Owl — Joanna Orwin

A gripping adventure based on an ancient Maori myth is brought to life in this award-winning junior novel.

'A dark shape hurtled out of the fog . . . The bird turned in a curving steep dive, aiming for Tama . . . The boy was being dragged beneath it, his feet barely brushing the tops of tussocks . . ..'

Owl and Tama could hardly be more different. Owl has a lot to cope with. He's trying to get used to life without his Dad while helping his family run their struggling farm. All he wants is to escape by getting into archaeology and improve his climbing. And along comes Tama, a disgruntled city kid. Owl's family supposedly has to help him out. Tama won't say much, but Owl can tell he's full of aggro and resentment. The boys are set for a stand-off.

Yet Tama's arrival coincides with Owl's discovery of some Maori cave drawings. Owl's interest in the rock art, and the tension between him and Tama, somehow unleash a disturbing malevolence from the past. Together they have set free the forces of the ancient myth of the Pouakai, a brutal man-eater bent on destruction.

Owl and the reluctant Tama must decode the story of the cave drawings so they can defeat the creature: to save themselves, Owl's family, and the local farmers. A wild, gripping novel that retells the Waitaha legend of the Pouakai, a ferocious giant eagle. .

Owl was awarded Best in Senior Fiction at the 2002 NZ Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and was also listed as a 2002 Storylines Notable Senior Fiction Book.