On Fragile Waves by E. Lily You

A family flees a war-torn Afghanistan to the magical land of opportunity - Australia only to find their dreams and promised land might not be all they thought. Their horrific boat journey takes its toll on them and the others they travel with and when they finally reach Australia they are put in a refugee camp. Conditions are awful and while they try to find work the odds of being allowed to stay are stacked against them. Firuzeh and her brother Nour do their best to help teach their parents English and help them however they can but it is a daily battle. The kids keep their sanity by inventing elaborate fairy tales like the ones their parents told them but it is not enough. Sadly, most Australians do not want them to stay and even the little help they do receive is often misguided. The choppy sentence structure takes a bit of time to get used to but it does serve to make Firuzeh's voice feel more authentic. Any reader of international immigration issues will find this both heartbreaking and a call to action.   4 stars