I am giving this book a 4 star review.
I learned a lot about Aboriginals in Australia with this novel. It was an interesting read for sure. My heart was broken with these girls stories.
Basically you get the history of Aboriginals from the time white settlers came to the girl’s trek through harsh Australian outback. The courageous story of three “half caste” girls ranging in age (8, 11, and 15) who run away from the Moore River Native Settlement where they are sent. They are taken away from their families to be “trained” in doing house duties for the white settlers. They break out of the Settlement to try to make it home to their families. They travel 1,500 miles and takes them over a month. The history and journey are definitely worth the read.
The novel was small which I did not mind. But it was told very simply. I did not think this was a YA novel until I got it from the library and saw it on the YA shelf. I also felt like it wanted to be a history book but also a fictionalized tale of the journey itself which was confusing. At first, I kept reading the back of the book since I was like “oh, I thought this book was about….”
Needless to say, I would recommend this novel. It is a tale that will stick with me for a long time.