A New Song in the Land (alternate title: 'Mission Girl') is about a 14-year-old Maori girl called Atapo, a chief's daughter. Many of her whanau are killed during a battle, and she is captured and kept as a slave by a rival iwi. When sickness threatens the iwi, her grandmother has a vision and tells her to run. She escapes under cover of darkness and makes her way to the the Waimate mission station in the Bay of Islands run by William Williams. Here she starts to learn new ways, but when a man comes asking about her she must move again, this time to the Paihia Mission Station run by Henry Williams. She learns to read and write in the English language and also to write in Maori. Events unfold around the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 and Atapo is baptised. However her grandmother, Marama, haunts her dreams and she must try to return to her people and share her new knowledge.

A really well written historical fiction book that can deepen understanding of this time in the history of Aotearoa. ( )

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.