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bestdressedbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
There was nothing actually wrong with this novel theme wise. I felt it dealt with the beauties and harsh realities of aboriginal culture well.
What I didn't like, was the fact that the writing style tried to hard, dropping big names in all the time and I'm sorry but if your going to name a character Lorna Jane when it's a reasonably famous brand name, your going to lose me. In 1 page her name was written about 11 times and she really was of no importance. But it was still quite annoyingly reparative.
Secondly, I felt that dealing with finding out she is gay is not handled realistically and almost written in a way that was really easy to wrap up whenever the author chose to do it, and to be honest apart from that everything Roxy does seems to be "amazing" in everyone's eyes.
There was not a lot that was "interesting" about this book and by the time we get to them potentially shutting down the aboriginal music program and getting them to do the bachelor of music like every other student I actually didn't care, I kind of felt like "yeah so you should, it should be the same qualification for everyone!" Because I didn't have any connection to this character that apart from being gay, everything else was going great for her. So she had to change to a mainstream program, that's the only bad thing that's happened to you in this book!!!!!
Disappointed with this one.......wasn't feeling it.
What I didn't like, was the fact that the writing style tried to hard, dropping big names in all the time and I'm sorry but if your going to name a character Lorna Jane when it's a reasonably famous brand name, your going to lose me. In 1 page her name was written about 11 times and she really was of no importance. But it was still quite annoyingly reparative.
Secondly, I felt that dealing with finding out she is gay is not handled realistically and almost written in a way that was really easy to wrap up whenever the author chose to do it, and to be honest apart from that everything Roxy does seems to be "amazing" in everyone's eyes.
There was not a lot that was "interesting" about this book and by the time we get to them potentially shutting down the aboriginal music program and getting them to do the bachelor of music like every other student I actually didn't care, I kind of felt like "yeah so you should, it should be the same qualification for everyone!" Because I didn't have any connection to this character that apart from being gay, everything else was going great for her. So she had to change to a mainstream program, that's the only bad thing that's happened to you in this book!!!!!
Disappointed with this one.......wasn't feeling it.
emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I ended up really enjoying this read! I expected it to be a new adult romance, but it was actually more of a slice-of-life contemporary, which I preferred. The book is very much a coming-of-age story, essentially following Roxy during her first year of uni. The story really captures the first year experience: striking out on your own, finding a new place to call home, figuring out who you are and what you want, and more. I loved the uni setting and the descriptions of what Roxy was doing in the Department of Aboriginal Music, and also her interactions with her fellow students, teachers, and mentors.
As aforementioned, the plot is styled like a slice-of-life, with many of the subplots coming together at the end. This gave the book a chance to explore multiple themes, mostly around Roxy’s indigenous and lesbian identities. I loved Roxy’s drive to bring Aboriginal music to the forefront. I also appreciated the subplot about the university’s budget cuts, how it showed that white people claim we are decolonising, when we are actually forcing assimilation and taking away safe spaces from indigenous people. On the topic of colonisation, I thought this quote was particularly poignant:
“The reality was that in front of me was a view of England: England dropped in the bush, England pressing down on Kaurna country.”
Regarding the queerness theme, I loved that Roxy was so immediately self-accepting. Her story depicts the reality of coming out again and again, and never knowing how people might react. It also shows the tension between Roxy’s indigenous and lesbian identities, in that her race means the country is a safer place for her, but then her queerness means the city is. On top of these core topics, the book also touches on: how relationships can be complicated when it comes to forgiveness; alcoholism and its impact on those around you; and parental abandonment.
It was not the book’s focus, but the romance was very sweet. I loved how supportive Roxy and Ana were of one another, and appreciated the small details of physical affection that Thomas included. It truly painted a picture of a loving relationship. I was also relieved to see there was no third-act breakup! Nothing but communication here, folks.
Music was central to the story which was fantastic. Reading about Soul Band and the televised music competition was so cool, but mostly I just appreciated seeing Roxy’s passion for music shine through. I wish I had kept a list of all the songs she mentioned so I could listen to them now!
My major criticism of this book is that the prose needed to be fleshed out more; it was quite bare in places. I wanted more description and internal monologuing, and I felt that some events weren’t given enough weight. In the end I only docked one star because of this, because I really enjoyed the book, loved the ending, and would recommend this to others looking for a slice-of-life, contemporary new adult coming-of-age story.
Rep: Aboriginal Australian lesbian MC (NB: lesbian is not used to directly describe her, only the word gay, although lesbian is used three times in a positive context, one of which is in a discussion of Roxy’s identity and she does not deny the term as a descriptor; d**e is used as a slur against the MC once, and the word occurs three more times as the MC is reflecting on the incident), Māori sapphic LI, almost all SCs are Indigenous Australian
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Outing
Moderate: Cursing, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Bullying, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Death, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Major: four uses of the lesbophobic d-slur Minor: disordered eating, gambling, internalised misogyny, menstruation, earthquake, loss of a loved one, imprisonment, disownment, on page use of the racist slur "a**", reference to the Stolen Generationlittleelfman's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great read. It perhaps skips along too quickly, but it's an enjoyable read especially for music fans. Would love to read more Indigenous LGBTQI YA!
traceyanderson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
littlewishling's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
A really nice coming of age story. I did feel that the writing style felt younger than the intended audience but apart from that it was really sweet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
melbsreads's review
4.0
Trigger warnings: racism, homophobia, alcohol abuse.
Back in 2015, I read Jared Thomas' first book (Calypso Summer) and enjoyed it but thought it needed another 50 or so pages to really flesh out the story. Still, I enjoyed it enough that when I heard about this one, it was on my radar.
It took me a long time to get around to reading it, but I'm glad I finally did. It's the story of Roxy, an Aboriginal girl from Port Augusta, who gets accepted to study Aboriginal Music at university in Adelaide. She struggles with being away from home, with university, with her studies, with her dad being in a new relationship, with the way that people at home react to her leaving town. But most of all, she struggles with the fact that she's fallen in love. With a girl.
There's a LOT going on in this book, to be honest. And the love interest (who, I should mention, is Maori!) doesn't show up until at least half way through the story. It feels a little disjointed at times because there are so many threads to the story, but ultimately they all pull together with Roxy trying to save the music program from budget cuts.
It examines the struggles Aboriginal teens have being away from home, the difficulties they have with things like research skills and information literacy, and how LGBTQIA+ people are treated within Indigenous communities (something that's also strongly addressed in Witi Ihimaera's astonishing The Uncle's Secret).
I loved Roxy as a character. I loved her dad and her relationship with her family and with her home. I loved the supporting characters. Could things have been tightened up so that it didn't meander as much? Sure. But at the same time, it just WORKS. And best of all, it's Own Voices. (Jared Thomas, like Roxy, is from Port Augusta and is Nukunu)
Back in 2015, I read Jared Thomas' first book (Calypso Summer) and enjoyed it but thought it needed another 50 or so pages to really flesh out the story. Still, I enjoyed it enough that when I heard about this one, it was on my radar.
It took me a long time to get around to reading it, but I'm glad I finally did. It's the story of Roxy, an Aboriginal girl from Port Augusta, who gets accepted to study Aboriginal Music at university in Adelaide. She struggles with being away from home, with university, with her studies, with her dad being in a new relationship, with the way that people at home react to her leaving town. But most of all, she struggles with the fact that she's fallen in love. With a girl.
There's a LOT going on in this book, to be honest. And the love interest (who, I should mention, is Maori!) doesn't show up until at least half way through the story. It feels a little disjointed at times because there are so many threads to the story, but ultimately they all pull together with Roxy trying to save the music program from budget cuts.
It examines the struggles Aboriginal teens have being away from home, the difficulties they have with things like research skills and information literacy, and how LGBTQIA+ people are treated within Indigenous communities (something that's also strongly addressed in Witi Ihimaera's astonishing The Uncle's Secret).
I loved Roxy as a character. I loved her dad and her relationship with her family and with her home. I loved the supporting characters. Could things have been tightened up so that it didn't meander as much? Sure. But at the same time, it just WORKS. And best of all, it's Own Voices. (Jared Thomas, like Roxy, is from Port Augusta and is Nukunu)
missusb21's review
4.0
It was refreshing to read a book in which the MC didn't have to go 'off the rails' to work through her identity issues.
Roxie is an amazing talent, and a terrific friend and daughter. I loved her story.
Roxie is an amazing talent, and a terrific friend and daughter. I loved her story.
vellichorbee's review
5.0
This book was wonderful and all of the messages in it are so important. Longer review to follow.