These are depicted as life as norm for the families on the Mish. The themes of racism, homophobia, alcoholism, and generational disadvantage are interwoven naturally within the story. With the unconditional love and support Jackson receives from his mum, his Uncle Charlie, the elders of the Mish and his mates, Jackson comes to find his voice, accept, and love who he is and reach out to others around him.
He finds it difficult to articulate these emotions and a lot of the internal dialogue in the beginning of the story leaves the reader yearning for Jackson to develop his confidence and his voice. Jackson is angry at the racism he faces from some of the local ‘white fellas’ and targeting from the police. This is best seen in the protagonist, Jackson who begins by questioning himself as a man, believing himself to be ‘pathetic’ or ‘broken’ when he fails to be physically intimate with his girlfriend.
In this must-read YA novel, the characters are real and relatable and their development is genuine and hard won. For Jackson, this mysterious stranger unearths a secret that he thought was buried and forgotten. Tomas has spent some time in ‘juvie’ and is working on a project to rehabilitate and keep his troubled past at bay. But this summer is a little different because when Aunty Pam shows up with a carload of Jackson’s kid cousins, Tomas, a strange boy from the city is among them. For seventeen-year-old Jackson that means trekking to the camping ground by the lake to hang out with the tourists, a few beers at backyard parties and a flood of family from the city. The layering of racial and generational disadvantage adds to the richness of meaning and experience in a setting that has been sorely underrepresented in popular culture. This story delves into the emotional turmoil thrust upon adolescents as they navigate issues of identity, sexuality, and relationships.
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