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Freedom Ride by Sue Lawson
Judges' Comments
Told through the eyes of 15-year-old Robbie, Sue Lawson’s novel about the arrival and visit of the 1965 Freedom Ride in the fictional town of Walgaree is compelling, confronting, and engaging. Freedom Ride takes its readers into the simmering tensions of an Australian country town as its protagonist navigates the difficult waters of racism, family, identity and friendship in a world where old and new attitudes are not so much shifting, as colliding head-on.
Drawing on real events and people to evoke the attitudes and atmosphere of a fictional place is a difficult challenge for any writer, but Lawson has managed the balancing act between fact and fiction admirably. The novel comes complete with a palpable sense of rising tension, right from the first chapter. The characters are multi-layered and vividly drawn, and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the main character’s home life is an effective vehicle for the broader issues of hatred and racism that drive the narrative forward. Country Australia in the 1960s is deftly evoked. Despite knowing the real history behind the fictional events, the reader will still find the writing powerfully confronting.