Reviews

Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran

linda3's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.5

philippamerrick's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the diverse set of characters, and really reflective of Australia’s immigration and detention practices. Wanting slightly more from the end!

skadinova's review

informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

brodiesbookshelf's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

lauren_mansfield0201's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

lemonadegirl29's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

katiemayor's review

fast-paced

4.5

melanievonh's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

leavesnpages's review

challenging inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

Another beautiful and thought-provoking read from Shankari. She is a gifted storyteller. Her writing allows you to envisage everything so vividly and feel every emotion as though it's your own. 

I do not want to give anything away from this book so I will make this review quite basic. 

In this novel we follow two women, Fina, who is seeking asylum in Australia, and Lucky, a special investigator with the government looking to uncover the truth behind the deaths of a young boy in the detention centre at Port Camden and one of the centre's security guards. These women are so different in their life experiences, their families, their jobs, but they are both strong and remarkable women. 

There are so many twists and turns that I was not expecting in this novel - one in particular that really got me. 

Also, the amount of research that must have gone into this novel alone is admirable. 

I have a lot of respect and a lot of love for Shankari's novels. I absolutely recommend this book.

paulineisreading's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5