Scatterheart
Scatterheart - Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson's Scatterheart tells the story of upper-class Hannah Cheshire - abandoned by her gambling father, convicted of a crime she didn't commit and sent to an Australian colony aboard a ship full of other convicts. The book follows Hannah across the ocean to the "Parts beyond the Seas" and during her quest to find the man who used to tutor her, Thomas Behr. The first chapters are non-linear in structure, mixing Hannah's present experiences of the gaol with her memories of preceding events explaining who she is and how she got there. This structure is a brilliant device which hooks the reader and pulls them through the book's opening by which time the characters - who are complex, interesting and unique, all of them down to the smallest supporting character with their own personality and function - and the exciting, sometimes shocking but always believable, plot will have the reader so interested that devices such as this are unnecessary. As with many books for children buried beneath the plot there is a message or life-lesson and this particular one is both fairly easy to guess and fairly common in children's literature. This could make the ending feel a little predictable or even slightly patronizing but the skill with which the characters are described, particularly those of Thomas, Hannah and her small friend Molly saves it from being in any way disappointing or from feeling too ‘preachy'. The beautiful fairy tale which is told along with the story and the parallels between this tale and the main plot give the book a lovely ‘fairy-tale feeling' in places, though manage not to take away from the realistic and gritty tone which together with great characters and brilliantly described settings makes this a truly fantastic and deeply enjoyable read.
Amy
Read Amy's interview with Lili Wilkinson in the Authors and Illustrator's section.
