Author(s): Ned Wenlock

Graphic Novel | Children's & YA Graphic | Aotearoa New Zealand | Earth's End | Aotearoa Fiction | 2024 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults — finalists | Read our reviews! | 2024 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults — winners

At school, being right isn't always the right answer. Peter's bull-headed commitment to the truth has already picked him out as a target for the school bullies. The misfit new girl is a complete badass, but seems as interested in his nemesis, Gus, as she is in Peter, and his parents are too busy bickering to care about any of it. It all feels overwhelming to Peter- like a tsunami is coming and he isn't sure he can stop it.

Review by Stella:

This excellent graphic novel from Paekakariki-based illustrator, animator, and comic maker Ned Wenlock deals with bullying, being an outsider, and that awkward transition from childhood to adulthood with raw honesty and clarity.

Meet Peter, a target for the school bullies. His commitment to truth and being right isn’t always the best fit for your final days of primary school. Being twelve is never easy and, for Peter, life is just too much. Peter’s parents are too busy bickering to notice his despair, his nemesis Gus and his cronies are on his case, and there’s a new girl at school just as much a misfit as him. But she’s a badass, and it’s difficult for Peter to navigate her motives. It all feels overwhelming to Peter — like a tsunami is coming and he isn't sure he can stop it.

Told in Ned’s unique and beautifully pared-down style, Tsunami is a taunt page-turner, a coming-of-age story, and nuanced examination of teenage alienation and the unpredictable consequences of our actions. 
Another example of superb publishing from Earth’s End.