I have never known what it is like to live away from your real family and with foster parents, but this book makes me feel as if I had known what it is like.
This book is called Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence by Anita Heiss. The book is about a girl named Amy Charles whose name was changed to Mary Talence when she was taken to Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home at just 5 years old.
These are some of the characters in this book: Her foster parents, Marj, Matron Rose & other children in the Bomaderry Home.
Matron Rose and Marj are very important to Mary because Matron Rose was always nice to her at Bomaderry before she was adopted and Marj was her very best friend at Bomaderry. Her foster parents are very nice to her, but sometimes Mary wonders if they really love her.
When Mary starts school she gets called names like “abo” which doesn’t sound nice to me. She gets blamed for all sorts of things she is innocent of doing.
This book is full of very interesting characters as Mary tells about her life in her diary. Mary got this diary for her 10th birthday. It was a gift from Matron Rose.
Mary starts to think why she doesn’t fit with her foster family. She’s the only different person in her new school and wonders why everyone can’t treat her like she is the same as they are.
I think this book is a good book because you learn about Aboriginals and how they lived long ago. It is very enjoyable to read.
EVERYONE should read this book!
- This review by Senuri Abeysekera, a member of the St Mary's Catholic Primary School Kalgoorlie Book Club.
Title: Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 (My Story)
Author: Anita Heiss
Publisher: Scholastic, $16.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 August 2001
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781865043616
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Fiction
