Thirst by Lizzie Wilcock
Scholastic Australia, 2015. ISBN 9781742839660
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Survival. Australian outback. Foster care.
When the car that is taking Karanda and 8 year old Solomon to their
next foster home crashes in Central Australia, and their social
worker is killed, Karanda is determined to be free of the foster
care system that she believes has been terrible for her. With just
her backpack and a bottle of water, she sets off into the desert to
escape her old life, the misery and the mistakes she has made. There
is only thing holding her back - Solomon, the solemn kid who has
barely said a word to anyone. When she discovers that he has
followed her, she decides that his survival skills are important to
keep them alive and together they trek across the desert.
I was immediately reminded of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and
thought that this would be a great companion novel to that popular
classic. Instead of facing the Canadian wilderness where water was
plentiful, Karanda and Solomon face the Australian desert, where
water is scarce and precious, and food is virtually impossible to
find. Fortunately Solomon has been a great fan of the TV show, The
Bush Tucker Man, and is able to find and identify some native
food sources for them and their struggle to survive makes for
fascinating reading. A quick Google search will bring up reports of
survival in the desert, so their feat doesn't seem to be too
implausible and the reader is carried along by their adventures.
Equally engrossing are the personal stories that gradually come to
light as the reader gets to know the characters. The foster care
system hasn't worked for these two children who have suffered
devastating personal loss. The themes of the importance of being
loved and belonging to a family and having friends loom large in
this book, as do the inadequacies of the foster care system and the
children's lack of ability to communicate their needs to their
foster parents.
Karanda's growth as a person and her gradual understanding of the
impact of what she says to Solomon is also central to the story. I
loved the dialogue, especially the nicknames that Karanda gives
Solomon: 'fire boy' when he makes a fire, 'fall boy' when he falls
down a cliff, and other humorous tags.
I read this book in one sitting and I am of the opinion that younger
readers would find it very engrossing. Teacher
notes are available.
Pat Pledger