booksweread's reviews
406 reviews

Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

How do you review a book by an author you admire, adore, are inspired by and think can do no wrong, without sounding like you have a vested interest in their success?

This review is just vibes, read the blurb and just go in blind. Trust me.

As with Song of the Sun God and Chai Time, Safe Haven is a journey.

A journey through the tumultuous and horrific refugee and detention policies of Australia, and a journey to find community and home.

It's also a mystery, there's a death and an investigation, all on the backdrop of a detention centre.

And there are people. Beautifully characterised characters with heart and soul and joy and flaws.

I love how Shankari writes with empathy and care, with love and hope even when all these things seem out of reach.

I also love how she seamlessly weaves the past and the present with the future, with fiction and pertinent social commentary about things that make her angry with the world.

I devoured Safe Haven, and now I wish I'd savoured it more.

Please read this book.

With my eternal thanks to the Ultimo team for a review copy of Safe Haven.

The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense

4.0

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

3.0

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

Gemini Falls by Sean Wilson

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a clever book. The style of writing and the way it’s written makes you think and feel and then makes you reassess those thoughts and feelings. One thing is for certain (even when so many things are left uncertain and open ended) I’m still thinking about Jake and her story.

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.5

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0