Description
The thought comes to me: This is how I die. Dally is going to lose control and crash us into a pole or ahouse and we will be killed on impact.
The justice system characterises Jamie Langton as a 'danger to society', but he's just an Aboriginal kid, trying to find his way through adolescence.
Jamie lives in Dalton's Bay with Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bobby. He spends his downtime hanging outwith his mates, Dally and Lenny. Mark Cassidy and his white mates - the Footy Heads - take every opportunity they can to bully Jamie and his friends. On Lenny's last night in town before moving to Sydney, after another episode of racist harassment, Jamie, Dally and Lenny decide to retaliate by vandalising Mark Cassidy's car. And when they discover the keys are in the ignition... Dally changes the plan. Soon they are all in Mark Cassidy's stolen car cruising through town, aiming to take it for a quick spin, then dump it.
But it's a bad plan. And as a consequence, Jamie ends up in the youth justice system where he must find a way to mend his relationships with himself, his friends, his family and his future.
Words sting. Songs kill.
Review
Jamie is a First Nations' kid in Year 11, and he lives in a community where race plays a huge part in school life. Jamie was taken from his parents when he was six and, together with his brother Trey, was sent to live with Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bobby. Trey disappeared to Sydney when he was 16, and Jamie almost never sees him.
Jamie is hanging out with bad influences, where alcohol plays a big part in daily life, when Jamie’s mate Dally convinces him and Lenny that it is time to seek revenge on their bullies. They are planning to damage a car, but when they arrive and see the keys in it, Dally steals it instead and the others go along with it. A police chase and crash follow, leaving Jamie at the mercy of the courts, and a five month stint in juvenile detention follows.
Trey comes back into his life and news of his father’s terminal illness causes Jamie reevaluate his life. But going back to the old town and his old mates when he is released surely can’t work out for him. Will Jamie be able to turn his life around before it is too late?
This book hooks you in, it is terrifically well-written and tackles the challenges of life on the fringe faced by so many of our youth. With themes of displaced kids, racial tensions, alcohol abuse and trying to write a better story of your life, it will be best suited to readers ages 15 and older. Please note that it does contain strong language, but it fits in with the nature of the storyline and difficult themes tackled.
Reviewed by Rob
