What a sweet, touching novel! I really enjoyed reading this story, and I found it wonderful to learn about the struggles that many faced throughout the 2019-20 fires. The perspective of a koala – a classic Aussie animal – added a unique touch and interesting twist to the tale, and increased the likeliness of children finding this story enjoyable and funny.
I also really liked the educational photos and information on different Australian animals, and the factual statistics about damage caused by the harsh fires of 2019 and 2020. The little scattered animal drawings – accompanied by the names of the respective characters in the book – helped me to work out who was who, which I found quite difficult in the beginning, as a lot of characters and names are simply thrown at the reader. However, I will say that I loved the Indigenous Aboriginal names that many animals had – including fire itself – and I really enjoyed the nickname given to the firefighters – angels.
Another unique and interesting aspect includes the quotes scattered throughout the book. These inspirational quotes were from famous Australians, such as Cathy Freeman and Julia Gillard, and I thought they really added to the realism of the story.
“You got to try and reach for the stars or try and achieve the unreachable.”
(Cathy Freeman quote)
And then, of course, there was the animals themselves! They were such cute characters, and I loved reading about their journeys. Each character had their own personality, and most of the characters were quite young, making the book ideal for children. The storytelling style also flowed really well, told by Illuka the koala.
“it was his voice. How brittle it sounded. Not like a king, like a slave. Illuka spoke the truth.”
(Omeo’s thoughts while witnessing Illuka)
Overall, this book is well-suited for a young audience or a family with children, though I – as an older teenager – also enjoyed the book. I loved the information on the fires, and I thank the author for the free copy :).
Darce (Read in the Clouds)
