The Bone Sparrow: Zana Fraillon

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When Zana isn't reading or writing, she likes to explore the museums and hidden passageways scattered across Melbourne.

Born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, Subhi has only ever known life behind the fences. D The only negative thing that I will say about the writing is that sometimes it is SO metaphorical that you actually lose yourself in it too much and I had to reread quite a few sections in this novel just to catch up on what was going on after zoning out.

But once Eli is sent away to live with older single men in a different part of the camp, Subhi found yet another friend in his rubber duck that one of the guards brought for him and surprisingly he shared about his day with the duck and that duck advised right back him. Het verhaal wordt verteld door de ogen van Subhi, met zijn kinderlijke gedachten, zijn fantasie en zijn woorden. I think this book is deserving of the allocades being heaped upon it, but like many books that are so worthy, it won't be a huge hit with the teenagers it is written for. Born in a refugee camp, all Subhi knows of the world is that he’s at least 19 fence diamonds high, the nice Jackets never stay long, and at night he dreams that the sea finds its way to his tent, bringing with it unusual treasures.

Esther Richardson’s production effectively conveys the grinding monotony of life in captivity, in which one day bleeds into the next. I believe any age group ten and up should read “The Bone Sparrow,” but the fact that children can learn from the lessons contained within it gives me hope for the future of humanity. Parents are not usually the focus of books for children – they’re not the ones having the adventures, after all! The way that Fraillon describes the Night Sea is so vivid and detailed, that you can actually feel the sea breeze and hear the tide. Subhi makes up for many of the things he is missing in his life (like toys and books) by using his imagination.The supporting characters are equally well etched out, especially the characters of Subhi's bossy elder sister, the sweet and loving Jimmie with a plan, the clever rubber duck with a sharp mouth and a strong yet sad young orphan boy, Eli. There is a really obvious, stereotypical book-to-book comparison that I could make with The Bone Sparrow and that is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas because they both focus on children within closed-off camps being invisible to the rest of the world and how conversing with someone from the outside can give you more of an identity and the consequences that can arise from it.

I usually enjoy really British, old-fashioned, aristocratic writing styles: this is the complete opposite but I still loved the writing. Subhi, the main character, is a child born inside an Australian detention camp to a Burmese refugee. From the first line I knew that I would be utterly moved by the words written so passionately, weaving a narrative that is at times difficult to read.Therefore, to see Subhi and Jimmie in this novel do the same thing, I was with them the WHOLE time, I could completely connect to what was happening and I just went on this journey with them and absorbed every story within this novel. Small, but mighty, this book for older children and young adults was the Carnegie Medal Amnesty CILIP Honour Book 2017. Puppets are laughter-raising (a toy duck) and terrifying (bird skull-wearing soldiers); masked characters bring to moving life the story-within-the-story, written by Jimmie’s late mother and read to the illiterate girl by Subhi. Nine year old Jimmie lives within the remote community, occupied by exploring since her mother passed away.

Since asylum can be a confusing issue for children (and even adults), here are some books that explore what it really means to flee your home and have to start your life over.

Beautiful, poignant, enlightening, heartbreaking, and hopeful - this, THIS is why middle grade books should absolutely not be overlooked as worthy literature. Lack of enough food, clothes, water, places to bath, a school, or even a home (they live in tents) is all part of Sushi's life. When he meets Jimmie a young girl from the Outside, desperately needing someone to read out her late mother’s stories, he offers.