The Bone Sparrow: shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017

by Zana Fraillon

Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction prize and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017.

Perfect for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This is a beautiful, vivid and deeply moving story about a refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre. This novel reminds us all of the importance of freedom, hope, and the power of a story to speak for anyone who's ever struggled to find a safe home.

'...a special book' - Morris Gleitzman, author of the acclaimed ONCE series

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. And one day it brings him Jimmie.

Carrying a notebook that she's unable to read and wearing a sparrow made out of bone around her neck - both talismans of her family's past and the mother she's lost - Jimmie strikes up an unlikely friendship with Subhi beyond the fence.

As he reads aloud the tale of how Jimmie's family came to be, both children discover the importance of their own stories in writing their futures.

• ISBN10: 1510101543
• ISBN13: 9781510101548
• Publish Date: 14 July 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Orion Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

I had gone into The Bone Sparrow thinking it was based on a true story (I was convinced, in fact, before I started it. But though it’s pure fiction, it really is impactful in its own right. And there are elements of magical realism, which I really loved, and lifted the book out of some of its more harsh moments (especially since it’s middle grade).

Content warnings:
- lots and lots of abuse
- lt’s also hinted that boys are sometimes raped when housed with the older single men (in 1-2 scenes this is mentioned, but the word “rape” is never used)
- disturbing imagery (aka sewing mouths shut)
- some intense violence
- age-difference (pedophilia) romance in one of the stories in Jimmie's mother's book

Representation:
- Subhi and his family are Rohingya (Muslims from Burma/what’s now Myanmar, people who are - from what I learned in the afterward - the most persecuted people on Earth) --> also, Goodreads summary, really? "his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland"? Really??

Subhi is a Rohingya refugee born in an Australian detention center, where he lives with his mother and sister, and awaits his father’s arrival. Though Subhi has only known what’s inside the fences, at night his father sends gifts from the outside to him through what Subhi calls the “Night Sea”, a storm of magic and whales the size of countries. As long as he has the Night Sea, he has a connection to his father. But when Subhi’s best friend joins a hunger strike, and when a girl intrudes on both the detention center and Subhi’s life, Subhi’s world becomes uncomfortably bigger. He’ll have to confront what’s going on in the center, his fears, and truths he’s buried too deep.

Right away, I was surprised at the beautiful writing; it wasn’t what I expected for a middle grade book (not that all middle grade writing is poor! This is just based on my recent experience with the genre in the past year). Middle grade fiction can still be beautiful and lyrical! Case in point: The Bone Sparrow.

It also tells the story from an interesting PoV: as Subhi's sister and friend are trying to get people to notice what’s going on in the detention center (strikes, contacting newspapers secretly), his own storyline itself doesn’t. The plot is involved with it because Subhi's connected to the people who are, but his plotline is a lot more personal, dealing with family, friends, and how his own life changes directly due to everything else going on inside the center. It’s a very childlike view of something enormous like that -- and it also helps to connect the dots for the book’s most impactful (but most awful) scene. It’s very difficult to say everything without spoiling too much …

While this all was beautiful, I wasn’t as fond of the girl who came to the detention center (and changed everything), Jimmie. Though she presented the story with a lot of magical realism, it was way too tough to suspend my disbelief. Even when they rebuilt the fences around the detention center (like ... even layers of fences), she would be able to find a way through them? Her character wasn’t particularly likable either, and she didn’t really seem to care much about other people. I don’t know … she kind of soured my reading experience.

But! All in all a beautiful middle grade novel, and definitely an important one (especially the bit about how all those guards, no matter how they seem nice, are pretty much all either rotten people or cowards who will do nothing when push comes to shove. Sorry! Had to say it. The book did, too).

[Kelly]

Eight year old Subhi survives behind within the wire compound of the detention centre, overcrowded bodies neglected under the parched Australian sun. Subhi is one child of thousands of men, women and children escaping their homeland and applying for asylum in Australia. Born within the compound, his family surviving the harrowing journey from Burma where his father is under political incarceration. Persecuted and malnourished, families are placed within the compound and abandoned by the Australian government, segregated from their family members while abused and tormented by confinement.

Subhi is a remarkable young man, Intelligent and compassionate. The narrative is incredibly confronting, the lack of empathy towards those who seek asylum, the impoverished conditions and atrocious deficiency of humanity. Subhi imagines a freedom for his ailing mother and sister Queeny, a resilient young woman who has become Subhi's guardian.

Nine year old Jimmie lives within the remote community, occupied by exploring since her mother passed away. While her father is a single parent living below the poverty threshold, all that remains of Jimmie's late mother is her treasured book of stories and her Bone Sparrow necklace. An insufficient education and inadequate parenting, Jimmie is illiterate and continues to grieve for her mother's stories.

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.

Jimmie looks at me and nods. 'I know,' she says. 'I hear you.'

The Bone Sparrow is a conscientious and impassioned narrative of the abhorrent treatment and conditions asylum seekers face in Australia. Captivating and confronting.

[pagingserenity]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley, courtesy of Disney Book Group, in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Bone Sparrow tells a story about a Burmese refugee, Subhi, and his life in an Australian detention center for refugees as well as Jimmie, a girl lost after the death of her mother.

The Bone Sparrow isn’t a perfect novel. But it still tells an important story that I think everyone should read, especially in the world we live in today. It’s very eye-opening as it touches on subjects that many people don’t really talk/know about. It wonderfully challenges the world’s perception of refugees and how they should be treated.

The story is beautifully written and wonderfully illustrates what happens to many refugees who are seeking asylum in other countries. The Bone Sparrow manages to seamlessly weave two different points of view to create one story.

The Bone Sparrow is definitely more character driven than anything else. While the plot is interesting to read about, the story holds a lot more meaning coming from Subhi’s point of view.

Thankfully, I found it quite easy to connect to Subhi. It was really easy to sympathize with him and his innocence was endearing and ultimately, at the end, heartbreaking. Jimmie, the other narrator, on the other hand, I had trouble with. While I could understand her presence in The Bone Sparrow (her character serves a good purpose), she was much more difficult to connect and sometimes I wondered if her story (or the role her character serves) could have been delivered in another way or if another vehicle could have been used in her place.

In conclusion, The Bone Sparrow tells a story everyone should read. The story was well crafted and the two points of view were nicely woven together. However, while I liked Subhi, I was disappointed that I didn’t like Jimmie nearly as much.

For more reviews like this one, as well as other content like book related discussions, visit Paging Serenity.