Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526252. (Age:13+)
Alinta, a disciplined ballet student, has devoted her childhood to studying classical ballet. After shattering both her tibia and fibula, her hopes of a ballet career are likewise shattered. The teenager struggles with heartbreak, loss and jealousy when settling back into regular school life without the significant dance component that would have fast tracked her to a place at the American Ballet Theatre.
Her best friend, Margot, encourages Alinta to try out for the school musical, Singing in the Rain, though she fears it a poor substitute for her lifelong dancing dream. But a group of stage musical tragics, one of whom she is attracted to, begin to change her mind.
Alinta’s sister Josie, also a dancer (albeit modern dance) and obviously Japanese-American too, confronts Alinta about her jealousy and enlightens her about the systemic racism Alinta glossed over whilst attending her old ballet school. Alinta becomes concerned for Colleen, an African American ballet dancer, who continues to be marginalized in favour of white dancers of lesser talents. Unlike her new friends, Alinta cannot malign the focus and perfectionism of the musical’s female lead. She recognizes her own commitment to her art in Diya.
Alinta grapples with immense life changes, not least the racism in the arts – always topical in any sphere. Certainly, The Other side of Perfect is no sentimental teenage romance – but lightweights need not be disappointed as there are more than enough romantic interludes for Alinta and Jude.
This layered art form discussing other art forms, is a refreshing shift in YA reading fare. Secondary school collections will be incomplete without this distinctive narrative. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Bildungsroman, Romance, Racism.
Deborah Robins
Music for tigers by Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781772781892. (Age:9+)
It’s not easy being an aspiring violinist growing up in a family of Canadian conservationists. Before Louisa’s uncle Ruff is evicted by developers, from his own slice of Tasmanian wilderness, the narrator agrees to travel to Australia for the summer. Nature must run in the blood, because it doesn’t take much for Lou to adjust to the remote camp with scary Tasmanian spiders and critically endangered marsupials, despite fretting about practicing for a very important upcoming audition.
Louisa finds a friendly, if not neurodiverse guide and cook in Colin, who lives in the Eco village next door. Colin piques her curiosity, but it is her great grandmother’s journal which unlocks the hefty conservation legacy handed to Uncle Ruff. Within days of her arrival, her Uncle’s pet, the last Pig Footed Bandicoot, previously thought extinct, dies. Piggy’s death hits Uncle Ruff hard. But according to Eleanor’s journal, the family have kept more “black swans” close-by on Convict Rock. You’ll have to read the book to learn about the Black Swan Theory.
Can Louisa learn to overcome her own anxiety in order to help her family protect a species believed to be extinct for nearly 100 years? Uncle Ruff, Mel, Colin and the local elders, have run out of ideas to lure “Tigers” to a new location for their ongoing protection. Louisa believes she has found a way using Eleanor’s diary and her own talents.
Music for Tigers extolls a fictional ecological crisis, through the eyes of a Canadian. It is resplendent with sensory descriptions of our iconic and rugged Australian wilderness. Yet the writing is layered with myth and natural history, adolescent angst and diversity but above all, family and music.
Themes Family, Adventure, Conservation.
Deborah Robins
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
Pan Macmillan, 2021. ISBN: 9781509898244. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
It starts with a folded message in a pencil case. Despite the narrator’s fears, it is not another trick by the school bullies but the beginning of a secret friendship. The 14 year old narrator is known only as Eyes because of his lazy eye, and he suffers constantly from callous and cruel bullying by Ninomiya, Momose, and their group. The girl, Kojima, dirty and unkempt, on the other side of the classroom, is also kicked and hit by a girls' group. Gradually the two teenagers draw closer through the exchange of secret messages.
Stunning in the beauty of the writing and the creation of the interior world of the two teenagers, Kawakami’s novel is also shocking in its graphic depiction of bullying that is unrelentingly violent and sadistically cruel. It is a world that the two are forced to endure silently every day.
Kojima seeks to make meaning out of their suffering. Almost Christ-like in her attitude she is prepared to accept the violence, because it is wrong, and believes that one day the abusers will come to understand that. She holds onto an idea of Heaven. Juxtaposed with this, is the view expressed by the bully Momose, who believes there is no right or wrong; he is free to do whatever he wants if he feels like it. He says that if there is a Heaven or Hell, it is here right now, this is it. He has absolutely no regard for the feelings of others; Eyes’ words are nothing to him.
So while Kawakami’s novel starts as a story of two lonely suffering friends, as it progresses it becomes more of a philosophical argument between two contrasting world views. Eyes has to work out where he stands. The ending is a surprise, and really throws a challenge as to how to understand it. There is so much to provoke thought and discussion.
Whilst that all may sound bleak and hard to read, there are some really lovely moments in the exchanges between the two friends, and there are adults, a doctor and a step-mother, who turn out to be surprisingly caring.
This is a really unusual book. If you read it, you will be thinking about it for many weeks afterwards. Whilst it tells the story of 14 year olds; because of the content, I would put the readership at 16 and over. And Kawakami is definitely an author to look out for.
A magnificently illustrated cautionary tale for young children from clever French author/illustrator Philippe Jalbert. We are put in the position of the mother of a young child who is about to touch a butterfly. Having said “NO” she then goes into what the consequences of touching it might be. Readers will delight in the possibilities of this story as each part unfolds before their eyes in superbly, graphic illustrations of each escalating calamity. The drama of each mishap is enhanced by the close-up illustrations of on each page. Jalbert includes some interesting animals that are affected in this tale - a dung beetle, a mole, a bear, and then a whole circus troupe! Classes could use this as a springboard to explore different consequences, using different characters and change the story to suit themselves.
According to the publisher this is a way of introducing young children to the chaos theory of the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect is the idea that a small change can make much bigger changes happen; one small incident can have a big impact on the future. The term is associated with the work of mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz.This may provide some interesting research for older students as well.
Themes Parental behaviour, Butterflies, Cause and effect, Cautionary tales.
Gabrielle Anderson
The whale who wanted more by Rachel Bright and Jim Field
The humour in Field’s illustrations is matched by Bright’s text, brimming with nods to our acquisitive lifestyle and our dissatisfaction with what we accumulate.
The whale, Humphrey wanders the ocean spying things he thinks he needs to collect. Each new day brings a new want as those collected yesterday loose their shine. One day he comes to a fabulous reef, full of marvellous things and brimming with an array of fish and coral, creatures and a mass of flotsam and jetsam that speak to him.
The reef creatures are too busy bickering to notice the danger overhead even though the tiny crab, Crystal keeps warning them. As Humphrey dives down to take, Crystal calls out loudly for him to stop. She questions his motives in taking what he wants, and he responds after a lot of thought that they make him feel whole. Crystal questions this and suggests that being caring and kind will make him feel whole, and asks him if he has a gift to share. Humphrey thinks long and hard and remembers a gift given him when he was new. He opens his mouth to sing the song and all the creatures join in.
A charming story told in verse, underlines the theme of friendship as Humphrey realises what he has is enough. Friendship, companionship, singing together fills his heart and makes him feel whole.
Children will love reading about Humphrey and his ahah moment, when he stops just taking from his environment but gives back. Kids will see the parallel to their own lives, underscoring that sharing and cooperation is more important than the accumulation of goods.
Kids will love predicting the rhyming words, offering suggestions as to what it might be and pore over the detail given in the glorious illustrations, recognising the corals and seaweeds and fish which inhabit the reef. A multi layered story, kids will talk about what makes them feel whole, as well as the good feeling that friendship and giving gives them. Discussions about reefs, environment, amongst others will evolve as kids take in the layers of this book. This duo has produced several other books, The way home for Wolf being amongst my favourites.
Aussie Stem Stars: Gisela Kaplan is the story of a German Australian woman who from very challenging beginnings has become a leading expert on animal behaviour. In the first few chapters, the story is centred on the Gisela’s life in Berlin post-World War Two. Life was a struggle with both poverty and family traumas and there was little joy for this young girl. However her Nan was the one shining light who showed Gisela that there was a life to be enjoyed outside of the walls of her tiny apartment. From the bullying she was constantly subjected to at her school to eventually finding out she was Jewish, Gisela dealt with each of these in her stride. The gift of a bright blue budgerigar was the greatest joy for Gisela and was the beginning of her passion and need to understand animals. After moving to Munich, Gisela embarked on a career as an opera singer and moved again to Frankfurt. Here she married and had a child and then as a single parent decided to move to Australia. Life was very difficult as an immigrant but Gisela persevered. She taught herself to speak English from watching children’s television, studied, worked in a factory and became a driving instructor. All the while observing the local wildlife and never giving up on her dream to study birds and animals and their behaviour. Gisela won a number of scholarships to University and completed a number of degrees in a variety of fields. The scientific research completed by Gisela focused on the Australian magpie, tawny frogmouths, primates and other birds. She has written important books and papers on animal behaviour.
Gisela Kaplan’s story is a long and complicated one. How one person can achieve so much in life is truly inspirational. This story is one of hardship, endurance and resilience and is a perfect addition to any home, school and public library.
Themes STEM-girls, Biography, Animal behaviour, Birds, Primates, War, History, Research, World travels, Resilience.
Kathryn Beilby
Dreams from many rivers by Margarita Engle. Illus. by Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez
Henry Holt and Co, 2021. ISBN: 9781627795319. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
Subtitled, A Hispanic history of the United States told in poems, this attractive hard cover book invites the reader to broaden their horizons and question the beginnings of the USA as portrayed in history books and on film and television. Puerto Rico, a territory of the USA has been settled for more than five centuries, preceding The Mayflower and Plymouth Rock, while the Indigenous history of the USA goes back millennia. But their voices are rarely heard. Engle in presenting this book of her poems aims to give readers a few glimpses of this country’s vast and complex past. After reading extensively from diaries, journals, history books and numerous firsthand accounts, she has built up an exciting book of poems reflecting a history often left unheard, and using many perspectives, not just those of the downtrodden. We hear voices from places as diverse as Boriken (Pueto Rico) in 1491, Mexico in 1812, Montana in 1900, Rhode Island in 1962 promoting through the poetry a sympathy for those affected.
And this is done beautifully. Some of the images presented in the poems are breathtaking: the opening poem 'Courage' ends with the line ‘there will be time enough for courage when I grow old’, written for a 1491 Perto Rican man. Or the Mexican view of slavery introduced by the squatters, expressed in Lawbreakers, 1829 as he watches the men, women and children forced to work in ‘fiercely hot, dusty, miserable cotton fields.’ And The Triumph of Children set in Puerto Rica in 1915, when children refused to go to school where they were forced to use English.
Each poem sings with a perspective not often heard, a voice reflecting those often mute, denied by their ethnic background or socio economic status, a place where their voice can be heard.
A well produced book of poems that will enlighten and entertain, beautifully illustrated by Beatriz Hernandez.
Themes Verse novel, Poetry, Indigenous themes, Puerto Rica, USA, Hispanic history.
Fran Knight
Holocaust by Hugh Dolan and Adrian Barbu
Scholastic, 2021. ISBN: 9781742996202. (Age:9+ as part of a unit of study)
Holocaust opens with a family enjoying their meal in a cafe “(somewhere) 2019”, the older boy, Thomas, mentions he is studying “The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising” at school. David, the man serving them, says “In 1943, I was there”. What follows is David’s story from when his Jewish family were thrown out of their village in Poland to his escape to a better life after the war. The black and white, lifelike illustrations bring immediacy to David’s story with a splash of blue colour clearly identifying him in each frame. He recounts the personal stories of Jews caught up in the conflict and how the rise of Nazism in Germany led to the dehumanisation of the Jews. Milestones along the way are described, including the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 which stripped Jews of their rights as citizens and Kristallnacht where Jewish synagogues, businesses and homes were destroyed. Occasionally we see a frame with David speaking to Thomas in 2019 explaining a point. With the invasion of Poland and declaration of war in 1939 David’s father left to fight for his country, this is the last time he saw his father. What followed was the systematic persecution and killing of Jews throughout German occupied Europe, the graphics include maps and documents attesting to the numbers killed in each country and the named death camps where Jews were gassed. David’s family did not survive.
As a support to World War Two teaching material this slim graphic novel will be valuable, particularly to students from non-English speaking backgrounds and those who struggle with wordy texts. However, the material, while accurate and well researched, really needs to be viewed in historical context and younger children might find it disturbing.
Themes War, Genocide, History, Family.
Sue Speck
Every thing we keep by Di Walker
Scholastic, 2021. ISBN: 9781760972349. (Age:12+)
Agatha is 13 and very independent. She’s had to be, given both her parents, floundering in their grief for a sibling, have neglected her physically and emotionally for years. She has spent time in an array of temporary foster homes but the system has let her down in regularly returning her to her parents who have no ability to care for her. Nell, the social worker, is powerless to allow her to stay with Katherine (whose husband works away) but when Agatha’s home inevitably reverts to chaos, Katherine cared enough to teach her how to find her way back.
Staying with Katherine permanently entails going back to school, including the inevitable bullying she has experienced in her home community. Agatha takes a risk because the adults convince her that it will be a fresh start in a supportive school, but moreso because of a chance meeting with her soon-to-be best friend, Tully.
In Tully we see a confident and compassionate teenager, as mature and tolerant as Nell, Katherine, Lawson (her husband) and Rita - the neighbourhood grandmother figure. A number of novels have been written about the kinds of problems that lead to child care authorities placing children in foster homes. Agatha’s situation is not unique but now, thanks to Di Walker, lesser known circumstances of neglect will be better understood. Moreso, Agatha’s story will resonate with children who have mentally ill parents.
Together, her growing support network must convince Agatha that in order to ultimately help her parents, she needs self-care and a regular lifestyle – one in which there are people who will never let her down. We keep turning pages because this tough cookie takes a lot of convincing – don’t worry, she’s worth it.
Themes Family, School, Hoarding.
Deborah Robins
Super geeks : Fish and chips by James Hart
Penguin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760895129. (Age:8+)
Fish and Chips introduces us to Zeek and Arnie, best friends since infancy. Arnie is admirable. On the other hand, Zeek’s obsession means that Arnie puts up with a LOT. Clearly, though it’s only Vol 1, James Hart has plans for growing Zeek’s character.
Zeek is a megalomaniac focused on world domination. Arnie, his workhorse, definitely has the skills to help his friend achieve his goals. Despite Arnie’s reservations, he allows Zeek to implant a microchip into the brain of Eleanor - Arnie’s goldfish. Eleanor learns so much in one night, that she is in a position to bring the earth to its knees with an army of robots controlled by fish - aka “FishBots”.
Zeek is furious to be pipped at the post by Arnie’s goldfish, but everyone must pull together to save the planet. Zeek needs to prioritize catastrophe ahead of his ego and an unlikely mentor emerges in Gunther, who owns Tech Hedz, where the boys buy all their electronics.
You’ll won’t waste any time finding out if the friends prevent WORLD DOMINATION at the hands of Eleanor, because the graphic novel genre makes Fish and Chips a super quick read. The final pages “About the Author” are entertaining too.
Illustrator James Hart has gone solo for his new Super Geeks series after a solid partnership with author Tim Harris, for the Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables series. Fans of Wimpy Kid, Dog Man and Real Pigeons will find Arnie and Zeek’s cartoon adventures hilarious. Watch out for Super Geeks #2 because Zeek has threatened to carry out PLAN B. Gotta feel sorry for Arnie!
Jonathon Stroud states, on the front cover of Eli Brown's latest novel Oddity, that the book is "thrillingly original." So it is!
Aesthetically, Oddity is a delight for appreciators of art and design. The cover, by Chicago based Teagan White, features an intricate white and gold on black design incorporating characters and "oddities" threaded through foliage. Linocut works by Scandinavian Karin Rytter are scattered throughout the narrative.
The impressive art suitably accompanies the highly descriptive language and hefty content of this book. Oddity is not a formulaic, smashed out story. This book did not happen over night. It is finely crafted. Open at any page and read any sentence. It will be masterful.
Oddity is not for the faint-hearted or overly sensitive reader. It could be described as an alternate history/fantasy book. It is recognisably set against the backdrop of the 1800s in North America during the time of the Louisiana Purchase but it is also a fantastical other world. Springing loosely from real and sensitive historical events, a subverted world of ordinary objects possessing strange powers accompany the central character, thirteen year old Clover Elkin, as she simultaneously flees from her father's murderous killers and seeks her true identity, an understanding of her past and her true power and vocation.
Scenes are grisly and violent. Characters, even secondary characters are well fleshed out, interesting and often compellingly repulsive. Action is rapid. Clover moves very quickly from being a motherless child accompanying her physician father through the harsh poverty-struck borderlands to becoming a grief stricken orphan having to rely on her own wit for survival.
This is a complex story covering many themes, characters and subplots but no pieces fall away. All is cleverly held together. Clover has to find and destroy evil. She has to find her true power and self, taking on the healing power of her father with what she discovers of her mysterious mother and combining both to find what she is herself. The process of uncovering truths about her parents and about the past will resonate with all readers as maturity and learning uncover misconceptions about the world for all of us.
Oddity, like the Harry Potter series, like Lord of the rings, like Jack and the beanstalk, draws upon the fascination of objects with strange powers and of secret societies of collectors of various things. And these objects have powers that defy the natural order of things: a talking rooster is a brilliant military strategist, a rag doll has superstrength, a magic teapot pours never-ending tea (like our Australian cut-and come-again Magic Pudding) and undead roadkill is cobbled together with wire and junk by a seamstress witch to become malevolent vermin. Clover allies herself with a mixed bag of powerful companions on the way including a venomous Sweetwater Viper, a super-strong rag doll and a teenage confidence trickster.
Oddity is a coming of age story. It is a coming home story. It is a challenging, disquieting powerful read.
Themes Environmental disaster, Identity, Grief, Agency, The Louisiana Purchase, First peoples, Oddities, Warfare.
Wendy Jeffrey
The amazing case of Dr Ward by Jackie Kerin and Tull Suwannakit
Ford Street Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781925804706. (Age:6+) Highly recommended.
The amazing case of Dr Ward is a delightfully illustrated picture book which will open the minds of young readers to another time, place and person in history.
Jackie Kerin is an Australian author of non-fiction storybooks for children. Other titles by Jackie are Lyrebird! Phar Lap and Gold! Tull Suwannakit is a Melbourne based childrens' book illustrator and author. Other titles illustrated by Tull are Morphing Murphy, Sad the dog and Thimble. The amazing case of Dr Ward is the result of a powerful collaboration between Kerin and Suwannakit.
This book will provide a segue into both science and history for young readers as it is non-fiction presented through a narrative and human interest lens. In year four and five in the Australian Curriculum, children learn about the colonial period, important figures from that time and the impact of colonial endeavours on Australia. Nathaniel Ward, the chief protagonist, was a very interesting but little known (nowadays) English medical doctor and amateur botanist from the Colonial era. He developed the Wardian case. This enclosed glass case enabled live plant specimens to be moved around the world safely for the first time in the harsh conditions of sailing ships. As a result of the Wardian case, tropical plants could be brought back to the Kew Gardens and likewise exotic plants could be transported and grown in Australia.The development of the Wardian case fuelled the collection of beautiful and exotic plants and changed the global environment...but that is something for the children to research later. The book itself is a celebration of Dr Ward and his endeavours.
The illustrations are just gorgeous- softly coloured and detailed. There are detailed interiors and much beautiful greenery including scientifically labelled sketches of plants. There is a map of the world showing the path of ships between Australia and England.There are front pages of The Times from 1833 and 1842. Throughout there are delightful illustrations of Dr Ward as he pursues his project. The lovely authorial voice of Jackie Kerin, tells the story and includes the quirky little thoughts and conversations of the characters. Dr Ward is depicted as a very pleasant, gentle, possibly slightly eccentric man.
The Amazing Case of Dr Ward will be a welcome addition to libraries and childrens' home collections. It is a story which is full of warmth and wit that is sure to inspire children to think about the contribution of people in the past to our lives today. It is refreshing to read about a little-known historical figure. This unusual choice of subject matter will inspire children and teachers to think about the contributions of a greater variety of historical people than have been previously on the curriculum menu and to ask more divergent questions too.
Themes Australian landscape, Colonisation, Establishment of Botanic Gardens, Seed/plant transportation.
Wendy Jeffrey
The missing by Dirk Kurbjuweit
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330444. (Age:Adult) Recommended.
This book is set in Hanover in 1923, with the aftermath of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles casting a shadow over all. This fictional account is based on the life of Fritz Haarmann (also known as ‘The Butcher of Hanover’). Haarmann was convicted for the murders of 24 boys, and believed to be responsible for more. There is a memorial to the 27 known boys in Hanover. This book contains quotations from medical reports and Haarmann’s confession in its entirety. While there will be some readers who know how this story ends, the author has crafted a novel the delves into the thinking and attitudes of the times.
The novel (translated by Imogen Taylor) begins with Inspector Robert Lahnstein searching the archives for information about 10 boys who have gone missing. He has been charged with the responsibility for solving the cases and is struggling to make progress. There is pressure from his superiors and a lack of professionalism in his colleagues.
We are provided raw, uncompromising insight into the characters of Lahnstein and Haarmann. Lahnstein is an introspective man who is full of doubts and it is through his eyes that we have a clearer understanding of the 175ers and the homosexual cultural society in Hanover. The term 175ers was coined due to Paragraph 175 of the German criminal code which made homosexuality a crime. The reader is invited to consider these insights as residing within the complex political instability of the Weimar Republic.
Ethical understandings and responsibilities related to policing and justice are explored through Lahnstein’s interactions with his father (a retired policeman) and the incompetent Muller (Lahnstein’s subordinate). The reader is prompted to evaluate the role of the community in the deaths of the boys. This is a grim, and at times confronting, book. The detail is gruesome and the grief of parents palpable.
Themes Serial Murder; Grief; Historical crime; Aftermath of war.
Linda Guthrie
Salih by Inda Ahmad Zahri and Anne Ryan
Ford Street Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781925804645. (Age:4+) Highly recommended.
His life and home destroyed by bombs and fighting, Salih carries all that is left on his back. He has left the sounds of crying in the night and joined others at a refugee camp where a man teaches him to paint. Here with other children, they paint their dreams and Salih puts these paintings into discarded bottles. He carries them with him as he searches for the sea, where a boat will carry them to the place of their dreams. The angry sea snatches the bottles away, almost destroying their dreams, but these are held in their hearts, until, landing on new shore, they hope that love will come to greet them.
This poignant story will tug at people’s consciences as they see a child, not much older than those reading the book, on a terrifying journey, one that starts in his family home where warm milk is given at bedtime and ice cream eaten at the park, and leads them across dusty hills, carrying all their belongings in the hope of reaching somewhere safe. Along the way Inda tells of their heartache at leaving their country, and their time in a refugee camp, searching with others for that elusive place to call home.
Ryan’s illustrations capture the unreliability of so may lives around the world. Her mixed media images portray the happy family whose lives are destroyed by war, the same group trudging towards the sea, then being tossed about on enormous waves, to find land on which all hopes are pinned. The last page is full of optimism as the bottles have been found and the children use the illustrations as kites, welcoming the newcomers.
Ahmad Zahri stories are inspired by her travels and her heritage. A doctor, she and her husband emigrated from Malaysia to live and work in Australia. Anne Ryan is an author and illustrator who lives and works in Melbourne. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Refugees, War, Homeless, Painting, Kites, Hope, Optimism, Dreams.
Fran Knight
The Khan by Saima Mir
Point Blank, 2021. ISBN: 9780861540877. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
A Pakistani ‘Godfather’ story set in a Yorkshire town! Jia is a determined and highly successful London lawyer, but she is about to return to her family home, to take up her role as the favoured successor to the Khan, the patriarch of the Pakistani family that runs the drug and prostitution syndicate, according to time-honoured codes of respect and honour. There are family secrets that are gradually revealed as we come to learn how Jia developed her steely resolve, and how it is possible that a Muslim woman could lead up an established crime organisation. But it is the devotion to family, and respect for women and children, which distinguishes the Muslim crime group from the new interlopers from Eastern Europe.
It’s a fascinating story. Mir takes her time to build the layers, the settings, the family relationships, and the secret tragedies, as we come to appreciate the code of honour and religion that binds them all. The Khan and his family look after the Pakistani immigrants who face racism and discrimination; when the law fails them, they take the law into their own hands. Jia has learnt how to use the British legal system to get what she wants. That same cool appraisal of what is needed stands her in good stead as she returns to the Khan family.
There are some twists to the story that will surprise readers, and leave them wanting more. Jia is such a complex and intriguing heroine, it really seems like this is only the beginning of the story, there must be sequels to follow, surely. The Khan makes for a highly original, gripping insight into the underworld of migrant groups and their daily confrontations with prejudice, inequality and abuse, a new and impressive debut in the crime genre.
Themes Organised crime, Racism, Muslim community, Honour, Women.
