Review: The Secret Green, by Sonya Wilson

Nissa Marshall’s heart is in Te Rua-o-te-Moko Fiordland. A year after her harrowing adventure deep in the bush – where she lived for a month with the community of magical winged 'sparks' bound to the flora and fauna that call Fiordland home, one for each species – and saving the wilderness’ last surviving kākāpō chick, Nissa can’t shake her connection to the forest. When one spark, Agnes-who-came-with-the-pīwakawaka, shows up on the brink of death in her Waihōpai Invercargill woodpile, Nissa knows something is wrong – and she needs to fix it. 

The Secret Green builds on the environmental lessons Nissa Marshall and her friends, Tama MacDonald and Josh Turei, learnt in Sonya Wilson’s first book, Spark Hunter (The Cuba Press, 2021, republished by Allen & Unwin NZ, this year with a flash new matching cover). Nissa and her friends take advantage of a local TV programme hoping to film a segment about her time 'lost' in the bush to return to Tamatea Dusky Sound and sneak Agnes back into the forest. 

But something sinister is clearly afoot – there are suspicious survey markers planted increasingly deep in the mountains, a hulking vessel lurking in one of the sounds and two ill-tempered men claiming their company is about to tunnel a road right through the national park in the name of tourism. To Nissa and Tama, it’s clear the project threatens the forest they know and love and all the taonga species – and sparks – within it. They have to make the company stop somehow – but what can two thirteen-year-olds possibly do?  

'Real life is not in the places that have been covered in concrete and steel. It is the city that is the made-up place, the built-up place. Here is where the real world is. Make them see that. That this is real, and that it needs protecting,' one of the wise sparks – Tau-who-came-with-the-moss – reminds them.

Wilson crafts a delightfully kid-forward story, where the adults play supporting roles at best (and are active antagonists at worst). It’s Nissa, Tama and Josh who take initiative, come up with plans and prod everyone else into action. It will be a distinct appeal to the type of kid who feels the adults in their lives simply don’t listen to them, even when they’re clearly right.

There are some genuinely tense and emotional moments throughout the story, whenever Nissa and Tama have to make many tough choices. But even with the best of intentions the two kids aren’t perfect, and a key takeaway from The Secret Green is that it’s OK to make mistakes – you just have to take responsibility and do your best to fix it. Interspersed throughout are interludes from the perspective of notable Fiordland explores throughout history, and records of emails, text exchanges and social posts showing the wider impact of Nissa and Tama’s efforts.

'We are not in nature here, we are nature – we are not separate from any of this – we are part of this whole big system, and the system is huge and intricate and precious. And we need to get better at knowing it. Get better at being part of it. Get better at being good,' Nissa says in one interview with the TV crew. It’s the perfect gentle call to action, without being critical.  The Secret Green is a heartfelt Kiwi adventure story that will encourage kids – and probably more than a few parents! – to observe closely, think big and raise their voices for what they believe in.

Reviewed by Claire Williamson