The premise
of this story is a day in the life of three young women — Te Hoia, Rosina and Q — in Tāmaki Makaurau. They meet up to visit an art gallery where one of them is
exhibiting. It sounds simple, but as the friends catch the bus, walk through
their local neighbourhood and peruse the gallery, their lives are fully revealed
to us.
Adventurous readers who are ready for a New Zealand story with a difference. Running to only 172 pages, it is possible to read it in a single sitting, or have time to reread it just before your meeting so all of the details are front of mind!
From its
striking cover to its pleasing layout and its inclusion of artwork and poetry,
this is a beautiful book in every sense of the word. I found myself instantly
and fully immersed in Te Hoia’s, Rosina’s and Q’s lives, right from the opening
sentence.
Te Hoia is a political science student ‘with an interest in
gentrification and environmental racism’. I appreciated that as Te Hoia is
reading through her prescribed essays (while waiting for the bus!), we are
peering over her shoulder reading excerpts and being challenged by ideas around
these surprisingly interesting subjects. Although Te Hoia is the ringleader,
each of the friends offer different insights into the experiences of young
women of colour.
The writing is often funny, and impressively evocative of Auckland.
No criticism – this book is a delight to read, and reread. Coco Solid is a very talented writer, musician and artist and I look forward to reading and being challenged by her future work.
