Description
A gripping historical YA thriller, with a dash of queer romance. Think the bushranger version of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.
1899, Fremantle Asylum, Western Australia. For three years now, Gilberta Brady has kept quiet and stayed out of trouble, hoping to soon be released. But when Norah Devaney screams into the ward with revenge in her heart and a story no-one believes, Brady's carefully guarded peace is shattered.
On the run and out of options, they collide with Kedalak and Malkar, Nyungar brothers on their own journey home. They form an unlikely gang of bushrangers and embark on a dangerous mission- track down the man who killed Norah's mum.
But little do they know that the Whistling Man is hunting them too.
Review
Gilberta Brady has spent three years in the Fremantle Asylum trying to keep out of trouble. We later discover that her brother had her interred because of her tendency to wear men’s clothes and have impure thoughts.
Norah is a young Aboriginal girl who was brought up in a women’s Night House. Her mum died and Billie, who lived as a woman but was born a man, adopted her as her own. When Norah witnessed Billie’s murder at the hands of a policeman - who saw it as his duty to rid the world of such abominations - she told other local police and as a result she was sent off to Fremantle as a mad, hysterical woman.
Norah befriends Gil and plans an escape, to get revenge on the evil policeman. But when they do manage to escape, they become bushrangers and are now wanted women. With the help of two Nyungar brothers, who have their own story of persecution, they try to find the policeman. But this is a dangerous game, and they are being hunted too. Will they make it out alive?
Set in the Australia of 1899, this book explores the attitudes of the time to those who were different, in particular towards queer and First Nations people. Bigotry, racism and intolerance were rampant, and the world was run by do-gooders who thought they knew better. This is a terrific book that confronts these tough themes, but it also has themes of persistence, love, friendship, resilience, and facing and rejecting evil forces, making it a great discussion starter on early Australian life for students aged from 14 to 17 years.
