Auē (2019) by New Zealand writer Becky Manawatu begins with 8-year-old Arama being delivered to his new home with Aunt Kat and awful Uncle Stu.

It’s his 17-year-old brother, Taukiri, who is dropping Ari off.

Taukiri, we find out, is disappointed in himself because he's abandoned his brother. He, too, is grieving the loss of his parents, and is homeless. Auē—which is a Maori word meaning “to cry, howl, groan, wail, bawl”—is Becky Manawatu’s first novel. It has won several awards, including the 2020 Jann Medicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and was New Zealand’s best selling novel in 2020 and 2021.