Scan barcode
traceyanderson's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, and Racism
melbsreads's review
3.0
Also reviewed on my Youtube channel.
This is the story of Calypso, a young Nukunu man, and how he meets his extended family and visits Nukunu land for the first time. It's also the story of Calypso falling in love with a girl named Claire. And it's ALSO the story of Calypso's mum - who was part of the Stolen Generation - working through her guilt and her anger about her past, and reconnecting with her family and her Indigenous heritage. And it's ALSO ALSO about Calypso trying to save his job by finding Aboriginal remedies that he and his boss can sell in their health food shop.
So while I enjoyed the writing and I liked the characters, this effectively felt like three separate stories combined into one, and none of them were fleshed out QUITE as well as I would have liked them to be. If the story had focused exclusively on the return-to-country elements of the story rather than adding in a bunch of additional background plots, it would have been much stronger for me.
I also found that the ending was rather more abrupt than I would have liked, and it effectively felt like that scene at the end of a rom-com where you see everyone's happily ever afters for a split second. That said, I liked that Jared Thomas didn't pull any punches in regards to the reality of life for Indigenous youth - the racism they face on a daily basis, the way they're treated by police, and how Calypso finds life much easier when he pretends to be Jamaican.
So it's an important story, and it's wonderful to have Indigenous stories told by Indigenous voices. I just wish this could have been a little more fleshed out than it was.
This is the story of Calypso, a young Nukunu man, and how he meets his extended family and visits Nukunu land for the first time. It's also the story of Calypso falling in love with a girl named Claire. And it's ALSO the story of Calypso's mum - who was part of the Stolen Generation - working through her guilt and her anger about her past, and reconnecting with her family and her Indigenous heritage. And it's ALSO ALSO about Calypso trying to save his job by finding Aboriginal remedies that he and his boss can sell in their health food shop.
So while I enjoyed the writing and I liked the characters, this effectively felt like three separate stories combined into one, and none of them were fleshed out QUITE as well as I would have liked them to be. If the story had focused exclusively on the return-to-country elements of the story rather than adding in a bunch of additional background plots, it would have been much stronger for me.
I also found that the ending was rather more abrupt than I would have liked, and it effectively felt like that scene at the end of a rom-com where you see everyone's happily ever afters for a split second. That said, I liked that Jared Thomas didn't pull any punches in regards to the reality of life for Indigenous youth - the racism they face on a daily basis, the way they're treated by police, and how Calypso finds life much easier when he pretends to be Jamaican.
So it's an important story, and it's wonderful to have Indigenous stories told by Indigenous voices. I just wish this could have been a little more fleshed out than it was.
More...