Author(s): Peter Butler

Senior Fiction | Children & YA | Aotearoa New Zealand | Adventure

Twelve-year-old Toby and his sister Millie, fourteen, are tramping the Heaphy Track with their mother when they go off-track to find an old surveyor’s hut their grandfather used. When their mother breaks her leg in a hidden hole the kids set off back to fetch help.

They spend some nights alone, hungry and lost. So far, so ordinary, but there is something strange about the cave they’ve camped next to. A little woman emerges and draws them in with the promise of food and shelter. They enter an underground cavern that is deeper than they first thought and where a whole tribe lives. These people believe in natural law, not human law, and have deliberately hidden away from humans believing that here they can survive a total war or pandemic.

The kids are intrigued by the techniques this strange people have used to survive but this is tempered by the growing realisation that the Tribe don’t want them to leave. . .

Review: We are into the action early in this story of a whole new world and culture living under a South Island National Park of New Zealand.; The Night Tribe is a riveting read and the backstory of this tribe [is] fascinating. The longer the lost young characters are kept underground, the more intense the story becomes.; Will they have to stay forever in order for the Tribe to survive?; WhatBookNext.com.; Peter Butler's newest novel Night Tribe brings together so much of what is great about young adult fiction: suspense, drama, excitement, and wonderful writing. The novel is a reminder of how good storytelling can be.; Set in quintessential New Zealand, the plot centres on Millie and Toby, struggling through the dense kiwi bush to find help for their mum who has broken her leg. Through their adventures they find themselves seemingly watched and tracked causing all kinds of suspicions and speculations - keeping the audience guessing as much as the characters themselves... Overall, Night Tribe is a quality piece of writing that takes the reader on a journey of their own. It's magical, immersive, funny and brilliantly paced for anyone who loves a darn good yarn.; Night Tribe really is one of those stories that ticks every box for any lover of adventure stories.; (Chris Reed) NZ Booklovers;