The Bone Sparrow: Zana Fraillon

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Subhi is a refugee. 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. But his world is far bigger than that—every night, the magical Night Sea from his mother's stories brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. And as he grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of his containment.

The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie—a scruffy, impatient girl who appears on the other side of the wire fence and brings with her a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it herself, she relies on Subhi to unravel her family's love songs and tragedies. so much compassion and hope woven into this story about australia’s brutal treatment of refugees and especially refugee children

This is a tragic, beautifully crafted and wonderful book whose chirpy, stoic hero shames us all. I urge you to read it.'

hundreds and thousands refugees are detained in europe every year and they're been treating like criminals. When will this situation ever stop forever? In staging Zana Fraillon’s 2016 novel, York-based Pilot Theatre goes beyond its stated core aim, “to create a cultural space where young adults can encounter, express, and interrogate big ideas that are relevant to our lives right now”.In many ways, 'The Bone Sparrow' reminds me of one of my favorite books of all time, 'The Storyteller', by Jodi Picoult. Both books entwine a present day story with an original fairytale. The fairytale captures part of the ordeal that the character in the main story is going through. STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND GO READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. I just finished it about half an hour ago and I’m reeling. Beautiful, poignant, enlightening, heartbreaking, and hopeful - this, THIS is why middle grade books should absolutely not be overlooked as worthy literature. This should sit right alongside other books shedding light on the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. This is the kind of book that helps all our hearts grow bigger - big enough to make sure that no one in this scary world is forgotten. Read it. A story about hope and love. It broke my heart when knowing that people who being held at detention camp will be taken everything from them, for example hearing aid and fake foot for those who misfortune. But one thing that i adore from this story that they never lose hope.

A powerful story narrated by Death, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery In het boek wordt ook gesproken over Binnen en Buiten en deze binnen en buiten worden niet bedoeld zoals wij deze kennen. Binnen is niet binnen in hun tent, maar binnen de hekken. Buiten is niet buiten hun tent, maar Buiten de hekken. Ze leven om Ooit naar Buiten te kunnen, als volwaardig mens. Small, but mighty, this book for older children and young adults was the Carnegie Medal Amnesty CILIP Honour Book 2017. The child’s eye view of life in a refugee camp was devastating, particularly in the details; Subhi measures his height in fence wire diamonds and his camp number is DAR-1. There are scenes of violence and of desperation, men sewing their mouths shut on hunger strike and a camp riot both based on reported events at the real Manus Island camp In a nutshell, this heart wrenching story will make the readers shed a tear or two for the characters' plight in a sad, sad dump that they call it home.The Bone Sparrow was a captivating book about life in an Australia Immigration Detention Centre. A boy named Subhi is a refugee born in the Centre and all that his life consisted of was being behind fences. He has an imagination larger than himself. Life in the Centre is dull and boring and the one thing that keeps everyone from giving up is the memories and stories from the past. Subhi doesn’t have any other memories than the Centre so he needs other peoples, to realise what life was and what it could be. When he meets Jimmie a young girl from the Outside, desperately needing someone to read out her late mother’s stories, he offers. on my blog. This book made me extremely emotional. It is three stories in one really. It is beautiful and fanciful in parts and cruelly realistic in others. It is skillfully wrought. My head and heart are swimming in feelings right now. Full blog review to follow. I will add the link when it is posted. One of the marks of a great children's book, I think, is a voice that can speak across generations and to any age group. 'The Bone Sparrow', I hope, will certainly be a book that does just that, and it really deserves to be remembered and cherished for a long, long time. It's an important, powerful little story, one that takes the complicated mess of politics and bureaucratic arguing, and whittles it all down to the simple questions: 'why is it illegal for people to try and save their families? Why is it illegal to want to live?' Jimmie, she stays there, holding the book in one hand and the wire in the other. She keeps that wire up, letting the wind feel its way over my face, letting me taste the air on the other side. I don't know how long we stay like that. It feels like a long time. Like when I put my head under the water. Except this time I don't need to hold my breath. This time I can enjoy the breathing. Enjoy pulling that air deep inside of me. This time the birds don't need to worry." An incredibly moving and powerful story about hope, freedom and survival. This is such an important topic, and a heart-achingly realistic story - everyone, both teenagers and adults, should read it.' ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This book was devastating and enlightening and delightful all at once. The story follows two very different young children, as they discover more of the world through their friendship with each other. From the moment I met Subhi, a young refugee born in an Australian detention centre, I knew that his story would be heartbreaking. And it definitely was. But when I see that girl, my brain jumps to thinking about our guardian angel, and for a moment, a long moment, I get to thinking that maybe that girl is our guardian angel. Even though it seems kind of strange that a guardian angel would wear trousers with more holes all over than mine, even, and a shirt that is way too big, but maybe that's to hide the wings, which are a definite must for any guardian angel worth their salt. it is a heartrending tale about how our stories make us, and also an angry polemic, vividly convincing in its detailed description of what it means for your home to be a tent in the dust behind a guarded fence.’A heart-rending, beautiful story. 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. This is a book that will make change happen.' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Although Subhi is a fictional character, he represents the thousands of children and families denied refuge and placed within detention centres and incarcerated, his narrative instigating important conversations about human rights and the Australian refugee legislation. The conditions within the refugee compound are appalling. Inadequate basic necessities, dehumanised and often brutalised by government employed wardens. Their meagre possessions confiscated upon arrival. Mental and physical health deteriorate as families are segregated. Their voices left unheard. En ik wou dat ik het niet snapte, want dat ik het snap lost niks op. Dat ik het snap maakt het alleen maar erger.’ I really liked that both Jimmie and Subhi are trying to find out who they are by remembering people and stories from their families and the past. To me, that's just a really meticulous depiction of the atmosphere and the effect the outside world has on Subhi and I think it's beautiful! Not only is there really beautiful writing, there is also some really hilarious writing! This is a passage when he meets Jimmie for the first time and it made me laugh out loud: