Girl Underground

Bridget White is sent away to boarding school. She finds it hard to fit in, and is scared to tell her best friend, Menzies, that her family are criminals – he is a politician’s son after all. But Menzies is having a hard time with his parents too. His father won’t take any notice of the plight of Jamal and Bibi, a young brother and sister from Afghanistan trapped in an Australian detention centre. So when all else fails, Bridget and Menzies set out on a dangerous rescue mission.

A brilliant read, this touching story uses adventure and humour to tackle a tough issue – so be prepared to answer a few serious questions from its young readers about right and wrong, refugees and detention centres. Luckily, there are some excellent teachers’ notes to accompany the book on www.puffin.com.au that provide a detailed historical background to the political situation regarding asylum seekers in Australia.

The story is told by Bridget, and her first-person narrative draws the reader in from the very first line. The book is packed with a variety of colourful characters, and Gleitzman cleverly juxtaposes the warmth of Bridget’s criminal family against the coldness of Menzies’ law-abiding parents without hammering the point home.

Girl Underground is described as a companion book to Boy Overboard. Both books are self-contained, and the stories work equally well whichever is read first.