'"Deadly, unna?" He was always saying that. All the Nungas did, but Dumby more than any of them. Dumby Red and Blacky don't have a lot in common. Dumby's the star of the footy team, he's got a killer smile and the knack with girls, and he's a Nunga. Blacky's a gutless wonder, needs braces, never knows what to say, and he's white. But they're friends... and it could be deadly, unna? This gutsy novel, set in a small coastal town in South Australia is a rites-of-passage story about two boys confronting the depth of racism that exists all around them.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'do you remember the water buffalo at the end of our street?
or the deep-sea diver we found near the underpass?
do you know why dogs bark in the middle of the night?
Shaun Tan, creator of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and The Red Tree, reveals the quiet mysteries of everyday life: homemade pets, dangerous weddings, stranded sea mammals, tiny exchange students and secret rooms filled with darkness and delight.'
Source: Back cover.
'Cathy arrives in Alice Springs from cattle country, looking for a new way to live. But new is a serious challenge for a girl who's used to being measured by her actions, not her feelings. Feelings are slippery, like water. Hard to hold onto.
Jay is working for the local radio station, far from his own saltwater people, wary of this no-water country. He's searching for something, trying to survive.
Margie is a wild city girl, up for a good time, confronted by a world she's never known and a friend she can't always understand.
When lives collide at the heart of the country, no one stays unchanged.' - back cover
'More than a love story, this is a bold, confronting book about friendship, love, sex and identity at the heart of Australia, where black and white, bush and city collide.' (Publisher's blurb)