A review by desterman
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina, Ezekiel Kwaymullina

4.0

This young adult Australian fiction novel is told from the alternate perspectives of Aboriginal teenage girls Beth Teller (in prose) and Isobel Catching (in poetry). Beth is working with her dad, a detective, on a mysterious case of a rural children's home that has burnt down - all the children safely escaped, but one adult body has been found in the wreckage and it's unclear whether the body was killed before or after the fire started. Beth is in fact dead though - she's a ghost who can only be seen and communicate with her father. She is hanging around to try to support her father as he tries to come to terms with his loss after her death. The key witness to the case is Isobel, and she too can mysteriously see and talk to Beth. As the case opens up some disturbing secrets are revealed.

I devoured this book in one day - it's a great mystery, and told beautifully through excellent emotive language and strong imagery. It examines the way storytelling can be used for all sorts of effects and in different ways, as well as its importance in Aboriginal culture. A fantastic read!