'Remember daughter, the world is a lot bigger than anyone knows. There are things that science may never explain. Maybe some things that shouldn’t be explained.
'Stacey and Laney are twins – mirror images of each other – and yet they’re as different as the sun and the moon. Stacey works hard at school, determined to get out of their small town. Laney skips school and sneaks out of the house to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey can’t believe she’s just run off without telling her.
'As the days pass and Laney doesn’t return, Stacey starts dreaming of her twin. The dreams are dark and terrifying, difficult to understand and hard to shake, but at least they tell Stacey one key thing – Laney is alive. It’s hard for Stacey to know what’s real and what’s imagined and even harder to know who to trust. All she knows for sure is that Laney needs her help.
'Stacey is the only one who can find her sister. Will she find her in time?'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Unit Suitable For: English - Year 10
Duration 5–6 weeks
Curriculum Summary
A summary table for Australian Curriculum: English content descriptions and NSW Syllabus outcomes for this unit
Themes
bravery/courage, colonialism, family, First Nations peoples and cultures, First Nations texts, friendship, kinship, love, perseverance, spirituality
General Capabilities
Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding, Literacy
Cross-curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
'Lisa Fuller is a Wuilli Wuilli woman from Eidsvold, Queensland, and is also descended from Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka peoples. Ghost Bird is her debut YA novel. She received the 2017 David Unaipon Award for an Unpublished Indigenous Writer, the 2018 Varuna Eleanor Dark Flagship Fellowship, and was a joint winner of the 2018 Copyright Agency Fellowships for First Nations Writers.
'Lisa is an editor and publishing consultant, and is passionate about culturally appropriate writing and publishing.' (Production introduction)
'After publishing my first novel Ghost Bird, I found even positive reviews would often show a lack of awareness of my beliefs, treating them as ‘myths and legends’. The structural racism of Australia bleeds through into everyday language and the expectations non-Indigenous reviewers place onto books by First Nations writers.' (Introduction)
'Many young people would love to have a superpower, although few would view themselves as superheroes or even as everyday heroes. They may in fact see themselves as antiheroes due to lack of confidence or difficult life experiences. The novels under review here suggest young adults may be able to draw on powers from within themselves, their family, friends and community to create identity and perhaps even help save their corner of the world.' (Introduction)
'Many young people would love to have a superpower, although few would view themselves as superheroes or even as everyday heroes. They may in fact see themselves as antiheroes due to lack of confidence or difficult life experiences. The novels under review here suggest young adults may be able to draw on powers from within themselves, their family, friends and community to create identity and perhaps even help save their corner of the world.' (Introduction)
'After publishing my first novel Ghost Bird, I found even positive reviews would often show a lack of awareness of my beliefs, treating them as ‘myths and legends’. The structural racism of Australia bleeds through into everyday language and the expectations non-Indigenous reviewers place onto books by First Nations writers.' (Introduction)
'Lisa Fuller is a Wuilli Wuilli woman from Eidsvold, Queensland, and is also descended from Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka peoples. Ghost Bird is her debut YA novel. She received the 2017 David Unaipon Award for an Unpublished Indigenous Writer, the 2018 Varuna Eleanor Dark Flagship Fellowship, and was a joint winner of the 2018 Copyright Agency Fellowships for First Nations Writers.
'Lisa is an editor and publishing consultant, and is passionate about culturally appropriate writing and publishing.' (Production introduction)