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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The book was very good. Although the author didn't quite capture the way a child would think, unlike Room, for example, the book was able to capture the naiveté of youth really well, and the heartbreak was just as real
I don’t even know where to start with this devastating, yet enchanting story. Suhbi was born and raised in an Australian Detention Centre. All he knows is life within four walls (chain-linked fences) and to follow the rules of the Jackets (enforcers). He copes with remembering stories his mother told before she got sick, gifts from the Night Sea, and his talking, plastic Shakespeare duck. Until Jimmie breaks into the centre, and they become fast friends. Jimmie has her own problems at home, including not being able to read her late mother's notebook. Suhbi reads from the book, telling her the tales of her ancestors. In between the time when the children can meetup and escape into the stories, tension grows in the detention centre and eventually comes to a breaking point.
Both Suhbi and Jimmie have the same, simple hope - for love from your family and to know that you do exist.
A children’s book that can change anyone's perspective; children and adults alike. I highly, highly recommend reading this, since even as a fictionalized account, you become captivated by Suhbi and learn what it is like to grown up in fences all your life.
I was sadly ignorant of the refugees plight in Australia. This book brought to light this horrific issue, and my own awareness of my ignorance. I spent hours after finishing this short book researching the issue, and what can be done to fix this. Truly heartbreaking.
Read diverse. Read about different cultures. Read authors from a different country then yours. It might not fix the issues, but awareness is the first step.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Both Suhbi and Jimmie have the same, simple hope - for love from your family and to know that you do exist.
A children’s book that can change anyone's perspective; children and adults alike. I highly, highly recommend reading this, since even as a fictionalized account, you become captivated by Suhbi and learn what it is like to grown up in fences all your life.
I was sadly ignorant of the refugees plight in Australia. This book brought to light this horrific issue, and my own awareness of my ignorance. I spent hours after finishing this short book researching the issue, and what can be done to fix this. Truly heartbreaking.
Read diverse. Read about different cultures. Read authors from a different country then yours. It might not fix the issues, but awareness is the first step.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
The best books exist on many levels: as simple stories, as complex stories, as microcosmic explorations of worlds, as philosophical considerations of the nature of humanity and as daggers that penetrate the readers' hearts with their truths. This is one such book. The story of Subhi, born in an Australian refugee camp and his friend Jimmie, a motherless, grieving, brave interloper in the camp, is a resonant, beautiful and life-affirming tale.
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was reading this with a year 7 group of readers, aged 11-12, and we all found this book incredibly boring. We found ourselves dragging our feet through the reading homeworks, and no one was getting much enjoyment out of the experience. The pacing in this book was 1 step forwards, 2 steps back. The characters, while interesting and different in some ways, were ultimately rather flat and 2-dimensional, which is a massive shame.
I was really looking forward to this book beforehand, as the story sounded compelling and like an important one that needs to be told, in regards to our current situation with refugees. Unfortunately, this books few redeeming qualities (such as occasional points the plot moved forwards) were not enough to outweigh the bad, and sometimes cringey, writing of the story. Our group considered this to be a modern version of 'The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas', and we are actually going to be starting that story next instead.
This book was just a massive disappointment for me, which I wish could have lived up to all that it promised to do.
I was really looking forward to this book beforehand, as the story sounded compelling and like an important one that needs to be told, in regards to our current situation with refugees. Unfortunately, this books few redeeming qualities (such as occasional points the plot moved forwards) were not enough to outweigh the bad, and sometimes cringey, writing of the story. Our group considered this to be a modern version of 'The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas', and we are actually going to be starting that story next instead.
This book was just a massive disappointment for me, which I wish could have lived up to all that it promised to do.
This book was heart breaking form many reasons. For me, teaching students who have been released from such camps, it all hit a bit close to home in the end with the stories and the trauma they have suffered.
It's meant for young adults but, for me, it may be too challenging content wise for the "younger" young adults - but maybe that's just me.
Thank you to Hachette for sending me a copy and for publishing such a courageous book.
It's meant for young adults but, for me, it may be too challenging content wise for the "younger" young adults - but maybe that's just me.
Thank you to Hachette for sending me a copy and for publishing such a courageous book.
Beautifully written account of a helpless refugee boy with a wild imagination. It illustrates camp conditions and promotes change. It's about his adventures and shortcomings. READ! Warning: it will make you cry - a lot.
A poignant read.
It feels like a unique cross between The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Stories in the Dark.
It feels like a unique cross between The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Stories in the Dark.
The Bone Sparrow will open young minds to one of the atrocities of modern society - refugee camps. Subhi is ten year-old Rohingya boy who's lived his whole life in a refugee camp in Australia. The conditions are awful. They eat slop, essentially, every day, unless there are government visitors. The guards are brutal, and his 12 year-old best friend is sent over to the men's area because they need the space for another family with small children.
Jimmie is a ten year-old girl living near the refugee camp. Her mother is dead, and her father works long hours. She lives far away from her school, so she doesn't always make it, and she's never learned how to read. She finds a way into the refugee camp at night, befriends Subhi, and gets him to read her mom's stories to her.
They share hot chocolate and horrible jokes. Jimmie shows Subhi pictures of her world on her phone, and amazingly they never get caught.
It's a sweet story of friendship, imagination, and fighting against an unjust system with a bittersweet ending. Subhi witnesses something awful, and he's going to tell the truth at the end in the hopes that conditions might get better for his family, himself, and the rest of the refugees.
http://www.momsradius.com/2017/06/book-review-bone-sparrow-mg.html
Jimmie is a ten year-old girl living near the refugee camp. Her mother is dead, and her father works long hours. She lives far away from her school, so she doesn't always make it, and she's never learned how to read. She finds a way into the refugee camp at night, befriends Subhi, and gets him to read her mom's stories to her.
They share hot chocolate and horrible jokes. Jimmie shows Subhi pictures of her world on her phone, and amazingly they never get caught.
It's a sweet story of friendship, imagination, and fighting against an unjust system with a bittersweet ending. Subhi witnesses something awful, and he's going to tell the truth at the end in the hopes that conditions might get better for his family, himself, and the rest of the refugees.
http://www.momsradius.com/2017/06/book-review-bone-sparrow-mg.html
adventurous
hopeful
sad
slow-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