Tribal Scarring
by Gary Taaffe
Series: Urban Hunters #2
Published: October 10, 2011
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
Format: eBook (108 pages)
Source: For Review
Suffering similar tragedies a world apart and forced to grow up before their time, Billy and Amber must find a new future, one beyond anything either of them could ever have imagined. Life was normal for Billy, living hidden in the bush with the last of his kind. Until the spirit of his mother told him in a dream to go Walkabout where the whitefellas live. Find some girls or watch his clan of men die out, ending the Dreamtime forever.
Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series.
Tribal Scarring is the second short story in the Urban Hunters series and it was a little more serious than the first book, Four Small Stones. I missed the light-hearted humor of the first one. Still, it was a nice contrast to see the dangers of living in the bush in Australia. I definitely felt some culture shock as I was reading about Billy and the rituals he goes through to become a man. The writing was intense and so well done. The author doesn’t spell everything out for you. He lets you discover this new culture on your own which I liked. I can’t wait to see what Billy’s next adventure is! Also, I’d like to know what a yabby is. :)
Content Rating: High, for some graphic tribual rituals and some language. Highlight between the brackets for more details. (Billy goes through a circumcision that is described in some detail and there a few d*** words.)
I received this book for review from the author, Gary Taaffe, in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own.
About Gary Taaffe
Gary Taaffe lives in a small coastal town in NSW, Australia. There's open ocean on one side, a massive saltwater lake on the other and enough virgin bushland in the surrounding areas to lose yourself for a week. When he's not writing, Gary's hunting deer for the freezer or putting around the lake fishing for flathead.
He's a Toolmaker by trade, a successful inventor and now, a writer. Urban Hunters is the culmination of his inventiveness, his enthusiasm for the outdoors and his fun-filled sense of humour.
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
Awww, only a 3 this time. You’re definitely keeping
me on my toes. I have to say, I am impressed yet again by your honest review.
Tribal Scarring is like the middle of the book with Walkabout being the end of
a section in the series, and as such, it had to be a little slower and more
serious. Rest assured, things do lighten up in Walkabout.
A yabby is like a freshwater crayfish and is a
surprising delicacy in what can be a harsh landscape. I do struggle with colloquialisms,
Aussie spelling and things like yabbies and galahs that people from the rest of
the world may not know about. I ease my mind in the knowledge that Google is
never far from the fingertips of the modern reader. And part of what makes my
books so different is their Aussie setting. Plus I like to engage my readers
into discovering these things for themselves. I think it adds interest to my
writing. You pointed that out and I am so relieved to hear that you like that. It
is a fine line I travel between the need to explain all these strange Aussie
things and allowing the reader to use the few tasty morsels I dish up to imagine
them for themselves. I’m also a big believer in the value of a second read. No
one ever picks up everything in a first read, so I like to be as subtle as I
can with some things so when you read it the second time, knowing what is going
to happen, you see things you never saw before. It excites you with a whole new
set of discoveries and it makes you a better reader by showing you that the
details were there all along, you just didn’t notice them in the first read.
I hope you don’t mind me commenting on your review
of my own books. Good or bad, I love your reviews. They nourish my soul and
spur me on. Thank you.
Walkabout was delightful and I loved it (review goes up on Tuesday). If I was rating all three parts as one book I’d definitely give the whole thing 4 stars :) Having read Walkabout I can see how important this part is to the story. I enjoy searching all these cool things in your books on Google – I think yabby was the only one I couldn’t find. I don’t minde your comments! Thanks for stopping by!