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A review by becandbooks
Between Us by Claire Atkins
4.0
With the on-going climate of global refugee climate and the appalling nature of refugee and asylum seeker laws in Australia at the moment, this book is important.
♢ The story follows an Iranian refugee who is living in a detention center with her pregnant mother and little brother. She attends a nearby local school in Darwin, where she gets a taste of everyday life for an Australian - only to return back to detention each day.
The light that this book sheds on life inside a detention center is a cornerstone of the story. It is raw and heartbreaking and a story that needs to be shared. While this is not an own-voices account of life inside detention, the author note does state that there was a large amount of research and consultation involved in weaving this narrative.
The friendship between Ana, the Iranian refugee, and Jono, a boy who goes to the Darwin school, is something that I enjoyed. While it didn't scream out anything amazing, I think the complications of the friendship and the lack of any real romance thread was refreshing. Honestly, a romance in this story would have made me cringe. The side-story of Jono, and his Vietnamese father, Kenny, was an inclusion that entwined well with the main plot-line. Kenny, who works as security at the detention center which holds Ana and her family, provided another perspective to the tragic story of refugees.
The story-telling was fine, however not the most engaging that I have come across. But the characters and the plot, along with it's though-provoking nature about refugees in the real world was more than enough to carry the story. This is an important book that I recommend to everyone.
♢ The story follows an Iranian refugee who is living in a detention center with her pregnant mother and little brother. She attends a nearby local school in Darwin, where she gets a taste of everyday life for an Australian - only to return back to detention each day.
The light that this book sheds on life inside a detention center is a cornerstone of the story. It is raw and heartbreaking and a story that needs to be shared. While this is not an own-voices account of life inside detention, the author note does state that there was a large amount of research and consultation involved in weaving this narrative.
The friendship between Ana, the Iranian refugee, and Jono, a boy who goes to the Darwin school, is something that I enjoyed. While it didn't scream out anything amazing, I think the complications of the friendship and the lack of any real romance thread was refreshing. Honestly, a romance in this story would have made me cringe. The side-story of Jono, and his Vietnamese father, Kenny, was an inclusion that entwined well with the main plot-line. Kenny, who works as security at the detention center which holds Ana and her family, provided another perspective to the tragic story of refugees.
The story-telling was fine, however not the most engaging that I have come across. But the characters and the plot, along with it's though-provoking nature about refugees in the real world was more than enough to carry the story. This is an important book that I recommend to everyone.