Nona & Me

by Clare Atkins

[Kelly]

Nona and Me was an incredibly deep and emotional story of two childhood friends who reconnect again as almost adults. Uniquely Australian, I loved being transported to the small community where the saying 'it takes a village to raise a child', no truer words have been spoken. Rosie's parents are separated, but keep in contact. Both are strong in their beliefs of supporting their local communities and have raised Rosie to be accepting, respectful and treat others with dignity. But once Nona, her childhood friend moved away, Rosie lost her way and became another small minded girl who just wanted to fit in with the crowd. Old habits die hard and when Nona returns, Rosie goes as far as to hide her association with her, for fear of being the center of gossip among her friends and losing the keen eye of Nick. My heart broke for Nona, Rosie cared far more about others impressions of her than wanting to reconnect with her sister.

Nona was a lovely character, free spirited and as beautiful as she was quick witted. I would have loved to have seen her point of view and learnt more about where she'd been and how her life was growing up away from Yirrkala. The storyline is set in an era where an 'intervention' was introduced into the Northern Territory, restricting the choices of Native Australians and all based on the misinformation of the government in power at the time. Nona and Me addresses the issues within the community, the lack of job opportunities within the fictional town, leading to depression and suicide. It was incredibly raw and moving, and highlighted the injustice and many forms of racism that run rampant within the fictional town and the wider society as a whole.

Nick's character is one example of a boy who has formed his own opinions from that of his parents, his wealthy father seeing the Indigenous community as second class, not worth his time or patience and passing the same bigoted beliefs onto his son. It isn't long until Nick shows his true, misguided opinions, seeking his father's approval at the expense of others. Sadly, Rosie stood idly by and excused his behavior. In one particular chapter, where Nick was introduced to Rosie's father, where like the government at the time, Nick's opinions were based on misinformation and preconceived notions of the community. Rosie's father is a phenomenal character. Sensitive, educated and opinionated.

We're all fundamentally human. We all feel, bleed, hurt, love.

I loved it. It was moving, emotional and gave me a sense of righteousness that Rosie was able to make her own independent decisions, while learning a tough life lesson. Beautifully bittersweet.