Mata i Pusi: Story Review

Story Name: Mata i Pusi

Story By: Sisilia Eteuati

Story Reviewed By: Jedida

Age: 11

School: Pt England School

                                             Mata i Pusi: Story Review

The story that i’m reviewing is about a girl (but we don’t
know her name), she has a Samoan Mum, and a Palangi
Dad. You’ll see how that matters later on in the review. Her
Mum is a lawyer, but we also don’t know what her Dad
works as, she lives with her Mum, Dad, and Nana. Her Nana
is also Samoan.

Having a Palangi Dad, might mean having green eyes,
or light skin for some people. And she has Green eyes,
light brown hair, and light brown skin. So a bit from her
Mum, and a bit from her Dad like some other people.

The name of the story is called Mata i Pusi which means
cat eyes in Samoan, and people tease the main character
in this story because she is bi-racial. So they tease her
because she might look to palangi, or sound too samoan,
and that’s kind of what they tease her about.

Over all, I think that this story can teach you a lot, especially
about bi-racial families, or people. I give this story 4 out of 5
stars, and I also recommend it.   

Story Review: Reconnecting The Brain

Story: Reconnecting The Brain

Story By: Bronwen Wall

Reviewed By: Jedida

Age: 11

School: Pt England

                   Reconnecting the Brain Story Review

This story is called Reconnecting The Brain, but it’s actually not fully
about that, it is about someone called Melanie Cheung. Melanie Cheung
is a Neurobiologist and she studys brains. Right now,(in the story), she is
trying to find a treatment for people with something called huntington's
disease. I didn’t know what that was before I read the story, or what it
even was But after reading it, I know more, even about brains.

Melanie Cheung is part Maori and Tahitian Chinese, and she uses
Karakia to remove tapu from the brain before studying it. At first she
wasn’t really sure if she wanted to become a Neurobiologist because
the brain is tapu for Maori people, which means that the brain is very
sacred, important, and restricted to Maori people.  

I have learnt quite a lot of things from this story. Like what huntington's
disease is, and a lot of different words and some different Maori words
that can be helpful at different times. Some of the different words that I
learnt were Neuroplasticity, Tapu, Tikanga, Whakanoa, and much much
more.

Overall, I think that this book is very good, and I definitely recommend it
for anyone. It can also teach you quite a lot of different things and words,
especially about brains, and It’s just a great book overall, and I give it 4
out of 5 stars.