Clare Atkins

Representation: Biracial (half Asian and half white) and Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Physical assault and injury, blood depiction, deportation, refugee experiences, pregnancy, childbirth, sexist slur, self-harm and attempted suicide mentioned, imprisonment, divorce
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

I saw Between Us circling in my recommendations once but not before I added it to my TBR. I saw one library that had it, but unfortunately, someone transferred it and I never got around to transferring it back. At least another library I went to had this one so I seized the opportunity to get it by picking it up. However, when I read and finished Between Us, it was okay and not without flaws.

It starts with the first two characters I see, Anahita and Jono both living their separate lives. Anahita is an Iranian refugee while Jono is a half Vietnamese half Australian person. Initially, the two don't interact until a few pages in, but it turns out for the worse as the latter grew suspicious of the former. Jono questioned whether Ana is a real refugee or a 'queue jumper.' It's not clear what the second term means. Between Us has many imperfections that the author could address to make a better reading experience. The experimental nature of combining prose and poetry didn't help me delight myself in reading Between Us as the poetry wasn't compelling enough and felt like what happened when someone pressed the Enter key many times. However, the prose was passable. Between Us has only one chapter spanning the entire text broken into multiple POVs but they were almost indistinguishable other than their names. The characters were also hard to connect or relate with. Between Us finishes on a low note when the Australian Government deported Anahita. I'm not sure if a half Vietnamese half Australian author can write about an Iranian person. It feels inauthentic, further underwhelming me.… (more)

Told from three perspectives, "Between Us" gives an insight into the plight of people seeking asylum in Australia. The story is not a pretty one and shows how poorly our country treats these people who fled their own country in the hope of a better place.

Anahita, her mother and her young brother fled Iran after her father was killed and are now in an Australian detention centre. During the week she can attend school where she meets Jono whose father, Kenny, has just started work at the centre.

Ana, Jono and Kenny provided interesting perspectives and Ana’s story especially moved me. Struggling to hold her family together as her mother sinks further into depression, she clings to her music and friendships, trying to be a ‘regular teenager’. While I liked Jono, I wasn’t impressed with how he lied to his father. However, I wanted a happily ever after ending but didn’t get it. Instead, it was realistic and believable. Although B"etween Us" was not an uplifting story, it was an important one.… (more)