Political
Written by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
Contemporary, Political, Diverse
448 Pages
Published February 4th 2020
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia
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★★★★
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state candidate, as long as he’s behind the scenes. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes. Until he meets Maya.
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is cancelled, her parents are separating and now her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing, with some awkward guy she hardly knows.
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross cultural crush of the century is another thing entirely.
It isn't that Jamie Goldberg is painfully shy, he's awkward and isn't a fan of social interactions after once vomiting during a conversation. Volunteering for the Jordan Rossum campaign suits Jamie just fine, he's happy to work behind the scenes, relishing his role as the official provider of snacks along with younger sister Sophie. Sophie is preoccupied by her upcoming bar mitzvah, his mother either working long hours or party planning for the event of the season, while Jamie finds solace wandering through his favourite store Target, contemplating life in the patio department.
Maya Rehman just can't catch a break. Her best friend Sara is preparing for college with her roommate, her parents are on a trial separation and all during the month of Ramadan. Two homes, no friends and no car. When Jamie and the Rossum campaign visits Maya's iftar feast to celebrate the holy month, Maya and Jamie are volunteered by their mothers to canvas for the campaign, knocking door to door to ensure democratic votes in the local election to fill a vacant seat.
What begins as two teens and former childhood friends reconnecting during the campaign, turns out to be a passion for change, to represent marginalised communities and push back against racist ideals of the conservative party. Such a timely read. With many conservative governments holding power within the western world, now more than ever we need books that emphasise the blatant racism and discrimination by our governments and how the smallest of actions can inspire change.
Jamie comes across as quite sullen, he's socially awkward and although he dreams of one day representing his community and becoming a senator, he can't imagine speaking in public without his lunch making a reappearance first. Although Jamie's parents are separated, his father rarely seeing Jamie and his sister Sophie now he's living in the Netherlands, his mother is a force to be reckoned with. She too works long hours for the local senator and involved in every aspect of her children's lives. Jamie is awestruck by Maya's beauty and her tenacity to fight for equality and although he's reluctant to meet new people by canvassing for the campaign, relishes the opportunity to spend time with Maya.
Maya is the more likeable character of the two. Although she's having a terrible time of it lately, she still tries to remain upbeat and positive. Hopeful that her parents trial separation is only a temporary measure. Maya's parents have one rule, no dating, her education is first and foremost. Being Muslim, Maya is also a character of faith and shares her experiences of racism and discrimination, more so of her mother who wears a hijab. In the local election, a racist conservative plans to introduce a new bill which would see head and face coverings banned and deemed as a security risk, the bill targeting Muslim women in particular who choose to wear the hijab. Maya's anger is palpable and with Jamie's support, the two teens petition the local office of the conservative senator to oppose the blatantly racist bill.
Yes No Maybe So isn't about the end result, it's about the journey we take to get there. Both Jamie and Maya are from marginalised backgrounds, essentially fighting against the conservative vote who encourage discrimination against marginalised communities, often hiding hate speech behind their Christianity. For many diverse communities in western countries, this is their reality. Even though both Jamie and Maya's concerns are dismissed by the local conservative candidate, it was interesting to see how tolerable both teens were of those with strong conservative beliefs. I'm not sure I could have extended such kindness. This is such a wonderful introduction to political activism for teens, start small and don't be afraid to set boundaries, it also reiterates the importance of how even the smallest of victories are still a positive step towards change.
See reviews for And I Darken and Now I Rise
The Conquerors Saga Book Three
Written by Kiersten White
Historical, Alternative History, Young Adult
Published July 16th 2018
400 Pages
Thanks to Penguin Random House Australia
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★★★★★
Haunted by the sacrifices he made in Constantinople, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed and would he even want it?
Lada's rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won't rest until everyone knows that her country's borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed's peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper. They must go to war against the girl prince.
But Mehmed knows that he loves her. He understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. Radu alone fears that they are underestimating his sister's indomitable will. Only by destroying everything that came before, including her relationships, can Lada truly build the country she wants.
Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world.
The Prince of Wallachia is a revolutionary leader among her European borders, a young woman guiding her beloved country to freedom from the Ottoman Empire.
Lada Dragwyla
Lada Dragwyla is an unprecedented character in young adult literature, malevolent and ferociously inhumane. Raised as a young woman destined for traditional female servitude, Lada has escaped for the freedom of Wallachia, reestablishing control alongside her trusted Emissaries. Her journey is contravened by inequality, ignorance and chauvinism, her position as Prince inconceivable. Lada has established the admiration of her compatriots and an equitable Wallachia.
Radu Dragwyla
Radu Dragwyla is a spiritual and compassionate young man, sheltered from atrocities and brutality until the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman forces. The legitimate heir to the Wallachia throne, Radu circumvented his homeland and responsibilities to advocate for the Mehmed the Conqueror and the Ottoman Empire. Abandoning Lada and the dishevelled, presumably incorrigible, antagonistic relationship. As abandoned children of servitude, Lada and Radu are educated on the Ottoman occupation and prophet Muhammad. Radu embraced the Muslim faith, Lada's determination and defiance captivating Mehmed, the young Ottoman heir.
Mehmed The Conqueror
Mehmed is an aggravating antagonist. As a child heir guided by the Sultan, Mehmed is an idealistic young man possessing grandeur illusions of a region united under Islam. Although Lada and Radu were captivates of the Sultan, Lada establishes a physical relationship with Mehmed creating resentment and hostility in gentle Radu, who is exploring his sexuality. Mehmed often exploits Radu's attraction, therein lies the issue with his character. Appointing Radu as an adviser and attempting to subdue Lada as a compatriot and companion.
Gender Inequality
In Bright We Burn, Lada is tenacious, unrelenting and although aggravated in retaliation, she's accused of genocidal atrocities. Mehmed conquers Constantinople and is applauded and revered for his initiative. As Prince of Wallachia, Lada is held accountable, male counterparts exonerated for the savagery against humanity. Women in positions of domination are inconceivable. Male lineages occupy Europe, women are wives, concubines and adhere to the traditional female roles prevalent throughout the European kingdoms and Lada Dragwyla, a young woman of influence, revolutionising Europe against the Ottoman occupation.
Character Diversity
An amalgamation of religion and sexuality. Muslim, Christian, same sex relationships and Radu's exploration of sexuality and faith. Radu particularly is confronted by the Wallachian Christianity and upon his captivation by the Sultan, embraced Islam by engaging in sessions of prayer and the Holy Month, experiencing the peaceful teaching of Islam throughout Radu's narrative. The gentle relationship between Nazira, her partner Fatima and Radu is exquisite and although society recognises heteronormative relationships, Nazira and Radu share a familial, nonsexual relationship of affection and tenderness.
Historically, Mehmed the Conqueror was rumoured to have been sexually attracted to men which is unclear throughout The Conquerors Saga. Mehmed shares intimate moments with Radu, gentle gesturing, alluding to the rumours that his harem as Sultan contains consenting men for the Sultan's sexual gratification. To disperse rumours, Mehmed ostracises Radu to Constantinople, unclear if Mehmed is sexually attracted to Radu or exploiting the young Dragwyla's affections.
The Conquerors Saga is a brutal alternative history of the Prince of Wallachia, blending historical fiction with a cruel and calculating antihero that pushes gender roles, stereotypes and labels. A breathtaking, historical alternative of the Ottoman Empire during fifteenth century Europe and an impeccable finale to what is an outstanding young adult series.
Written by Wai Chim
Historical, Friendship, Diversity
Published September 1st 2016
272 Pages
Purchased
Published by Allen & Unwin Australia
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★★★★★
Published September 1st 2016
272 Pages
Purchased
Published by Allen & Unwin Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
This incredible tale about two boys' swim from mainland China to Hong Kong in search of freedom from poverty and oppression is inspired by a true story.
Ming survived the famine that killed his parents during China's Great Leap Forward, and lives a hard but adequate life, working in the fields.
When a group of city boys comes to the village as part of a Communist Party reeducation program, Ming and his friends aren't sure what to make of the new arrivals. They're not used to hard labour and village life. But despite his reservations, Ming befriends a charming city boy called Li. The two couldn't be more different, but slowly they form a bond over evening swims and shared dreams.
But as the bitterness of life under the Party begins to take its toll on both boys, they begin to imagine the impossible. Freedom.
Ming stands on the bank of the river, a farewell to his mother who now joins the procession of souls taken by years of famine. His father died attempting to swim to Hong Kong, escaping the communist regime. Starving and alone, Ming is eleven years old when Fei is seeking refuge, one night of shared sorrow ensuring a friendship of support and comfort spanning distance and time.
Toiling the impacted earth, Ming labours for meager rations when under a Mao regime, the village of Dingzai has been selected for reeducation, expected to learn the teachings of their leader while the young men of the Red Guard are sentenced to the toil as humble farmers. Spreading the message of Mao. Li is serving his leader, the Red Guard member an exemplary young man who is commended for his loyalty and dedicated to the teachings of his leader.
Ming and Li form a tentative friendship, relying on one another for support, guidance and compassion. Tension is high in the small farming village of Dingzai, famine and neglect have taken their toll and the only refuge is a liberal Hong Kong, a tumultuous Freedom Swim across the channel or risk being labelled as a reactionary thinker.
When you have nothing left, you have nothing left to lose.
My Thoughts
A few weeks ago I read a review for Freedom Swimmer on Happy Indulgence and was touched by Jeann's review. She spoke about how her family had migrated to Australia in which most families search for freedom and an environment to raise children, allowing them to prosper. It's a narrative echoed by so many Australian families, our neighbours, our friends and family members. Ming's story is passionate and breathtaking but most of all, it instills hope and a sense of understanding, learning not to take our freedom for granted.
Orphaned at the tender age of only eleven years old, Ming is a mere boy in a village where children sow the fields in communist China, not afforded an education unlike wealthy families living within the city, Ming is an outcast since his father attempted the treacherous swim to Hong Kong.
Titled Freedom Swimming by the media, an overwhelming number of young men and women made the journey to freedom, escaping Maoist guards with dozens of barely adult bodies washing up on the Hong Kong shoreline. Famine swept throughout China and for many citizens, escape was their only means of survival. Wai Chim was inspired by her own father's story, he too was a Freedom Swimmer in the early seventies and now lives a peaceful life in New York. An inspiration.
Freedom Swimmer is told in duel narratives from both Ming and Li, both young men are wonderfully written and will appeal to the wider audience with the characters conversing in modern English. Readers experience China's Cultural Revolution through the eyes of two young men, wanting justice for the treatment of so many and hopeful for their freedom. Freedom Swimming was an incredibly treacherous era, with many media reports believing it was a significant precursor to cultural change.
Australia is a multicultural country not without fault. Asylum seekers from war ravaged countries are modern day Freedom Swimmers, seeking refuge and safe passage for their families only to be placed in detention. Unless you identify as an Indigenous Australian who remain our traditional land owners, we are all migrants seeking the same freedom and prosperity and Freedom Swimmer further highlights their plight.
Inspirational, poignant and quietly beautiful, Freedom Swimmer is a journey of bravery and the strength we draw from solidarity and compassion.
When Michael Met Mina
Written by Randa Abdel - Fattah
Contemporary, Social / Political, #LoveOzYA
Published June 28th 2016
360 Pages
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
★★★★
Before Mina, my life was like a completed jigsaw puzzle but Mina has pushed the puzzle onto the floor. I have to start all over again, figuring out where the pieces go.
When Michael meets Mina, they are at a rally for refugees , standing on opposite sides.
Mina fled Afghanistan with her mother via a refugee camp, a leaky boat and a detention centre. Michael's parents have founded a new political party called Aussie Values.
They want to stop the boats. Mina wants to stop the hate.
When Mina wins a scholarship to Michael's private school, their lives crash together blindingly.
A novel for anyone who wants to fight for love, and against injustice.
Life for Mina and her mother has been harrowing. A young child and a single mother forced to leave war torn Afghanistan for the inhumane conditions of a refugee camp. Desperate to reach asylum, they seek refuge in Australia only to be detained and begin their new life behind the fence of a detention centre. But now Mina has just been granted a scholarship at one of the most prestigious schools in Sydney, and is moving to the leafy and affluent suburbs to begin her new life in what is seemingly a sterile environment where ethnicity determines your status as a member of the community.
Michael's family believe in an Australia that preaches white, anglo saxon values and assimilation for those who immigrate to our shores. Michael's father is on the cusp of forming a new political party in Aussie Values, spreading the message of selective immigration and the misguided notion that Islam funds terrorism. Michael believes what his parents are campaigning for from their safe and affluent leafy suburb, until he meets new girl Mina who leaves him questioning his beliefs.
Mina is unlike anyone Michael has ever met. She's passionate, beautiful and isn't afraid to stand against casual racism among our multicultural communities. Through Mina's eyes, Michael starts to learn that perhaps his parents values aren't that of his own and forges his own path. But when Mina's family is made a target of his father's Aussie Values campaign, can Michael stand against injustice?
My Thoughts
When Michael Met Mina was an emotionally and politically charged read that ignites passionate debate between Australians. Told from dual points of view, Michael is a quiet young man who has been raised in a household with strong social beliefs. His father is head of the Aussie Values political group who support policies of stopping the refugee boats and denying those seeking asylum and scaremongering amongst supporters to believe Australia will be overrun, making our lives poorer for the intake in new citizens. There's a misconception within the media and our nation's political parties that those seeking asylum aren't genuine refugees, because they choose to seek refuge in Australia, often arriving via Indonesian people smugglers. It's these media reports in which the Aussie Values campaign is based and almost identical to the Reclaim Australia movement. Parents tend to instill their own morals and beliefs on their children, so Michael's character has always been surrounded by those with strong, misguided opinions. But that is about to change when rather than having opinions based on familial morals and the media, he discovers what is means to seek asylum from Mina, a girl who has lived through the ordeal.
Mina is intelligent, articulate, passionate and not afraid to speak out against injustice. She's been through a harrowing journey, leaving the only life she had ever known to travel to Australia with her mother to seek refuge, only to be detained. It's a storyline pulled from the Australian headlines, asylum seekers being detained, often taking years before they are allowed to call Australia home or returned to their homeland, trading security for living a meager existence in limbo.
I grew up in a time where Aussie Values were the basis in so many homes. We watched series like Kingswood Country, where Aussie larrikin Ted Bullpit told his son in law to leave your money on the fridge wog and casual racism was part of our dialect. Australia has since grown as a nation and Michael's character reflects our need for compassion both socially and politically. Michael was a product of his environment as was Mina, but both on either end of the spectrum.
Michael blindly believes what his parents have instilled in him and hasn't yet formed his own opinions. He soon realises how discriminatory his opinion is after seeing Mina hurt by his misguided accusations, although Mina's passion could easily be mistaken for anger. I loved how fierce her opinions were but her character often felt abrasive. But through a shared compassion, both Mina and Michael were able to grow as characters. The slow burning romance was absolutely lovely. Mina was able to see that Michael was more than his father's organisation and in turn, Michael begun to form his own opinions through Mina's experiences.
When Michael Met Mina is the book that young adult has been desperately deprived of. Confident, relevant, beautifully written and intensely passionate with a strong moral compass.
I grew up in a time where Aussie Values were the basis in so many homes. We watched series like Kingswood Country, where Aussie larrikin Ted Bullpit told his son in law to leave your money on the fridge wog and casual racism was part of our dialect. Australia has since grown as a nation and Michael's character reflects our need for compassion both socially and politically. Michael was a product of his environment as was Mina, but both on either end of the spectrum.
Michael blindly believes what his parents have instilled in him and hasn't yet formed his own opinions. He soon realises how discriminatory his opinion is after seeing Mina hurt by his misguided accusations, although Mina's passion could easily be mistaken for anger. I loved how fierce her opinions were but her character often felt abrasive. But through a shared compassion, both Mina and Michael were able to grow as characters. The slow burning romance was absolutely lovely. Mina was able to see that Michael was more than his father's organisation and in turn, Michael begun to form his own opinions through Mina's experiences.
When Michael Met Mina is the book that young adult has been desperately deprived of. Confident, relevant, beautifully written and intensely passionate with a strong moral compass.
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