Reviews

this was definitely an interesting concept, but a little gutsy for a debut imo. coleman definitely succeeded in putting me, a white australian, in the shoes of an aboriginal australian who lived through the colonisation / stolen generations of australia. there just wasnt a clear end goal for any of the characters except for jacky, and even when that goal was "achieved", there wasnt anything... new for him, even though the story continued on.

coleman writes with very beautiful language, though at times the dialogue and the narrative feel disconnected. it almost sounded like someone else started writing it in the second half of the book.

this is still a good debut; i think it just needed to be fleshed out a little more. i would have liked to have little hints of the origin of the settlers throughout the beginning of the book, just to keep readers intrigued, rather than surprising us with it half way through.

Content Warnings

theangrystackrat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

websterworks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

tirelpet's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

bellewritesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

ethanpoole's review against another edition

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3.0

Meaningful message told in a meaningful way. Could have had more plot though.

om4im's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Fuck colonisers everywhere. May I live to see the fall of the empire from Gadigal to Palestine.

Read this in the week of the invasion/mourning/survival/genocide of First Nations people in the so-called australia.
I cannot believe a country built on genocide, where they open every goddamn meeting/gathering with an acknowledgement of the land, is currently supporting and contributing to the genocide of other indigenous people.

blindchoice's review against another edition

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challenging tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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