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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The imagery in this novel is absolutely gorgeous. The author tells the unlucky plight of refugees in Australia like it's a folktale. An important read for everyone in today's age of war and those running from it. My first 5-star read of the year.
Read my full review here.
Read my full review here.
A gorgeous, thought provoking book on refugees. I couldn't bear to give it anything less than five stars. Simply stunning.
I finally got around to reading this, I've been meaning to forever. It's a lovely little book, a deeply touching story of friendship and family. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, the kind of literary style that I love reading. It's sweet and endearing while also horrifying and confronting. It is a story we know, and yet still happens again and again and again.
I hope a lot of people read it, I hope more people write these stories, especially the people this is happening too. I hope soon these will be stories of the past.
I hope a lot of people read it, I hope more people write these stories, especially the people this is happening too. I hope soon these will be stories of the past.
Poignant, yet full of sweetness and hope. This is the story of Subhi, a Rohingya boy born in an Australian refugee camp. Subhi maintains hope amid the squalor of the refugee camp, relying on an elder boy, Eli, and his older sister Queeny. His mother is so depressed that she cannot get out of bed, and his father is missing. Despite the lack of food and water, despite the filth and rodents, Subhi reads everything he can get his hands on, becomes a favorite of a generous guard, and has conversations with a rubber duck. Subhi also befriends Jimmie, a lonely, motherless girls on The Outside, who sneaks into the camp after most are asleep for the night.
The book brings to light the difficult issues of ethnic persecution and refugee camps, but on a level that tweens can relate to. It relays an important message about refugees and their treatment in First World countries with likeable young characters that will evoke empathy in our youth. I would recommend this book for grades 4- 6 reading levels.
Thanks to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
The book brings to light the difficult issues of ethnic persecution and refugee camps, but on a level that tweens can relate to. It relays an important message about refugees and their treatment in First World countries with likeable young characters that will evoke empathy in our youth. I would recommend this book for grades 4- 6 reading levels.
Thanks to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I read this as an ARC and I hope that there was a bit more of a preface for readers in the final edition.
This was kind of shocking to me. It's based on actual (concentration-like) camps set up for refugees in Australia, something I didn't realize was happening. The story is a touching story of friendship between a refugee in the camp, and a young girl who has lost her mother and finds the camp by chance. She can't read, but wants to understand her mother's notebook. He can read, and sees that her mother's notebook is merely a series of lists, but understands that she's expecting a story, so he tells her the story of his own family.
This was kind of shocking to me. It's based on actual (concentration-like) camps set up for refugees in Australia, something I didn't realize was happening. The story is a touching story of friendship between a refugee in the camp, and a young girl who has lost her mother and finds the camp by chance. She can't read, but wants to understand her mother's notebook. He can read, and sees that her mother's notebook is merely a series of lists, but understands that she's expecting a story, so he tells her the story of his own family.
At times when I was reading this book I was reminded of the stories of children and their families who had been taken away during war. But no, this is the story of a 10 year old Rohingya Muslim refugee called Subhi, who was born and has grown up in an Immigration Detention Centre in Australia. This is his story of a life surrounded by fences and how he craves for tales of the ‘Outside’ - a place that he has never known. How he befriends Jimmie, a girl from the ‘Outside’, and how together with her mother’s story, sitting in their hidden corner of the camp they discover the truths of the world.
This book has such a naïve and innocent voice, with such a bright and cheerful personality, who searches in all the corners of his small universe for stories to fill in the gaps of memories that he does not have. Who is awaiting for his Ba, his hero, to come and rescue him, his Ma and his sister Queeny from this confined world so that they can have their happily ever after. Yet it sheds light on how these people are being made to live their lives every single day. Innocent refugees who have fled their homes for safety, yet are being guarded like criminals with next to no human rights.
This book perfectly narrates these issues for its young audience and really puts into perspective how lucky we really are. How much we should appreciate everything, even the small things in life.
A must read.
{#DiversityBingo2017 - Immigrant or Refugee MC}
This book has such a naïve and innocent voice, with such a bright and cheerful personality, who searches in all the corners of his small universe for stories to fill in the gaps of memories that he does not have. Who is awaiting for his Ba, his hero, to come and rescue him, his Ma and his sister Queeny from this confined world so that they can have their happily ever after. Yet it sheds light on how these people are being made to live their lives every single day. Innocent refugees who have fled their homes for safety, yet are being guarded like criminals with next to no human rights.
This book perfectly narrates these issues for its young audience and really puts into perspective how lucky we really are. How much we should appreciate everything, even the small things in life.
A must read.
{#DiversityBingo2017 - Immigrant or Refugee MC}
The Bone Sparrow uses the perspectives of child characters to give readers insight into Australian immigration detention centres. With a touch of magical realism, The Bone Sparrow makes the controversy of Australia’s asylum seekers policy accessible to young readers. While I personally found this book hit-and-miss, it helps to spread awareness of crucial human rights issues.
The detention centre is all that nine-year-old Subhi has ever known. Although he’s surrounded by sickness and squalor, Subhi sees magic in everything. Until now, his world revolved around Maa, his big sister Queeny, and his best friend Eli. Everything changes when he meets Jimmie, the scruffy tomboy who lives on the hill above the centre. In the dead of night, Jimmie breaks into the centre to share her most prized possession with Subhi: the diary her mother kept before she passed away, telling the story of her heirloom bone sparrow necklace. With Subhi’s Maa growing weaker by the day, and Queeny and Eli on a dangerous mission for justice, life in the detention centre will never be the same again.
POINT OF VIEW AND CHARACTERS
The Bone Sparrow offers readers an insider’s AND an outsider’s perspective of the detention centre. While most readers would find Jimmie’s life closer to their own reality, I found Subhi’s world far more intimate and immersive. Hearing his story in first person helps readers to empathise with an experience outside of their personal bubble. His skill in finding beauty in the mundane and his spot-on emotional observations make his inhumane treatment slightly more stomachable. (I would love to know if Subhi’s coping mechanism of blending reality with myth and magic has foundation in his Rohingya cultural background.) However, this delicate balance sometimes tips, resulting in violent scenes much too full-on for junior readers e.g. graphic brutality dealt by the detention centre staff.
While Subhi is an engrossing narrator, I found Jimmie hard to connect with. (Her chapters being third person P.o.V. contributes to this.) I had to suspend my disbelief that a little girl could break into a detention centre – after all, asylum seekers are often incarcerated in less humane conditions than our nation’s criminals. Even if I overlook this unrealistic plot point, I didn’t find Jimmie’s character essential to The Bone Sparrow’s overall message. I know her sense of humour lends comic relief to the story, and her bone sparrow necklace gives Subhi a new symbol of hope. However, Subhi’s character was far stronger, and could have held my interest throughout the plot all by himself.
ISSUES OF ACCURATE REPRESENTATION
I’m aware that some readers may feel that the use of magical realism in The Bone Sparrow sugarcoats the inhumanity of detention centres. However, as a story for young readers told from the perspective of children, magical realism is a viable technique for making difficult content accessible. The most important thing, I feel, is for insightful stories about Australia’s refugee crisis to make their way into the hands of our young people. If this is best achieved through unconventional storytelling, I’m all about it! We need more people discussing Australia’s refugee policy.
After reading this book, I would love to read an Own Voices equivalent. While The Bone Sparrow is founded on research and takes a compassionate standpoint, I would love recommendations for Own Voices books about asylum seekers. (I’m hoping to pick up a copy of They Cannot Take the Sky: Stories from Detention when it’s released later this month.)
While imperfect, The Bone Sparrow inspires readers to get educated about current issues.
This review can also be found on my blog Paige's Pages.
The detention centre is all that nine-year-old Subhi has ever known. Although he’s surrounded by sickness and squalor, Subhi sees magic in everything. Until now, his world revolved around Maa, his big sister Queeny, and his best friend Eli. Everything changes when he meets Jimmie, the scruffy tomboy who lives on the hill above the centre. In the dead of night, Jimmie breaks into the centre to share her most prized possession with Subhi: the diary her mother kept before she passed away, telling the story of her heirloom bone sparrow necklace. With Subhi’s Maa growing weaker by the day, and Queeny and Eli on a dangerous mission for justice, life in the detention centre will never be the same again.
POINT OF VIEW AND CHARACTERS
The Bone Sparrow offers readers an insider’s AND an outsider’s perspective of the detention centre. While most readers would find Jimmie’s life closer to their own reality, I found Subhi’s world far more intimate and immersive. Hearing his story in first person helps readers to empathise with an experience outside of their personal bubble. His skill in finding beauty in the mundane and his spot-on emotional observations make his inhumane treatment slightly more stomachable. (I would love to know if Subhi’s coping mechanism of blending reality with myth and magic has foundation in his Rohingya cultural background.) However, this delicate balance sometimes tips, resulting in violent scenes much too full-on for junior readers e.g. graphic brutality dealt by the detention centre staff.
While Subhi is an engrossing narrator, I found Jimmie hard to connect with. (Her chapters being third person P.o.V. contributes to this.) I had to suspend my disbelief that a little girl could break into a detention centre – after all, asylum seekers are often incarcerated in less humane conditions than our nation’s criminals. Even if I overlook this unrealistic plot point, I didn’t find Jimmie’s character essential to The Bone Sparrow’s overall message. I know her sense of humour lends comic relief to the story, and her bone sparrow necklace gives Subhi a new symbol of hope. However, Subhi’s character was far stronger, and could have held my interest throughout the plot all by himself.
ISSUES OF ACCURATE REPRESENTATION
I’m aware that some readers may feel that the use of magical realism in The Bone Sparrow sugarcoats the inhumanity of detention centres. However, as a story for young readers told from the perspective of children, magical realism is a viable technique for making difficult content accessible. The most important thing, I feel, is for insightful stories about Australia’s refugee crisis to make their way into the hands of our young people. If this is best achieved through unconventional storytelling, I’m all about it! We need more people discussing Australia’s refugee policy.
After reading this book, I would love to read an Own Voices equivalent. While The Bone Sparrow is founded on research and takes a compassionate standpoint, I would love recommendations for Own Voices books about asylum seekers. (I’m hoping to pick up a copy of They Cannot Take the Sky: Stories from Detention when it’s released later this month.)
While imperfect, The Bone Sparrow inspires readers to get educated about current issues.
This review can also be found on my blog Paige's Pages.
omg I think this book scarred me for life, I literally cried like a little baby.
I was going to give it 3 stars because the first half of the book was pretty boring. Nothing really happened until about three quarters of the way through. Also, I literally didn't care about Jimmie at all, she was kind of a boring character.
I was going to give it 3 stars because the first half of the book was pretty boring. Nothing really happened until about three quarters of the way through. Also, I literally didn't care about Jimmie at all, she was kind of a boring character.