Pip Smith's The Pull of the Moon has been named a Children's Book Council of Australia Notable young adult book. Congratulations Pip!
The judges of the award noted:
The Pull of the Moon is set on Christmas Island and follows thirteen-year-old Coralie - a teenage whose world is irrevocably changed when a fishing boat carrying eighty-nine asylum seekers crashes into the island's cliffs during a violent tropical storm. As locals rush to help, Coralie locks eyes with Ali, and eleven-year-old Iranian boy, moments before he disappears beneath the waves. When his body is never recovered, Coralie becomes consumed by the need to understand what happened to him, even as her own family and community struggle with the trauma of the disaster and the growing presence of offshore detention on the island. Informed by extensive research and the author's work with asylum seekers, The Pull of the Moon is a powerful and sensitively written Young Adult novel that does not shy away from complex or confronting subject matter. Through Coralie's perspective, readers are invited to consider the human consequences of detention policies, displacement and media narratives, without the novel becoming didactic. Addressing themes of grief, trauma, displacement, asylum seeking, coming of age and the desire to help in situations beyond one's control, The Pull of the Moon offers young readers a thoughtful entry point into difficult conversations. Suitable for readers aged 14 years old and above, it is a deeply affecting novel that encourages reflection, empathy and discussion, making it a valuable text for classrooms.
We have free teaching notes available for download for The Pull of the Moon. Find out more here.
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