Cirrus@Austlit

'“Family and selflessness are at the heart of the culture that I was raised within,” writes Zoya Patel, whose debut memoir charts the “mishmash” of her Fijian–Indian–Australian heritage. “Self-determination is a conceit, and the wellbeing of the majority is prioritised.”'  (Introduction)

'Trysten Black is a 14-year-old rural Huck Finn type with an overbearing best friend, a crush on new girl Jessica at school, and a brother, Shaun, who is off fighting the Taliban. His mother, Kirsten, listens for war updates on a portable radio while Trysten catches fish on the property and keeps his father in the loop, Dad having moved into a caravan after a blue with Shaun before he shipped out. When Shaun comes back from the combat zone, he has post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that challenges the notions of heroism harboured by family and locals.'  (Introduction)