Liana experiences a nightmare from the trauma of the attack when she is back in her boarding school, The Pines International School. This causes Evie to worry about her. Liana and Evie have grown up together in boarding school and they are now inseparable. Evie tries to assuage Liana's fears about an attack but things have been changing in Pakistan. The attacks by the mujaheddin on various groups including the police and army are growing. Up until the previous holiday, Liana's parents had lived in a large village for all of her life, helping the people there. Gradually however, things began to change - people expressed anger and hatred of America. Soon the army appeared in the village and then guards were assigned to their home. They needed permission to travel. Almost all of the expats left the area and aid workers received threats.
On Liana's last holiday home, the police in their village asked them to leave because her father, an Australian could not be distinguished from an American and they could no longer protect them. Even having a Pakistani wife might not prevent an attack, as Liana's parents are both Masihi - that is Christian. So they moved to a nearby town where they were well known. However, even there her father took precautions, locking their gate on Fridays when the men walked past to the mosque.
Liana returns from her holiday to boarding school in Murree with evacuations papers and her passport just in case. Unlike her parents whose faith is comforting, Liana feels overwhelming fear. In Mr. Jones's history class she finds herself unable to concentrate. Liana is even more distraught when, after class she learns that Evie's brother, Kris was almost hit by a rock thrown by a passing car. The rock contained the message, "Americans must die!" The next morning a new set of rules is posted by the school principal that directs students to be less noticeable and forbidding visiting the chai shop across from the school. The rules only serve to frighten Liana even more. "We can't go anywhere. We're just stuck here, waiting. And for what? For some terrorist to attack us?" She faints in Mr. Jones' class only to wake up in the sick bay with Evie watching over her.
Evie tells her about the new music teacher who is Australian and due in any day and that his name is Mikal Kimberley. Mikal flies into Islamabad, nervous about working at The Pines International School. On the flight Mikal stands out because of his shoulder-length blonde hair and tanned skin. The passenger sitting next to him, a Pakistani man advises Mikal to be careful in Pakistan as the "feeling against Western countries, and especially America, runs high at this time." He is warned that people will not know he is Australian. He urges Mikal to cover his head with a hat and gives him his rolled woollen cap.
The trip to Pakistan is Mikal's first abroad. His mother passed away during the past year from breast cancer. After the death of his adoptive father five years ago, his mother raised him and paid his studies at various conservatories. In her last letter to Mikal, she revealed that his biological father John did not know about his birth. After Mikal's mother married Rob Kimberley, she learned that John travelled to Pakistan as a volunteer and that he had married and had a daughter. When Mikal told his mother his intention to teach music in Pakistan, she saw this as a sign from God that he would not be left alone after her death.
Mikal's arrival at the school is welcomed by the students, especially the girls who are attracted by his good looks and blond hair. All except Liana who continues to struggle to cope with the terrorist threat and has completely withdrawn. When Mikal inadvertently sees her dancing in the woods he decides to incorporate dance into his classes in the hopes of drawing her out of her shell. His first lesson touches Liana who respects him for trying something no other teacher has. However, shortly after this the school is attacked by Islamic terrorists resulting in the deaths of several security guards, a groundskeeper, two office workers and a passerby. The school makes the decision to evacuate the students, sending them to their various embassies via unmarked vans. Liana is to travel with with Mr. Kimberley, Jeremy and his sister Carolyn. Their lives take a sudden desperate turn when two of the vans are attacked, the teachers killed and the students taken hostage. Liana's van careens over a cliff and she and Mikal are rescued by men from a nearby village. To get to safety Liana will have to draw deep within herself to discover an inner strength she never knew she had while using her talent for dance to save their lives and those of her fellow students.
Discussion
Liana's Dance is part of Rosanne Hawke's Beyond Borders series, following after Dear Pakistan and The War Within. In this story the reader follows Year 11 student Liana as she struggles to cope with the increasingly unstable situation in her home country of Pakistan.
Rosanne Hawke has many interesting stories to tell as evidenced by her previous novels. Unfortunately, in Liana's Dance the opening chapters of the story are difficult to follow. The novel opens with a great hook - the main character experiences a terrorist attack while shopping in a bazaar in Murree. This terrifying event serves to draw the reader into the novel. However, in the chapters that immediately follow, it is difficult to sort out the details of the characters backstory because the narrative is very fragmented. Perhaps this is because this was the third installment in the series and therefore could not be read as a standalone? Details that might matter, for example, the name of Liana's boarding school aren't learned until Chapter 6 when it is revealed through another character. Sometimes the story jumps - requiring the reader to fill in the missing details. This happens well into the novel, for example when Liana and Mikal, disguised as brothers are in Attock and have just been greeted by men outside the bazaar. One minute they are together and then next Mikal is just returning from having purchased roti and chicken tikka in the bazaar, despite being mute and having left Liana alone.
A subplot with a twist is introduced early on, with the appearance of Mikal Kimberley in Chapter 6, revealing that he has a half-sister possibly somewhere in Pakistan. Immediately readers will guess that this half sister is Liana, dispelling what could have been a significant source of tension in the novel. All that is left for readers is to wonder how and when they will discover their familial relationship. Mikal's first attempts to locate his half-sister at The Pines is unsuccessful, his methods somewhat questionable since they involve the misuse of school records. Ironically, Liana and Mikal must pretend to be brothers to hide their identities, while in fact they really are half-siblings but are unaware of this connection. Instead, the two feel something special; for Liana it is in the form of a budding crush on the man she believes to be just her school teacher, for Mikal is it a feeling he cannot define. Fortunately this crush is quickly ended by Mikal. Another subplot in the novel involves Liana's failing friendship with Ashkenaz Peter, a Year 12 student whom she rebuffs when he returns from England.
Liana's transformation from a young girl traumatized by the attack in the bazaar at the beginning of the novel to a courageous girl who saves Mikal's life is too quick to be believable. Liana was traumatized to the extent that she had withdrawn almost completely, suffered flashbacks, nightmares, fainting spells and a loss of appetite. Yet in the matter of a few days and after a traumatic accident also involving terrorists, after a tense experience in a rural village where her identity must be kept hidden, she is able to act quickly, heroically to save herself, her classmates and her teacher. Likewise, Mikal's change from an Australian unfamiliar with Pakistani customs and culture to an AK-47-toting teacher determined to free a bunch of students is also quite astounding. The climax of the novel - the freeing of the international students by a lone Pakistani-US operative, Mikal and Liana stretches readers' belief.
It's difficult to tell just how accurate the portrayal of life in northern Pakistan is in this novel. Hawke does seem to try to balance her portrayals of Muslim extremists with more balanced characters who are helpful and caring towards their Western visitors. The wedding of a young girl barely into her teens is well portrayed. The phrase "war on terror" is used repeatedly throughout the book and yet was not in common use after 2007. Although no date was mentioned in the novel, there is a reference to Osama bin Laden's death which occurred in 2011, by which time the phrase "war on terror" was mostly obsolete.
The beautiful cover and the opening chapter will certainly draw readers in but they will be disappointed that this short novel doesn't live up to expectations.
Book Details:
Liana's Dance by Rosanne Hawke
Capalaba QLD Australia: Rihiza Press 2017
182 pp.
Liana returns from her holiday to boarding school in Murree with evacuations papers and her passport just in case. Unlike her parents whose faith is comforting, Liana feels overwhelming fear. In Mr. Jones's history class she finds herself unable to concentrate. Liana is even more distraught when, after class she learns that Evie's brother, Kris was almost hit by a rock thrown by a passing car. The rock contained the message, "Americans must die!" The next morning a new set of rules is posted by the school principal that directs students to be less noticeable and forbidding visiting the chai shop across from the school. The rules only serve to frighten Liana even more. "We can't go anywhere. We're just stuck here, waiting. And for what? For some terrorist to attack us?" She faints in Mr. Jones' class only to wake up in the sick bay with Evie watching over her.
Evie tells her about the new music teacher who is Australian and due in any day and that his name is Mikal Kimberley. Mikal flies into Islamabad, nervous about working at The Pines International School. On the flight Mikal stands out because of his shoulder-length blonde hair and tanned skin. The passenger sitting next to him, a Pakistani man advises Mikal to be careful in Pakistan as the "feeling against Western countries, and especially America, runs high at this time." He is warned that people will not know he is Australian. He urges Mikal to cover his head with a hat and gives him his rolled woollen cap.
The trip to Pakistan is Mikal's first abroad. His mother passed away during the past year from breast cancer. After the death of his adoptive father five years ago, his mother raised him and paid his studies at various conservatories. In her last letter to Mikal, she revealed that his biological father John did not know about his birth. After Mikal's mother married Rob Kimberley, she learned that John travelled to Pakistan as a volunteer and that he had married and had a daughter. When Mikal told his mother his intention to teach music in Pakistan, she saw this as a sign from God that he would not be left alone after her death.
Mikal's arrival at the school is welcomed by the students, especially the girls who are attracted by his good looks and blond hair. All except Liana who continues to struggle to cope with the terrorist threat and has completely withdrawn. When Mikal inadvertently sees her dancing in the woods he decides to incorporate dance into his classes in the hopes of drawing her out of her shell. His first lesson touches Liana who respects him for trying something no other teacher has. However, shortly after this the school is attacked by Islamic terrorists resulting in the deaths of several security guards, a groundskeeper, two office workers and a passerby. The school makes the decision to evacuate the students, sending them to their various embassies via unmarked vans. Liana is to travel with with Mr. Kimberley, Jeremy and his sister Carolyn. Their lives take a sudden desperate turn when two of the vans are attacked, the teachers killed and the students taken hostage. Liana's van careens over a cliff and she and Mikal are rescued by men from a nearby village. To get to safety Liana will have to draw deep within herself to discover an inner strength she never knew she had while using her talent for dance to save their lives and those of her fellow students.
Discussion
Liana's Dance is part of Rosanne Hawke's Beyond Borders series, following after Dear Pakistan and The War Within. In this story the reader follows Year 11 student Liana as she struggles to cope with the increasingly unstable situation in her home country of Pakistan.
Rosanne Hawke has many interesting stories to tell as evidenced by her previous novels. Unfortunately, in Liana's Dance the opening chapters of the story are difficult to follow. The novel opens with a great hook - the main character experiences a terrorist attack while shopping in a bazaar in Murree. This terrifying event serves to draw the reader into the novel. However, in the chapters that immediately follow, it is difficult to sort out the details of the characters backstory because the narrative is very fragmented. Perhaps this is because this was the third installment in the series and therefore could not be read as a standalone? Details that might matter, for example, the name of Liana's boarding school aren't learned until Chapter 6 when it is revealed through another character. Sometimes the story jumps - requiring the reader to fill in the missing details. This happens well into the novel, for example when Liana and Mikal, disguised as brothers are in Attock and have just been greeted by men outside the bazaar. One minute they are together and then next Mikal is just returning from having purchased roti and chicken tikka in the bazaar, despite being mute and having left Liana alone.
A subplot with a twist is introduced early on, with the appearance of Mikal Kimberley in Chapter 6, revealing that he has a half-sister possibly somewhere in Pakistan. Immediately readers will guess that this half sister is Liana, dispelling what could have been a significant source of tension in the novel. All that is left for readers is to wonder how and when they will discover their familial relationship. Mikal's first attempts to locate his half-sister at The Pines is unsuccessful, his methods somewhat questionable since they involve the misuse of school records. Ironically, Liana and Mikal must pretend to be brothers to hide their identities, while in fact they really are half-siblings but are unaware of this connection. Instead, the two feel something special; for Liana it is in the form of a budding crush on the man she believes to be just her school teacher, for Mikal is it a feeling he cannot define. Fortunately this crush is quickly ended by Mikal. Another subplot in the novel involves Liana's failing friendship with Ashkenaz Peter, a Year 12 student whom she rebuffs when he returns from England.
Liana's transformation from a young girl traumatized by the attack in the bazaar at the beginning of the novel to a courageous girl who saves Mikal's life is too quick to be believable. Liana was traumatized to the extent that she had withdrawn almost completely, suffered flashbacks, nightmares, fainting spells and a loss of appetite. Yet in the matter of a few days and after a traumatic accident also involving terrorists, after a tense experience in a rural village where her identity must be kept hidden, she is able to act quickly, heroically to save herself, her classmates and her teacher. Likewise, Mikal's change from an Australian unfamiliar with Pakistani customs and culture to an AK-47-toting teacher determined to free a bunch of students is also quite astounding. The climax of the novel - the freeing of the international students by a lone Pakistani-US operative, Mikal and Liana stretches readers' belief.
It's difficult to tell just how accurate the portrayal of life in northern Pakistan is in this novel. Hawke does seem to try to balance her portrayals of Muslim extremists with more balanced characters who are helpful and caring towards their Western visitors. The wedding of a young girl barely into her teens is well portrayed. The phrase "war on terror" is used repeatedly throughout the book and yet was not in common use after 2007. Although no date was mentioned in the novel, there is a reference to Osama bin Laden's death which occurred in 2011, by which time the phrase "war on terror" was mostly obsolete.
The beautiful cover and the opening chapter will certainly draw readers in but they will be disappointed that this short novel doesn't live up to expectations.
Book Details:
Liana's Dance by Rosanne Hawke
Capalaba QLD Australia: Rihiza Press 2017
182 pp.
