Rebecca Lim’s books always teach me something new about Australian history as well as what great writing looks like.

“Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky is a relatively gentle, fictionalised account of a rural community, one of thousands across China, in the years leading up to, and including the start of, The Great Leap Forward (1958-1961), a government-enforced plan to transform a predominantly agrarian economy into an industrialised one over an unreasonably short timeframe.”- taken from Rebecca’s words in the author’s notes.

This historical fiction novel for upper middle grade and YA readers (and anyone older too of course) is also a story of the kindness of strangers and hope prevailing over extreme adversity.

13 year old Fu and his younger sister Pei’s journey escaping from rural China to Australia via Hong Kong is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.

Hard recommend from me.

<b>Thoughts:</b>
- I wish I had more Australian stories like this when I was a kid... Australian stories that focus on the experiences of migrants and their often heartbreaking reasons for leaving. Australian stories that portray other cultures without objectifying them. Australian stories that are brutally honest about our spotty history of racially-driven immigration policies. Australian stories that tell short, prickly little Asian girls that it's okay to be angry at injustice, so long as that anger doesn't burn people. Australian stories showing kids that kindness can sometimes be found in unexpected places (and hopefully prompting them to go and <i>be</i> that kind person where possible).
- Overall, I really enjoyed <i>Two Sparrowhawks</i>. It had me in tears about 1/3 of the way in, and although Fu and Pei encounter some suspiciously happy coincidences, I don't think that made the story any less impactful. The author's note at the end was also well-written and helpful.
- Beyond Fu and Pei's journey itself, there are heaps of other things that would be good for discussion in a classroom setting, such as history, cultural identity, racism, gendered violence, migration and displacement, kindness vs. cruelty, etc. Not a teacher, but I can imagine this book being taught in upper primary (focusing on culture and migrant stories) and high school (maybe focusing on Australian migration policy in early high school and modern Chinese history for seniors). I reckon this would be a great book to include on reading lists with others like Nam Le's <i>The Boat</i>.

Note: this review is based on a pre-release copy provided by Allen & Unwin through NetGalley.