A review by liv_eleanor
Auē by Becky Manawatu

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of my all time favourite books. Auē is raw, tense, heartbreaking and also beautiful and hopeful. It weaves together themes of trauma and togetherness, heartbreak and love, family and identity with poetic prose and such a gorgeous grounding in the geography and culture of New Zealand. I have read it twice now and loved it more each time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail