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sunday_girl's review
5.0
So many emotions in this book .. I’m not sure how many times I cried .
If you haven’t read this yet .. please do
If you haven’t read this yet .. please do
kaitlyns_library's review
emotional
informative
fast-paced
5.0
I knew nothing about Archie Roach’s history, just knew that he was a First Nations musician. This story highlights the Stolen Generation, intergenerational trauma, racism and trauma experienced by First Nations people. Such an eye opening read.
melbsreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Trigger warnings: Stolen Generations, alcohol addiction, alcohol abuse, death of a sibling, death of a parent, death of a spouse, generational trauma, incarceration, mental health.
Somehow, I've gone my whole life without hearing an Archie Roach song, so I went into this completely blind. Like, I knew it was going to be about his life and his experiences as a member of the Stolen Generations. But I had no idea how prevalent alcohol abuse would be in the story and how much loss he'd experience in his life before he even reached the point of starting his musical career.
This was darker than I expected from a YA edition, but there were occasional moments of humour to lighten the mood. My favourite hands down was when he thought Paul Kelly was a security guard rather than PAUL FREAKING KELLY.
After I finished reading, I went and listened to the songs that are included at the beginning of each chapter in lyric form, and I wish I'd been smart enough to listen to them WHILE I WAS READING so that I had more of an idea of Roach's music as I was reading.
My one small gripe is that because I had no idea of anything Archie Roach related going in, I didn't know how old he was. And in the early stages of the book - particularly his childhood and teen years - there are no mentions of what year it is. So I had no idea when the early stages of the book are set, given that the Stolen Generations covers the 1910s to 1960s/1970s. But, like, I'm a grown ass adult with the sense to Google it and I chose not to, so that's absolutely on me.
Somehow, I've gone my whole life without hearing an Archie Roach song, so I went into this completely blind. Like, I knew it was going to be about his life and his experiences as a member of the Stolen Generations. But I had no idea how prevalent alcohol abuse would be in the story and how much loss he'd experience in his life before he even reached the point of starting his musical career.
This was darker than I expected from a YA edition, but there were occasional moments of humour to lighten the mood. My favourite hands down was when he thought Paul Kelly was a security guard rather than PAUL FREAKING KELLY.
After I finished reading, I went and listened to the songs that are included at the beginning of each chapter in lyric form, and I wish I'd been smart enough to listen to them WHILE I WAS READING so that I had more of an idea of Roach's music as I was reading.
My one small gripe is that because I had no idea of anything Archie Roach related going in, I didn't know how old he was. And in the early stages of the book - particularly his childhood and teen years - there are no mentions of what year it is. So I had no idea when the early stages of the book are set, given that the Stolen Generations covers the 1910s to 1960s/1970s. But, like, I'm a grown ass adult with the sense to Google it and I chose not to, so that's absolutely on me.
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