The Truth About Peacock Blue, by Rosanne Hawke

9781743319949.jpgMrs Abdul and the officer stopped in front of me and I stood in respect. She had been angry with me constantly, regularly beat me, but she had never spat words at me like she did then, as if I was a bazaar dog with rabies.
‘This is the girl, officer, who blasphemed the Holy Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him.’
Rabi gave a cry. I couldn’t say a word; I was too shocked.

Aster was named after a girl who had to fight against the persecution of her minority faith. Aster, too, belongs to a to a minority. She is a Christian growing up in Pakistan. When she is given the opportunity for a high school education she plans to study hard to make a difference for herself and for her grieving parents. But not everybody at the school is welcoming, and one teacher dislikes her intensely – because of her faith. Aster tries to keep her head low and study hard to please the teacher, but a mistake in an exam has devastating consequences, when she is accused of blashpemy. Marched out of school by police and thrown in prison, Aster’s predicament escalates rapidly.

The Truth About Peacock Blue is a gripping tale of life for one girl in Pakistan, giving an insight into the predicaments of minority faith groups and indviduals, as well as the rights of women. In prison, Aster meets other women who have been wrongly accused and are harshly treated, left in limbo for lengthy periods of time. Communication with her Australian-based cousin, who runs a blog and starts a petition, allows other perspectives, incuding those of commenters on Maryam’s blog.

Aster’s case is fictional, but mention is made of real life cases including those of Asia Bibi and Malala. As well as being an absorbing story, The Truth About Peacock Blue will also aid in understanding such situations, which can seem far removed from contemporary Australian life.

An important look at social justice and freedom.

The Truth About Peacock Blue, by Rosanne Hawke
Allen & Unwin, 2015
ISBN 9781743319949

The Messenger Bird by Rosanne Hawke

I remember what I was doing when I first heard the news; I was playing Mozart’s ‘Sonata in C’. Would I ever be able to play that again? During the coda I heard the cow bell at the back door, a silence, then Dad’s voice raised in question. They didn’t come into the lounge to tell me. Unsuspecting, I went out to the kitchen when I’d finished playing. Mum and Dad were sitting there barely touching, staring at nothing.

I remember what I was doing when I first heard the news; I was playing Mozart’s ‘Sonata in C’. Would I ever be able to play that again? During the coda I heard the cow bell at the back door, a silence, then Dad’s voice raised in question. They didn’t come into the lounge to tell me. Unsuspecting, I went out to the kitchen when I’d finished playing. Mum and Dad were sitting there barely touching, staring at nothing.

When you first realise the unfairness and randomness of death it eats into your thoughts like acid. I didn’t believe in God the way Mum did, but I still screamed at him in my head, ‘You’ve picked the wrong family to do this to.’ I knew I wouldn’t be strong enough, Mum wasn’t either. Then there was Dad, a crumbling pillar trying to hold both of us up.

How does a family deal with death? In The Messenger Bird the short answer is ‘not well’. Set in outback South Australia, three members of a family mourn the loss of the fourth. Separately and in very different ways. It is as if a piece of a puzzle is lost and without it, nothing makes sense. Mum retreats into herself, and Dad spends all his time and energy restoring their old stone house. They three are side-by-side but alone. Tamar, the main character, can see this but there seems to be no fixing it, and she seems to be the only one trying to change things. Nothing that once gave her pleasure can touch the emptiness and pain. Including – or perhaps particularly – her music. Then she finds a piece of sheet music that somehow links her with the past and helps her to begin to imagine a future.

A house holds in its walls the memories of all who live there. In The Messenger Bird, Tamara discovers the history of the house as surely as her father does as he renovates. For each, the discoveries also allow them time and perspective in coming to terms with the loss in their lives. Truths that are too big to imagine are broken down into smaller bites and piece by piece, the characters can put their lives back together. The Messenger Bird is full of mystery. Or mysteries. Some are intended to be uncovered, others will remain forever out of reach. And the business of life is to decide which ones are which. A moving story about death and life and the choices people make. Recommended for mid- to upper-secondary readers.

The Messenger Bird

The Messenger Bird by Rosanne Hawke UQP 2012 ISBN: 9780702238826

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Mountain Wolf, by Rosanne Hawke

‘Listen.’ His father coughed, then groaned. ‘Find your Uncle Javaid. Go to Rawalpindi…’
‘But-‘
‘…money in my pocket…bus from Oghi…’
The breath in his father’s throat sounded like a snake’s hiss. Razaq had heard that sound before when his grandmother was dying.
‘Ji, Abu.’ Razaq kissed his father’s face. The sound in his father’s throat stopped.

When an earthquake destroys Razaq’s mountain village and kills his family, he is determined to fulfill his father’s dying wish and travel to the city to find his uncle. But Rawalpindi is a big city and Razaq doesn’t know how to find his uncle. When he is sold into slavery it seems he may never belong to a family again. While he makes friends with other children both on the street and in the homes of the wealthy men and women who control him, Razaq has little hope, apart from determination, and memories of his father.Then he is visited by a social worker, posing as a massage customer, and Razaq wonders if perhaps there is a way out.

Mountain Wolf is a powerfully confronting tale of childhood slavery and of social justice. Exploring a seedy world which readers will wish was not real, Hawke offers an insight into life for the poorest, least powerful members of society – orphaned displaced children. Whilst there is nothing uplifting about the scenario, the story manages to offer some hope, both for Razaq himself, but also for humanity in general, through the kindness of strangers and family.

Suitable for highschool aged readers.

Mountain Wolf

Mountain Wolf, by Rosanne Hawke
Harper Collins, 2012
ISBN 9780732293871

his book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond.