You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Beautiful, and reminded me quite a bit of the Boy in Striped Pyjamas. The two protagonists are a lonely young girl and a boy who has spent his life in an Australian refugee processing centre after his family came from Burma. Jimmie finds a way in to the camp and learns about Subhi's life - he is living the only life he has ever known and is sustained and protected by family and friends, which makes his awful conditions even more shocking. A bit of violence and some disturbing scenes, but they're not graphic and are made more disturbing because they are under played. Quite amazing writing - I need to find more by this author!
The Bone Sparrow is about 10 year old Subhi, who was born in an Australian refugee detention centre, after his Rohingya mother and sister fled from genocide in Myanmar. Subhi knows almost nothing about the world beyond the detention centre until a local girl, Jimmie, finds a way to sneak in.
I read this because it was the assigned reading for my son's Year 7 English class and I was aware that the story matter would be challenging. It's horrifying, heartbreaking and enraging to read about how poorly the Australian government treats refugees. I found it more moving than [b:No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison|39284186|No Friend But the Mountains Writing from Manus Prison|Behrouz Boochani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534704554l/39284186._SY75_.jpg|60844640] given its straightforward depiction of the violence and poverty in the camp, with no pulled punches.
I read this because it was the assigned reading for my son's Year 7 English class and I was aware that the story matter would be challenging. It's horrifying, heartbreaking and enraging to read about how poorly the Australian government treats refugees. I found it more moving than [b:No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison|39284186|No Friend But the Mountains Writing from Manus Prison|Behrouz Boochani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534704554l/39284186._SY75_.jpg|60844640] given its straightforward depiction of the violence and poverty in the camp, with no pulled punches.
emotional
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:
Complicated
emotional
sad
fast-paced
3.5 Stars. Another one form the Carnegie Shortlist.
I feel guilty that I didn't enjoy this book more. It's about an incredible important and heartbreaking subject and focuses on the story of a desperate and forgotten people. The way that refugees are treated is abhorrent and we shouldn't be letting governments encourage us to ignore it. However this book... I personally just found it's slow pace and lack of much of a plot difficult to engage with.
There is a lot to like about it aside from the worthy subject. The characters themselves were very engaging. This book uses the young kid as narrator trope that I'm not always a fan off. I don't think it is stated how old Subhi is but he can't be more than eight years old if his older sister isn't more than twelve and is old enough to remember their father. Subhi was born inside the Refugee Detention Centre in Australia and it is all that he has ever known. This means he has a different perspective to his older friend Eli or his sister Queeny, who are both angry and frustrated by their situation. Life inside the Centre is horrendous. They get very little and very poor quality food, sickness is rife, it's unhygienic, they have nothing to do all day and people are dying or losing or their minds. It's never really clear exactly what is wrong with Subhi's mother but my impression was it was Depression over losing her husband rather than a physical illness.
This book does invite comparisons with [b:The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|39999|The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|John Boyne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366228171s/39999.jpg|1148702] but thankfully - unlike Bruno - I did like Subhi, I didn't find him annoying! I definitely enjoyed The Bone Sparrow more. And I also liked Jimmie too, the almost feral Aussie girl he builds a friendship with - even though she can't be much older than ten herself, she does seem to understand what the place that Subhi lives in is and she has a kindness and a wild spirit that has to be admired!
Stories are woven through the narrative as the way that people inside the Centre cope. Jimmie forms her friendship with Subhi initially because she can't read and she needs him to read to her the book of her dead mother's stories. This story, which was a kind of fairy tale but again about a persecuted people and war, was kind of a turn off... I found myself skim reading those section.
The ending for Jimmie is positive but for Subhi and his family, although the tone is more optimistic, you have to remember that the reality is things are really unlikely to get any better for them. This is the world that we live in... What can we do about it?
I wish I liked this book more! I still think it's worth reading.. but why didn't I like it more?!
I feel guilty that I didn't enjoy this book more. It's about an incredible important and heartbreaking subject and focuses on the story of a desperate and forgotten people. The way that refugees are treated is abhorrent and we shouldn't be letting governments encourage us to ignore it. However this book... I personally just found it's slow pace and lack of much of a plot difficult to engage with.
There is a lot to like about it aside from the worthy subject. The characters themselves were very engaging. This book uses the young kid as narrator trope that I'm not always a fan off. I don't think it is stated how old Subhi is but he can't be more than eight years old if his older sister isn't more than twelve and is old enough to remember their father. Subhi was born inside the Refugee Detention Centre in Australia and it is all that he has ever known. This means he has a different perspective to his older friend Eli or his sister Queeny, who are both angry and frustrated by their situation. Life inside the Centre is horrendous. They get very little and very poor quality food, sickness is rife, it's unhygienic, they have nothing to do all day and people are dying or losing or their minds. It's never really clear exactly what is wrong with Subhi's mother but my impression was it was Depression over losing her husband rather than a physical illness.
This book does invite comparisons with [b:The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|39999|The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|John Boyne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366228171s/39999.jpg|1148702] but thankfully - unlike Bruno - I did like Subhi, I didn't find him annoying! I definitely enjoyed The Bone Sparrow more. And I also liked Jimmie too, the almost feral Aussie girl he builds a friendship with - even though she can't be much older than ten herself, she does seem to understand what the place that Subhi lives in is and she has a kindness and a wild spirit that has to be admired!
Stories are woven through the narrative as the way that people inside the Centre cope. Jimmie forms her friendship with Subhi initially because she can't read and she needs him to read to her the book of her dead mother's stories. This story, which was a kind of fairy tale but again about a persecuted people and war, was kind of a turn off... I found myself skim reading those section.
The ending for Jimmie is positive but for Subhi and his family, although the tone is more optimistic, you have to remember that the reality is things are really unlikely to get any better for them. This is the world that we live in... What can we do about it?
I wish I liked this book more! I still think it's worth reading.. but why didn't I like it more?!
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
A beautiful and heartbreaking story. I read this with my Year 8 class and it was well-loved by all!
challenging
dark
hopeful
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
The story of Subhi, a Rohingya boy born in an Australian immigration detention centre, Subhi knows no other life apart from the stories that his mother has told him.
Frallion’s writing is tight and travels between the mystical land inhabited by Subhi’s imagination and the brutality of the life in an immigration centre.
The friendships Subhi makes with Jimmie, a girl living locally, but I suspect with Aboriginal ancestry, lighten the brutality of his daily life but also serves to highlight the hardships faced by both of the children in their daily lives.
This book is going to be the core of my International Refugee Day display and week at work, as I feel that it is sympathetic without dismissing the troubles and hardships that are in the refugee system, especially for children.
Frallion’s writing is tight and travels between the mystical land inhabited by Subhi’s imagination and the brutality of the life in an immigration centre.
The friendships Subhi makes with Jimmie, a girl living locally, but I suspect with Aboriginal ancestry, lighten the brutality of his daily life but also serves to highlight the hardships faced by both of the children in their daily lives.
This book is going to be the core of my International Refugee Day display and week at work, as I feel that it is sympathetic without dismissing the troubles and hardships that are in the refugee system, especially for children.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
this is a book written for younger audiences (main character is 10, but pretty tough themes so I'd say probably 12 and up), but u kind of feel like everyone should read it. Subhi is a 10 year old boy who was born in a refugee camp and had never known the Outside. We walk through his life and learn about the lives of those around him. This timely story is BASED on refugee campus in Australia but hearted toward readers the world over who are facing up to the troubling times we live in. highly recommended to get anyone started on the road to understanding.