Task #8: An #ownvoices book set in Oceania

[Emma]

I just came across a YA ghost story/thriller coming out in May that would work for this category: The Things She's Seen.

[Emma]

I just came across a YA ghost story/thriller coming out in May that would work for this category: The Things She's Seen.

[Megan]

I need Hannah Gadsby to write a book and release it this year so I can use it for this challenge 😂

[Karen]

@ Megan
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby coming in June,

[Brandy]

Megan wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Hawaiians are Americans."

Not necessarily."

Um, yes they are, legally speaking. Hawaii has been a state since 1959, and before that a territory, so anyone born in Hawaii during that time and since, is an American citizen.

My great-grandparents, who immigrated to Hawaii from Okinawa in the 1910s were not American citizens until the 1960s, but their children (my grandmother, her siblings), born in Hilo were born American citizens.

So, I'm not sure where you're going with this statement?

[Megan]

Teresa wrote: "Megan wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Hawaiians are Americans."

Not necessarily."

In my opinion, your statement makes as much sense as saying New Yorkers are not necessarily Americans or Idahoans are not ..."

Okay. Based on your past posts, you seem to disagree with anyone who doesn't agree with you, so whatever.

[Teresa]

Megan, yet another erroneous statement from you. My goodness, you're full of them. You are the only person I've disagreed with. I will not silently watch as you attempt to disenfranchise an entire state of people.

[Mya]

Megan wrote: "I need Hannah Gadsby to write a book and release it this year so I can use it for this challenge 😂"

As a white Australian, Hannah Gadsby doesn't qualify as #ownvoices. Being queer is not sufficient marginalization to meet the spirit of this task. Book Riot posted earlier in this thread:

Hi everyone! Thanks for the discussion. In the broader publishing industry, an author from Central America or Mexico *is* marginalized because the industry is extremely US/UK-centric. So a book by an author from those countries would count even if they are a member of a majority of the population of that nation, but, for example, a book by an American author writing about Mexico would not. Of course there are nuances here, but we trust that y'all understand the spirit of the challenge, which is to read a variety of perspectives not dominant in the publishing industry."

That's to say that white authors from Australia would not be considered marginalized. For this task, marginalized people from Oceania writing about characters who are marginalized in the same way - in this case Aboriginal people or those from the islands of Oceania - are considered #ownvoices. Again, there are nuances, but hopefully this will clarify what the intent of the task is.

[Stephanie]

Mya wrote: "Megan wrote: "I need Hannah Gadsby to write a book and release it this year so I can use it for this challenge 😂"

As a white Australian, Hannah Gadsby doesn't qualify as #ownvoices. Being queer is..."

Nonsense. That post was specifically addressing whether any Mexican or Central American author could qualify as #ownvoices, despite not being part of a marginalized group in their own country. It does not mean that only non-white authors qualify as #ownvoices. Queer people are in fact a marginalized group in Australia and everywhere, including in the publishing industry, and queer authors of any race who write about queer people are #ownvoices authors. The spirit of #ownvoices is that it includes "all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities."

[Mya]

As a white Australian, Hannah Gadsby doesn't qualify as #ownvoices. Be..."

Of course there are white authors who qualify as #ownvoices, but context matters. This challenge isn't to read a book of queer #ownvoices, but one specific to the geography of Oceania. In the context of Australia, being white carries a great deal of privilege over being indigenous, or being an Australian POC of another ethnicity. If someone wants to count Hannah Gadsby because she's queer, obviously then they can, but I believe they are missing the spirit of this particular task.

[Lauredhel]

Mya wrote: "As a white Australian, Hannah Gadsby doesn't qualify as #ownvoices. Be..."

Of course there are white authors who qualify as #ownvoices, but context matters. This challenge isn't to read a book of ..."

#ownvoices has always been about a variety of oppressions, not a system of oppressions with race the most important. I believe the hashtag itself was coined by Corinne Duyvis, who says in the relevant FAQ:

"Q: Is this about race? LGBTQIAP+? Disability? What counts? And can we use the hashtag for picture books? What about movies? Short stories? Do you think this character/author combo counts? What about a situation where—

Whoaaa remember what I said about not wanting to moderate or regulate it? Use it for whatever marginalized/diverse identity you want (I personally like the WNDB definition) and for whatever genre, category, or form of art you want. As long as the protagonist and the author share a marginalized identity."

As someone who lives in Oceania (Australia) and reads a lot of local #ownvoices books, I'd feel comfortable choosing a book by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander author, a disabled author, a queer author, a refugee author, a trans author etc etc.

As it stands I've already put Maralinga: The Anangu Story into that prompt spot and would like to recommend it! Maralinga: The Anangu Story

[Deborah]

Would Randa Abdel-father's "Does my head look big in this" work in this category?

[Mya]

Deborah wrote: "Would Randa Abdel-father's "Does my head look big in this" work in this category?"

Does My Head Look Big in This?, by Randa Abdel-Fattah is set in Australia, & the author is an Australian author of color, so yes. I would say it's an excellent fit. :)

[Andrea]

I originally tagged this one for the challenge https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..., but there are so many great recommendations here.

[Kate]

I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be going with a very strict interpretation of #ownvoices since Does My Head Look Big in This? wasn't included (protagonist is not of native Oceanic descent, but is part of a group that is marginalized in Oceania). Regardless of BookRiot's definition here, I think that is going to be my pick. I have read nothing at all about the experiences of Muslims in Oceania and given recent events I find it important to do so.

[Lauredhel]

Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be going with a ve..."

Along those lines, can I also rec When Michael Met Mina, and Growing Up Muslim in Australia: Coming of Age, and Finding My Place: From Cairo to Canberra - The Irresistible Story of an Irrepressible Woman

[Debbie]

Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be going with a ve..."

I think the very point of the challenge is to stretch yourself to read books that aren't particularly appealing to you. How about giving one a go and broadening your horizons?

[Lauredhel]

Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be going with a ve..."

I see from your profile you're a youth services librarian who likes mystery and magical realism - I heartily rec to you Catching Teller Crow, even if it means you have to order a pbook in. It's wonderful. Terra Nullius is also amazing, as is the Tribe series starting with The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Since you also list realistic fiction as an interest, I also recommend Becoming Kirrali Lewis and Mullumbimby.

[Kate]

Debbie wrote: "Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be go..."

Yes, I know what the purpose of the challenge is. I am not really willing to read a book that has no appeal to me just to tick off a box. I have the same approach to the self-published book category - many people think it's "wrong" to approach this category by choosing something that made the leap to trad publication, but life's too short to read something that I think from the get-go I will not enjoy. (It's also why last year, I went with something I never finished rather than something I hated for the category "a book you hated or never finished." Why on earth would I waste my time on a book I hated *twice*?) Everything on Book Riot's list falls under the "sounds like something I wouldn't like" category.

Lauredhel, thank you for your recommendations! Catching Teller Crow sounds like it might be up my alley. I still think I'm going to try something by Randa Abdel-Fattah, but am keeping my options open.

[Bonnie G.]

Debbie wrote: "Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be go..."

Agreed, its the only reason I do the challenge, to be pushed outside my comfort zone and discover new things. I don't generally enjoy poetry, and ended up loving the poetry book I chose. For this one I am reading Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, a book I never would have read, and it is fascinating. Its a compilation of personal stories by many aboriginal people. Not really something to read straight through, I have been dipping in and out.

[Bonnie G.]

Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be going with a ve..."

I would totally think this fits the challenge, and sounds really interesting.

[April]

Lauredhel wrote: "Kate wrote: "I have been hardcore struggling with this challenge, not going to lie. Nothing on Book Riot's list is particularly appealing to me or is readily available to me, and they seem to be go..."

thanks for the excellent recs Lauredhel! :D

[Lauredhel]

If someone wants to knock off a poetry box as well as this one at the same time, look at Ruby Moonlight, or Sister Heart.

[Megan]

Yes, I know what the purpose of the challenge is. I am not really willing to read a book that has no appeal to me just to tick off a box.

This times a thousand. I'm not going to read a book I don't like just to tick a box.

[Sherri]

I read Frangipani by Célestine Hitiura Vaite. I really like it.

[Octavia]

I read Mihipeka: Time Of Turmoil: Ngā Wā Raruraru by Mihi Edwards for this. It's the second book of a three volume autobiography (I read the first book a while back). It's about a Maori woman born in 1918, and takes a close look at what it was like to live as a Maori person at that time. Not good, essentially. This volume covers 1940s-1960s or thereabouts, and as Edwards is able to pass for white she does so, taking on this sort of double life... which is ultimately a genuinely damaging thing though, as she says in the book, it was a survival tactic for the time. The book was excellent, anyway. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the last in the series.

[Catherine]

Octavia, that sounds great! Thanks for the tip!

[Amber]

Brown Girls in Bright Red Lipstick by Courtney Sina Meredith

Will require many re-readings to fully appreciate, but beautiful cadences

[Mya]

I read Sirena: A Mermaid Legend from Guam. Both author & illustrator are Chamorro/Chamoru, the indigenous people of Guam (also Micronesia, etc.) This book can quadruple-dip as folklore/mythology, self-published, and fewer than 100 reviews, for those who wish to do so.

I also read New Poets of Native Nations. Two of the poets in this excellent anthology are from Oceania: Brandy Nālani McDougall is of Hawaiian descent, & Craig Santos Pérez is native Chamoru.

[Stephanie]

I read The Things She's Seen (which was titled Catching Teller Crow in Australia and I like that title so much more!)

The POV characters are indigenous girls from Australia and the authors are two siblings from Palku people in Western Australia. This is a short YA book (less than 200 pages in the American version) and it was beautifully written and had a lot to say about all kinds of things... Grief, trauma, injustice, love, spirituality etc.

[Melissa]

The Dharma Punks is a graphic novel that fits the description of #own voices set in Oceania as the artist is a fifth generation Chinese Kiwi, just like his main character, and the story takes place in his home country of New Zealand.

Here's my review.

[Karen]

Melissa wrote: "The Dharma Punks is a graphic novel that fits the description of #own voices set in Oceania as the artist is a fifth generation Chinese Kiwi, just like his main character, and the s..."

Thanks Melissa. I was having trouble finding a graphic novel that fit this category. I've already placed an ILL hold on it as my local library does not have it.

[Andrea]

Would this one work? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan.

[Bonnie G.]

Andrea wrote: "Would this one work? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan."

Looks perfect, and interesting.

[Kate]

Stephanie wrote: "I read The Things She's Seen (which was titled Catching Teller Crow in Australia and I like that title so much more!)

The POV characters are indigenous girls from ..."

I was waiting to see if my library would buy this and it looks like they are - so excited! I finally have a pick that a) fits the challenge in the spirit it seems to have been intended by the challenge writers, b) is readily available to me, and c) appeals to me. Yay!

[Richard]

I prefer to do as many of these challenges as possible reading whatever I can find from local bookstores and libraries here in the US. Does anyone have a recommendation for any authors or titles that are likely to be widely findable?

[Melissa]

I try to go back and forth with fiction and non-fiction. I think I'll try some of the short stories in Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, but I'd also like to try Dark Emu (aboriginal, of the Bunurong Clan, or so says Wikipedia :) I would never have picked it, but I am excited to give it a try. Maybe I'll look at my garden differently after this :)

[Sheri]

I read Dark Jelly, i wanted a female author from New Zealand so I could double dip with the reading women prompt for author from New Zealand. I'd found it on amazon kindle for less than $5, which was about as good as I was going to do, my library didn't even have most the stuff I was looking for within the borrowing system. I wasn't a fan, personally, but it got a ton of good reviews so I'm clearly in the minority. The description mentioned exploring themes of darkness, but I was hoping more for suspenseful, moody, maybe some dark supernatural. It was more along the lines of abuse, drugs, violence etc.

[Bonnie G.]

Melissa wrote: "I try to go back and forth with fiction and non-fiction. I think I'll try some of the short stories in Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, but I'd also like to try [book:Dark Emu|21..."

Growing Up Aboriginal was not a collection of short stories, but a recorded oral history. I really recommend the audio on this, with the subjects telling their own stories. I loved it, and learned a lot.

[Emerging]

Richard wrote: "I prefer to do as many of these challenges as possible reading whatever I can find from local bookstores and libraries here in the US. Does anyone have a recommendation for any authors or titles th..."
My local library had a copy of The Whale Rider and I used that for this prompt.

[Richard]

Emerging wrote: "My local library had a copy of The Whale Rider and I used that for this prompt."

Thanks Emerging! I just spent some time at a bigger local bookstore to search for authors from the BookRiot list and found a few options from Patricia Grace that fit the bill (but unfortunately none of the other fiction authors including Ihimaera).

[Melissa]

I just finished Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe and I cringe a bit on my previous comment about my garden. I learned instead of how the writing of history can marginalize whole continents of people. I am humbled. Thanks also to Bonnie G for the correction. I am just starting reading the oral histories, and will try to get it on audio.

[Lauraellen]

I just finished Kim Scott's Taboo for this, as an audiobook. thanks to this chat though, I have a bunch more on my list and am excited to get into them.
Taboo was beautifully written and I found it very engaging, but definite content warnings here of sexual violence.

[Cecreyn]

Adding another ringing endorsement of Catching Teller Crow, published as The Things She's Seen in the US. Why they changed name for US publication I don't know, because the original Australian title reflects the book so much more. Luckily nothing else was changed for the US publication. So much happening in these 202 pages. Chewed on it for hours after finishing.

[Carol]

I wanted to say "Thanks" to those of you who recommended "The Things She's Seen" by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina. What a wonderful book! 5 stars +++

[Sabrina]

Andrea Would this one work? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan.

Technically, Eka Kurniawan is from West Java, Indonesia which is Southeast Asia, not Oceania.

[Mya]

Sabrina, at least 2 sites I checked include Indonesia as part of Oceania.

[Karin]

Big thanks to this thread for recommending The Things She's Seen, it's quite good so far 75% in (I expect to finish it on my commute home tonight). I don't normally go for YA, because so often there's a teen romance and I really don't care to read about those, but this one forgoes that and there's a lot here about loss and identity, over a plot of a murder mystery.

[L Y N N]

Karin wrote: "Big thanks to this thread for recommending The Things She's Seen, it's quite good so far 75% in (I expect to finish it on my commute home tonight). I don't normally go for YA, becau..."

Good to hear! This is the selection for one of my IRL book clubs in September!

[Charley Girl]

Emma wrote: "I finally found my book! - Terra Nullius"

This looks good. I'm going to read this one too.