Dreams Of Warriors: Published by Brocker Books
NZD $23.00
“Behold the summer grass
All that remains of the
Dreams of warriors”
(Haiku on a plaque at the site of a Japanese Prisoner of War camp near Featherston)
Featherston, New Zealand, in the Second World War is a tough and bleak place for fourteen-year-old Bella. Her father is away fighting overseas, while his family fight to save their farm from ruin and keep his dreams alive. Bella, her mother, and older sister have to cope with a herd of dairy cows, an unscrupulous neighbour who covets the farm, and a crazy, bad-tempered racehorse called Gipsy. Bella is terrified of the horse and doesn’t know where to turn. When help is offered from an unlikely source, will she have the courage to accept it, or will Gipsy destroy her father’s dreams?
This is a gripping story, set in New Zealand during World War Two, with a gritty reality about how tough life was for those women left on the land to continue farming, with husbands, fathers and sons abroad fighting. It also encompasses some important events in our war-time history, such as the riot at the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Featherson, rationing, swagmen, and the impact of the arrival of the American troops in New Zealand.
