When I was a kid I was absolutely obsessed with the movie version of this book. I watched it so many times and even today I still love it. I actually didn't realize that it was based on a book until it came time for me to choose a book for the New Zealand category of my storygraph reading challenge, when I saw this as an option it was an obvious choice.

Honestly, this book was so much better than the movie I loved so much. It is a beautifully written story about a Maori girl who desperately wants to be loved and appreciated by her grandfather, who has an amazing kinship with the sea. It was told mostly from the perspective of her uncle who loved her so much. 

It also told the story of a very very old Whale, and the description of its relationship with it's original rider, it's 'golden master'  was heart achingly beautiful.

This was a short book, so I would recommend it to everyone as it doesn't take much time to get through and I honestly can't imagine anyone not loving it.