The Bone Sparrow

Subhi is a boy who was born at a refugee camp. He arrived here, to an Australian refugee detention centre, many years ago, in his mother’s belly. Their small family, which included his older sister Queeny, escaped from their homeland to get away from terrible violence. Subhi didn’t know that scary world. Up until now, his whole life had been spent inside the fence of the refugee camp – passing the time by listening to his mother’s nightly stories, which took him on imaginary adventures to the land of the Night Sea, where whales sung to him.

But the most exciting story of all arrives, one night, on the other side of the fence. There, Subhi sees a raggedy-looking and impatient girl. Her name is Jimmie and she has lost her mother. She needs Subhi’s help in order to read a notebook, written by her mother, about her family’s tragic stories. Together they start sharing these stories and looking for answers. In this way, these two friends, who are separated by the fence, find comfort and a kind of freedom, which, in the end, will claim sacrifices from them both.

This book was selected as one of the best children’s books of 2016 by The Guardian. It was also a nominee for the Carnegie Medal in 2017.