A friendly reminder: Polynesian people only made up a third of the population of overstayers while the majority of overstayers were from the UK, South Africa and the USA.
November 3, 2022
I learned a tremendous amount from this children's book. Although fiction, it is based on real-life events. I had never heard of the Polynesian Panthers or the racial discrimination and atrocities endured by Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. This story centered around Sofia and her family; each character was written so well and I loved how the book was in turns funny and serious. In just a short novel, the author expertly explores themes of racial injustice, family, friendship, and growing up through the eyes of a just-turned-13-year-old girl.
February 4, 2023
I enjoyed learning about a part of history that I didn’t even know existed. HOWEVER, this book is written in a format that will be eaten alive by US middle school students. They will be turned off with how young and juvenile the main character is while also making fun of the slang she uses. It was a hard, painful, and cringy read for me.
April 7, 2021
5 stars for middle grade fiction that sheds light on bigger issues. I enjoyed the diary style of the book as you feel like you are in her head experiencing her life and emotions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews