'Home and Away' by John Marsden

“Home and Away” is about a typical Australian family, whose city becomes war torn, forcing them to sell everything that they own, to become refugees, and go by boat to another, safer country, ‘Hollania’. When they arrive in ‘Hollanian’ waters, their boat is intercepted by the navy of Hollania, who initially tries to force their boat away, but it is sinking, so the refugees are put in prison.

They stay in prison for over a year; the government won’t allow them to enter the country, because they are not ‘genuine’ refugees. The main character gives up on all dreams of freedom, and just wants their family back together.

Told in diary format, the narrator tells of the days following an invasion and how it affects the family. With little detail, the family is introduced in the first four pages, then the fifth page, April 27, with the deep red colour of blood reflected through the aquarium, war begins. Over the next four pages, the war is described, again sparely, but the childlike illustrations mirror the horror of what is happening. By August 29, rations are being handed out to the homeless, and on September 16, the stark realistic illustration shows the scared and undernourished family sitting by a candle, talking about what to do. All around is black, the features of the family stand out in bleak contrast. The alternate page illustrations depicting a child's drawings underscore the brutality of what is happening, and the diary written on scrap pieces of paper, reiterates the transitory nature of their lives.

Five tear old Toby asks the narrator “Are we bad?” “No, why?” the narrator responds “Well, why are we in prison?” asks Toby. This again allows the reader to have a different perspective on refugees, and see what their point of view might be when they are put into detention centers.

When considering a text critically, readers are often asked to reflect upon the intended audience and how this affects the mode or register of the piece (Gamble & Yates, 2008, p.40), as well as ideologies which may be either implicit or overt within the text. The young narrator of Marsden’s picture book and visual appeal might seem to suggest that it is ideally suited to the juvenile market. However, this text tackles issues in which adults do not have the moral upper ground, they do not have all the answers. Hence this text is equally as powerful for older readers.

Home and Away forces Australians to consider the perspective of refugees, by making them imagine what it would be like if Australia was to become stricken by war or un-safe like many countries around the world. This book offers a new angle than that often portrayed by the media and the government. The latter perspective generally refers to refugees and asylum seekers as “boat people”, needing to be put into “detention centres” until they are “processed” as refugees, and allowed to enter Australia.

In result, the otherwise controversial topic, of ‘illegal immigration’, has been de-humanised or sterilised