A review by thereadingwren
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
5.0
5/5
OMG!!! This is a new favourite of all time. This is everything I could have ever wanted from a book about two Koori boys falling in love and discovering themselves.
Jackson and Tomas are the sweetest guys and I loved reading about their journey together. I adored seeing Jackson become happier throughout the book as he was able to accept himself and the deep anger within him just melts away. It all felt so authentic. Not once did this book feel like it was written purely for entertainment purposes, it felt like everything really happened and you were in the mind of Jackson just living his life.
While this was such a sweet story it did deal with heavy topics. The racism in this is a pretty big part of the book and really messes with the characters. There's also police brutality, alcoholism, homophobia and the effects of colonisation. All of these topics are dealt with in such a respectful way. The alcoholism never feels like it was being encouraged and the racist elements were called out as being racist but in a calm and informative manner. With such heavy topics you'd almost expect there to be rage and violence but there wasn't.
The connection to culture and Country was beautiful. I loved the men's group and how it was a place for learning, healing, and acceptance. Having Tomas go through a cleansing ceremony was so beautiful I almost cried, and the way Jackson was accepted and loved by all these elders was heartbreakingly wonderful.
I even enjoyed how this book wasn't tied up all neatly with a bow. There were things left unfinished, court cases for one, but the boys didn't come out to their families yet and that somehow made the story feel more authentic. I think if they'd been pressured to come out then the book would have felt like it was for entertainment rather than telling a wonderful story.
I could not put this book down and as soon as I finished it I wanted to read it all over again. I am having to physically stop myself from rereading it. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD. It's so lovely, and wholesome, and fluffy, and full of goodness and hope and love.
OMG!!! This is a new favourite of all time. This is everything I could have ever wanted from a book about two Koori boys falling in love and discovering themselves.
Jackson and Tomas are the sweetest guys and I loved reading about their journey together. I adored seeing Jackson become happier throughout the book as he was able to accept himself and the deep anger within him just melts away. It all felt so authentic. Not once did this book feel like it was written purely for entertainment purposes, it felt like everything really happened and you were in the mind of Jackson just living his life.
While this was such a sweet story it did deal with heavy topics. The racism in this is a pretty big part of the book and really messes with the characters. There's also police brutality, alcoholism, homophobia and the effects of colonisation. All of these topics are dealt with in such a respectful way. The alcoholism never feels like it was being encouraged and the racist elements were called out as being racist but in a calm and informative manner. With such heavy topics you'd almost expect there to be rage and violence but there wasn't.
The connection to culture and Country was beautiful. I loved the men's group and how it was a place for learning, healing, and acceptance. Having Tomas go through a cleansing ceremony was so beautiful I almost cried, and the way Jackson was accepted and loved by all these elders was heartbreakingly wonderful.
I even enjoyed how this book wasn't tied up all neatly with a bow. There were things left unfinished, court cases for one, but the boys didn't come out to their families yet and that somehow made the story feel more authentic. I think if they'd been pressured to come out then the book would have felt like it was for entertainment rather than telling a wonderful story.
I could not put this book down and as soon as I finished it I wanted to read it all over again. I am having to physically stop myself from rereading it. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD. It's so lovely, and wholesome, and fluffy, and full of goodness and hope and love.