Reviews

A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley

jesslolsen's review against another edition

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5.0

Not only was this an astonishing true story, but it was also very well written.
So much about it makes me thankful to have grown up in Australia with loving parents.
I haven't watched the movie yet, but will now.

gabrielle_erin's review against another edition

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4.0

This story has an infectious simplicity that is often hard to find in books with a similar preface. It was not hyperbolous in the way some grand journey stories can be, instead it was so relatable and humble I kept reading wanting to know what happened next. An inspiring story of love, family and generosity.

gabrielle_erin's review against another edition

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4.0

A re-read before I teach this to Year 8, but this is always such an uplifting and inspiring read for me. Every time I read this book, I find something new. A really interesting and at times harrowing tale about serendipity, destiny and determination.

marieintheraw's review against another edition

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4.0

Biographies are hard to rate. How do you put a rating on someone's life? The story is emotional and awe-inspiring. Yet, I can't give it 5 stars for some reason.

donna6146's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

rachwindsor's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective

4.0

christenw79's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

3.5

I've never seen this movie and probably never will but I was interested in Brierley's story and I thought this would be a quick read for me. The writing style was very simple and also quite unemotional which surprised me considering the subject matter. I found myself a little sceptical at the first section, where he describes details I don't believe a 5 year old would be able to remember. However I was really interested in the process of searching Google Earth for years and it kept my attention, despite me knowing exactly what would happen.

jessrosenthal's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

3.0

3 stars
This memoir told a brilliant and heartbreaking story, following the life of adoptee Saroo. However, the writing fell flat for me.
Surprisingly it was quite different to the movie, which had a lot more emotion and excitement. 
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend reading this book. This is one of those rare occasions where the movie is much better than the book. The writing style was too simple and surface level for the story that was being told and left me feeling quite emotionless as a reader. 

francisgregdc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective

2.75