Halle, Aylsham High School

The Bone Sparrow

This book is a captivating story that includes a lot of sad moments and is painful to read at times because it shows what refugees go through and the emotions they feel. It brings light to a horrifying but true situation.
Subhi is a 10 year old boy with endless optimism and a wide imagination. He hoards stories like treasures and has a plastic duck as a friend. For his whole life he has lived in a detention camp for refugees in Australia. He is from the Rohingya people of Burma, his mother and sister fled their country and they are waiting for their father to arrive. This camp isn’t exactly a nice place as his tent sleeps fifty people, food is barely edible, he has no access to education as the classroom was burned down, water runs out all of the time, and the guards are nowhere near friendly (with the exception of Harvey). However, Subhi has his mother, sister, his friend Eli, and the nice guard Harvey, which keep his spirits up. He knows no other life except when he meets an Australian girl called Jimmie from outside the fence.
This book shows the emotions refugees and asylum seekers would feel at a detention centre and it really highlights the horrible conditions they suffer through every day. It is a small book with a big story. However, the author has stated that the conditions described in the book have been taken from reports of life in Australian detention centres so some things may be inaccurate or und. I think the book would not suit everybody’s interests, but it would be beneficial for anyone to read this as it covers important topics that are very real and happening currently. The age range would be suitable for all ages.
Overall, the book is a very interesting but heart-breaking story about refugees that outlines the importance of the situation but also their emotions and what conditions they are in and I recommend that anyone should read it because of the significance of the topic.

Posted on: 26th May 2017 at 11:53 am

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