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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
slow-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
Shortlisted for the 2017 Clip Carnegie Medal. I don't think I would have picked up the book if I wasn't making my way through the shortlist, but I'm so glad I've had the chance to read it as it's so emotional and touching in many ways. A great read.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Sad, and heartfelt, as friendships forged in crisis often are.
A beautifully written book that tackles some really important (and for me, unheard of) issues, but I just think this is aimed at a younger audience, hence why I couldn't get into it. However, if you would like to learn more about the plight of the Rohingya refugees, I would recommend this book.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
A good book. An important book. I felt for the characters. I felt especially for the main character who was born in the detention centre and wondered where he felt he belonged. To the land his family fled from? To the land his family arrived in? To his tribe who speak a language he barely knows? To the detention centre itself? To the stories he tells?
What a thoroughly touching story. Subhi is a young boy born in a permanent detention center in Australia, a refugee from Burma. Jimmie is a young girl that lives near the detention center. The way their lives intertwine and they save each other is unbelievable.
I really loved the writing style, the way stories were the primary focus. As a result, the stories all seem to come to life for Subhi and are interwoven with the telling of his story. Written in first person, there is a lot that Subhi doesn't know or doesn't understand, but sometimes that makes the telling of the story at large more powerful.
Fraillon doesn't leave out some of the more grotesque details, which at times I found cringe worthy, but for which I am grateful. These are things that have the potential to happen to people in the world, and it's important to remember that.
This book was easy to tear through, and I read it in just a couple of hours. I don't know what these detention centers are truly like, but Fraillon did a good job of communicating the sadness that would infiltrate a space like this. I did find myself skipping over parts of the book to get to more action, particularly when one of the characters was in danger and there was a momentary slow scene. Otherwise I felt that this book was very well written.
I found her afterword particularly helpful in cementing the story home for me. Now I feel like I want to do something more to help, but am unsure where to begin. I'm grateful to Fraillon for beginning to spread the word so at least we can raise awareness about this issue of mistreatment at detention centers, an issue that persists especially when refugees flee en mass, like those fleeing Syria, etc.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved the writing style, the way stories were the primary focus. As a result, the stories all seem to come to life for Subhi and are interwoven with the telling of his story. Written in first person, there is a lot that Subhi doesn't know or doesn't understand, but sometimes that makes the telling of the story at large more powerful.
Fraillon doesn't leave out some of the more grotesque details, which at times I found cringe worthy, but for which I am grateful. These are things that have the potential to happen to people in the world, and it's important to remember that.
This book was easy to tear through, and I read it in just a couple of hours. I don't know what these detention centers are truly like, but Fraillon did a good job of communicating the sadness that would infiltrate a space like this. I did find myself skipping over parts of the book to get to more action, particularly when one of the characters was in danger and there was a momentary slow scene. Otherwise I felt that this book was very well written.
I found her afterword particularly helpful in cementing the story home for me. Now I feel like I want to do something more to help, but am unsure where to begin. I'm grateful to Fraillon for beginning to spread the word so at least we can raise awareness about this issue of mistreatment at detention centers, an issue that persists especially when refugees flee en mass, like those fleeing Syria, etc.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It's really hard to rate a book like this when the subject matter is so devastating and infuriating. I had only just learned about the Rohingya people and their plight when I picked up this book. It is eye-opening, to say the least.
This book is beautifully written with MG characters I absolutely adored. The voice is perfect and hinted at some extremely dark content without becoming too graphic or explicit - kudos to the author for packing a punch in such a delicate way.
There are however a few violent scenes in this novel - and the main subject matter too - that I think might be too much for MG readers, so this book is probably more suitable for YA readers and adults.
I have rarely been reduced to tears by a book. In fact, I can count the books that have made me cry on one hand, but this book did. Tears of sorrow, of rage, of disbelief. I didn't want to believe that Australia treats refugees like this, holding them in 'detention' centers so that they are out of sight and mind. I didn't believe it, until I read the author's note stating how the events in this book were based on real happenings :(
A beautiful but difficult book to read, I only wish it didn't leave me feeling so helpless...
This book is beautifully written with MG characters I absolutely adored. The voice is perfect and hinted at some extremely dark content without becoming too graphic or explicit - kudos to the author for packing a punch in such a delicate way.
There are however a few violent scenes in this novel - and the main subject matter too - that I think might be too much for MG readers, so this book is probably more suitable for YA readers and adults.
I have rarely been reduced to tears by a book. In fact, I can count the books that have made me cry on one hand, but this book did. Tears of sorrow, of rage, of disbelief. I didn't want to believe that Australia treats refugees like this, holding them in 'detention' centers so that they are out of sight and mind. I didn't believe it, until I read the author's note stating how the events in this book were based on real happenings :(
A beautiful but difficult book to read, I only wish it didn't leave me feeling so helpless...
Rating: 2.5
Do you remember those books where you're assigned to read for high school reading? I don't know about anyone else, but those books always seemed hard to read & forced, even if the premise was good and I'd probably be interested it otherwise. This was The Bone Sparrow for me.
PSA: I did originally start reading this book in 2016, September but when I decided to properly read it, I did start again on September 11th, 2017
This book surrounds two main characters, Subhi (who is the actual main character) and was born in a detention centre. There is also Jimmie, who is from the Outside and visits Subhi. Whilst I liked the two characters (sometimes), and I loved the writing, I struggled to read this book. It took me a very long time to finish it and I just wasn't particularly interested. I sat down tonight with the goal of finally finishing it, and that isn't really an attitude anyone should have for a book.
Subhi was quite self-centered to me: "Like his head is busy thinking on other things that aren't me." I suppose he is a kid, but I don't know. He got on my nerves a little bit.
Do not get me wrong, I think this book definitely needs to be read. It's based on true themes on how the world perceives refugee's and asylum seekers and how people are treated in Australian (or elsewhere) detention centres. I guess it's not a book you're supposed to enjoy, and it definitely made me sad near the end and I almost teared up.
I think what was more of a downhill for me was that it was quite unrealistic in some parts. I don't understand how an outsider is able to sneak into the detention center and then spend time in there without ever getting caught? It just didn't seem plausible and I think perhaps the author may have added that in to give the book a bit of a twist / more connections/dialogue for Subhi.
Over all, I did enjoy the book; however, I could definitely have enjoyed it a lot more.
Do you remember those books where you're assigned to read for high school reading? I don't know about anyone else, but those books always seemed hard to read & forced, even if the premise was good and I'd probably be interested it otherwise. This was The Bone Sparrow for me.
PSA: I did originally start reading this book in 2016, September but when I decided to properly read it, I did start again on September 11th, 2017
This book surrounds two main characters, Subhi (who is the actual main character) and was born in a detention centre. There is also Jimmie, who is from the Outside and visits Subhi. Whilst I liked the two characters (sometimes), and I loved the writing, I struggled to read this book. It took me a very long time to finish it and I just wasn't particularly interested. I sat down tonight with the goal of finally finishing it, and that isn't really an attitude anyone should have for a book.
Subhi was quite self-centered to me: "Like his head is busy thinking on other things that aren't me." I suppose he is a kid, but I don't know. He got on my nerves a little bit.
Do not get me wrong, I think this book definitely needs to be read. It's based on true themes on how the world perceives refugee's and asylum seekers and how people are treated in Australian (or elsewhere) detention centres. I guess it's not a book you're supposed to enjoy, and it definitely made me sad near the end and I almost teared up.
I think what was more of a downhill for me was that it was quite unrealistic in some parts. I don't understand how an outsider is able to sneak into the detention center and then spend time in there without ever getting caught? It just didn't seem plausible and I think perhaps the author may have added that in to give the book a bit of a twist / more connections/dialogue for Subhi.
Over all, I did enjoy the book; however, I could definitely have enjoyed it a lot more.