The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, UWAP)

In this bold, brave and boundary-pushing young adult novel, author Pip Smith (Half Wild) draws on her experience teaching asylum seekers and years of research to explore complex social themes. Thirteen-year-old Coralie lives on Christmas Island, a paradise where the crab migrations mark the seasons. But beneath its beauty lie the scars of devastating tragedies, including the 2010 sinking of the Janga, an Indonesian fishing boat carrying asylum seekers. Through a faithful recreation of this tragedy, Smith deftly examines the human impact of Australia’s policy of ‘silence’. When Coralie locks eyes with Ali, an 11-year-old Iranian boy, just before he disappears under the waves with the boat, a cascade of mysterious events begins. The result is a chilling portrait of humanity’s fragility and a powerful reminder of our responsibility to act, especially in the face of collective inaction. As the story unfolds, the narrative picks up pace and broadens to include other perspectives – most notably that of Zahra, Ali’s sister – whose experiences reveal the long shadow cast by trauma, especially when children are left without the tools to process their grief. The Pull of the Moon is an excellent resource for breaking toxic patterns of misinformation and will speak to advanced readers aged 13+ who are interested in environmental and political issues, grief and trauma, and complex family relationships. It is perfect for fans of Tristan Bancks’s Detention, Margarita Engle’s Wings in the Wild and Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Nadia Heisler is a CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) writer originally from Brazil with a background in journalism. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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