I read this book as part of my book club. I’m not sure I would have picked it up if I’d realised the subject matter would be so hard to read. On the other hand, the writing is fantastic, I really struggled to put it down.

I loved Odette from the first page. I was really hoping she’d be in a good place before the end of the book. She sounded like such a good Mum and Grandma, the sort of person I’d love to meet and listen to their story. Thank goodness Birch has written her story so I can sit here and read it. And yes, I know Odette is not real, but I really wish she were.

I’ve recently been watching a Canadian TV series called Bones of Crows. Both the series and this book have many similarities. The main characters are all strong, resilient and caring people, I fell in love with them all. They are all Indigenous to their nation, Odette to Australia, and Aline to Canada. Both Odette and Aline show us the way the white people have treated them, in fact, we see the school system, the church, and the way the children were stolen from their parents. In Bones of Crows the parents are browbeaten into signing their children away, but I don’t think it would have made a difference if they hadn’t signed.

The TV series is far more hard hitting than The White Girl, far more ‘in your face’, but not every piece needs to be that. In the book the details of the abuse the Australian First Nations peoples suffered were not front and centre, if you didn’t know about the Stolen Generation you would probably think the details were made up for the book. Sadly, they weren’t. I’m sure that every little detail of abuse mentioned in this book is real and the trauma the families have suffered is also real.

Birch has done a fantastic job of creating characters I love and also some I would love to hate. I loved Odette and also Henry, their friendship was wonderful. It’s always good to see platonic relationships in books. And Henry seems like such a nice man, I wanted a better ending for him, although Henry did a good job with his ending.

I have no notes written about this book. I should have written many, but the writing kept drawing me further into the story. I really felt I couldn’t take the time to stop and write anything down. In fact, putting it down to sleep was such a travesty. Other people would call it a page turner, I call it a sleep wrecker. And I cried during a few parts. The last few pages certainly brought tears.

Here’s something I rarely do. This review by Claire G. Coleman says everything I should be saying, but she says it much better. I do suggest you read it as she explains the background from the personal point of view.