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The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean (2014) Paperback
When her mother dies from a snake bite, Comity Pinny's life in the middle of the Australian outback changes for ever. Her father, Herbert, retreats into his work transmitting telegrams, abandoning Comity when she needs him most. Comity turns to Fred, the young Aboriginal yard boy, and he becomes her only friend. But then a new assistant arrives who delights in playing cruel games. Soon Comity struggles to hold things together as events begin to spiral dangerously out of control.
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First published October 1, 2013
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About the author
Geraldine McCaughrean
311 books327 followersGeraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
November 1, 2021
So yes, I definitely happen to unfortunately have a few rather heavy-duty issues with Geraldine McCaughrean’s 2013 young adult novel The Middle of Nowhere and which really tend to make me feel quite majorly conflicted.
Now I do think that with regard to the general storyline and in and of itself, Geraldine McCaughrean has with The Middle of Nowhere certainly penned an emotionally gripping tale, combining much atmospheric and descriptive brilliance with contents and details that often while I was reading were in fact bringing tears of immense sadnesses, pity, rage and also sometimes a bit of joy to my eyes, and that I have equally very much textually appreciated Australia being almost a character itself in The Middle of Nowhere (under McCaughrean’s pen), as well as of course absolutely loving and intensely feeling for main protagonists Comity (and her grief because of her mother’s recent death and that her father has basically simply shut her out and has in fact completely shut down) and Sam (an Aborigine, whose friendship with Comity is helping her heal and to also see the world a bit differently).
However, it is precisely Sam whose character and role (and even whose very presence) in The Middle of Nowhere makes me feel rather frustrated and uncomfortable (and enough so for me to only consider a two star rating). For while Geraldine McCaughrean is certainly portraying Sam in a sufficiently positive and supportive manner (and is also and thankfully totally condemning of the overt racism which Sam as an Aborigine often must deal with), sorry, but throughout The Middle of Nowhere I cannot help but notice a certain sense of paternalism in Comity and Fred’s friendship (and well, even though I do consider their friendship to be genuine, it also and equally always does appear as though Comity feels and acts a bit superior just because she is Caucasian and Sam an Aborigine). And furthermore, although how Geraldine McCaughrean approaches Aborigine culture and stories reads interestingly enough and does not seem disrespectful, there is (in my personal and humble opinion) nevertheless an annoying and problematic feeling of cultural appropriation often present in The Middle of Nowhere which really does rather bother me and which in my opinion equally could have been avoided had Geraldine McCaughrean (as an outsider) in fact not included Aborigine culture and lore penned from her own (and not from an aboriginal) perspective in her narrative.
Now I do think that with regard to the general storyline and in and of itself, Geraldine McCaughrean has with The Middle of Nowhere certainly penned an emotionally gripping tale, combining much atmospheric and descriptive brilliance with contents and details that often while I was reading were in fact bringing tears of immense sadnesses, pity, rage and also sometimes a bit of joy to my eyes, and that I have equally very much textually appreciated Australia being almost a character itself in The Middle of Nowhere (under McCaughrean’s pen), as well as of course absolutely loving and intensely feeling for main protagonists Comity (and her grief because of her mother’s recent death and that her father has basically simply shut her out and has in fact completely shut down) and Sam (an Aborigine, whose friendship with Comity is helping her heal and to also see the world a bit differently).
However, it is precisely Sam whose character and role (and even whose very presence) in The Middle of Nowhere makes me feel rather frustrated and uncomfortable (and enough so for me to only consider a two star rating). For while Geraldine McCaughrean is certainly portraying Sam in a sufficiently positive and supportive manner (and is also and thankfully totally condemning of the overt racism which Sam as an Aborigine often must deal with), sorry, but throughout The Middle of Nowhere I cannot help but notice a certain sense of paternalism in Comity and Fred’s friendship (and well, even though I do consider their friendship to be genuine, it also and equally always does appear as though Comity feels and acts a bit superior just because she is Caucasian and Sam an Aborigine). And furthermore, although how Geraldine McCaughrean approaches Aborigine culture and stories reads interestingly enough and does not seem disrespectful, there is (in my personal and humble opinion) nevertheless an annoying and problematic feeling of cultural appropriation often present in The Middle of Nowhere which really does rather bother me and which in my opinion equally could have been avoided had Geraldine McCaughrean (as an outsider) in fact not included Aborigine culture and lore penned from her own (and not from an aboriginal) perspective in her narrative.
November 3, 2014
I appreciate that I am not the intended audience for this book but it just didn't do it for me and I think it is one that the kids at my school would really struggle to get into. There are elements of it that are promising but it just felt too bogged down with the language and it's many messages so it became quite a difficult book to get through. Any major event in the storyline was just skimmed passed whilst more minor elements dragged on and on. I actually gave up on it once but ended up being determined in my resolve as I don't like leaving a book unfinished. It's a book that I feel I need to ponder on now as it's a;lmost like I missed something, but I don't know what.
March 4, 2017
Atmospheric, sinister and engaging. Comity and Fred are great protagonists.
May 4, 2021
I started off enjoying this book then I found it got a little strange and unbelievable. I did t like the underlying Thebes of friendship across different races but I did find parts of it a bit far fetched although having said that it was probably ok for the YA audience.
April 2, 2015
This is one of those books that if it wasn’t on the Carnegie 2015 Short List I’d never have picked up... and that seems to be the same for my shadowing students, and it’s the one they’re most reluctant to take! I was worried it’d be my Ghost Hawk of this year... but it was better than that, thankfully!
Comity lives on a remote telegraph station in the Australian outback with her parents. When he mother dies her Stationmaster father falls to pieces, leaving her to run wild with her aboriginal friend Fred. Then one day a new assistant arrives and finds the station ripe for his taking; Comity and Fred are at the mercy of his tyrannical rule. Despite her best intentions events begin to spiral out of Comity’s control.
This is a story about love, loss and friendship. Her father checks out of life when Comity needs him most, and she is left to cope entirely on her own in one of the harshest environments you can imagine… both in terms of the psychical outback setting and being the only little girl surrounded by tough station men and delicate racial tensions. There is a lot a lot of conflict between the different people of the outback to navigate through. There are the aborigines, the ‘ghans’ (short for Afghans, but they aren’t necessary from that region), and the European settlers. Comity, her mother and her father all believed in the comity of nations (hence her name) but not everybody agrees and a lot of this novel is about Comity walking the line between them all.
Comity embraces all the cultures and in particular soaks up Fred’s aborigine words, phrases, rituals and stories like a sponge. The liberal use of these words and phrases can make it quite a difficult read and that is likely to put off a lot of the younger audience it’s aimed at. There is a glossary in the front but how many eleven year olds are going to bother flicking pages? (I’m 26 and I didn’t, I just tried to muddle along). There were parts, particularly when she is taken in by the ‘ghantown’ that I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on... and I’d say I understand about 30% of what Fred ever said!
Comity is remarkably determined for an eleven year old and considering her situation she does very well to hold it together for as a long as she did. There are some very dark and incredibly traumatic things that happen in this book. The character of Quartz Hogg has some very unsettling undertones, there is much implied in subtext but we thankfully avoid the worst of. I felt incredibly uncomfortable when reading the chapters that focused on him.
I found the pacing of this novel rather odd. There were some big events by they were often raced through and over too quick, and then everything in between would drag on for what sometimes felt like forever. There was disorientating time jumps too. I can understand my students moaning about t being ‘boring’ but urge them to keep going to the next ‘good bit!’
The historical setting is very well realised, and the racial tensions are palpable. I feel like I’ve learnt something about a subject I had no idea about (I didn’t even realise there were camels in Australia!).
Overall it has a nice message about comity, and everything works out as well as it can. Still... it’s not my kind of novel, and the uneven pacing meant it was just ok for me... still in search of the one that will blow me away!
Comity lives on a remote telegraph station in the Australian outback with her parents. When he mother dies her Stationmaster father falls to pieces, leaving her to run wild with her aboriginal friend Fred. Then one day a new assistant arrives and finds the station ripe for his taking; Comity and Fred are at the mercy of his tyrannical rule. Despite her best intentions events begin to spiral out of Comity’s control.
This is a story about love, loss and friendship. Her father checks out of life when Comity needs him most, and she is left to cope entirely on her own in one of the harshest environments you can imagine… both in terms of the psychical outback setting and being the only little girl surrounded by tough station men and delicate racial tensions. There is a lot a lot of conflict between the different people of the outback to navigate through. There are the aborigines, the ‘ghans’ (short for Afghans, but they aren’t necessary from that region), and the European settlers. Comity, her mother and her father all believed in the comity of nations (hence her name) but not everybody agrees and a lot of this novel is about Comity walking the line between them all.
Comity embraces all the cultures and in particular soaks up Fred’s aborigine words, phrases, rituals and stories like a sponge. The liberal use of these words and phrases can make it quite a difficult read and that is likely to put off a lot of the younger audience it’s aimed at. There is a glossary in the front but how many eleven year olds are going to bother flicking pages? (I’m 26 and I didn’t, I just tried to muddle along). There were parts, particularly when she is taken in by the ‘ghantown’ that I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on... and I’d say I understand about 30% of what Fred ever said!
Comity is remarkably determined for an eleven year old and considering her situation she does very well to hold it together for as a long as she did. There are some very dark and incredibly traumatic things that happen in this book. The character of Quartz Hogg has some very unsettling undertones, there is much implied in subtext but we thankfully avoid the worst of. I felt incredibly uncomfortable when reading the chapters that focused on him.
I found the pacing of this novel rather odd. There were some big events by they were often raced through and over too quick, and then everything in between would drag on for what sometimes felt like forever. There was disorientating time jumps too. I can understand my students moaning about t being ‘boring’ but urge them to keep going to the next ‘good bit!’
The historical setting is very well realised, and the racial tensions are palpable. I feel like I’ve learnt something about a subject I had no idea about (I didn’t even realise there were camels in Australia!).
Overall it has a nice message about comity, and everything works out as well as it can. Still... it’s not my kind of novel, and the uneven pacing meant it was just ok for me... still in search of the one that will blow me away!
April 10, 2015
I loved this book. Set in the outback of Australia this book concerns both racial (against Aborigines and Indians) and gender prejudice. This is wonderfully atmospheric book which would be a worthy winner.
August 14, 2020
Comity is named as a derivation of the word Community after her parents’ idealistic view of the world and the coexistence of the various races of old Australia. Her father can’t believe his luck that Comity’s lovely mother leaves a city life to be his wife and live in the middle of nowhere. When she dies suddenly, he falls into an overworking grief rather than build a relationship with his daughter. Comity has a great friend in Fred, an Aboriginal boy and she manages to keep her father fed and avoids the intrusion of wider family by writing to her uppity aunt and telling great stories of their happy life. Trouble only brews when the Telegraph Company finally recognises her father is not coping and send a deputy, an evil and racist man who plays her father back into overwork and upsets the peace. Gripping and heartbreaking in places, I only didn’t give this a 5 because I felt the ending chapters dragged - Comity’s final desperate lie to keep outsiders away and her father safe balloons out of control in a slightly ridiculous and long winded fashion. Otherwise I’ve been asked for a read aloud for 7/8s which supports conversations around deep seated racism and I think this fits the bill quite well on a more local level.
February 7, 2021
This book focusses on the life of Comity, a girl who lives in the Australian desert with her parents as her father works for the a telegraph company.
After having lost her mum due to a snake bite, the telegraph company send a new deputy to help Comity's father. Comity and her friend Fred, an Aboriginal boy, try their best to get rid of the new enemy.
I found the story very odd on the whole with lots of parts seeming farfetched but maybe that was the whole idea? Very random but the story did come together in the end.
I did find it very interesting though about the relationships between the natives, the Aboriginal people and the 'ghans'.
Not my cup of tea but overall 3⭐'s.
After having lost her mum due to a snake bite, the telegraph company send a new deputy to help Comity's father. Comity and her friend Fred, an Aboriginal boy, try their best to get rid of the new enemy.
I found the story very odd on the whole with lots of parts seeming farfetched but maybe that was the whole idea? Very random but the story did come together in the end.
I did find it very interesting though about the relationships between the natives, the Aboriginal people and the 'ghans'.
Not my cup of tea but overall 3⭐'s.
February 11, 2021
I found this book quite difficult to get into but after sticking with it as part of my book club read i soon began to enjoy the oddities of the book.
Comity, a telegraphers daughter, loses her mother to a snake bite and together with her father, tries to keep their town running smoothly. That is until a new deputy is sent who is hell bent on changing things around and making the lives of Comity and her father miserable. With friendships not to be spoken of, the story gently touches on racial issues faced in Australia and the powers some will go to overcome them.
Comity, a telegraphers daughter, loses her mother to a snake bite and together with her father, tries to keep their town running smoothly. That is until a new deputy is sent who is hell bent on changing things around and making the lives of Comity and her father miserable. With friendships not to be spoken of, the story gently touches on racial issues faced in Australia and the powers some will go to overcome them.
December 5, 2021
An excellent book but much 'darker' than others I have read by this author. It refers to many Australian aboriginal tales. There are sudden deaths, mental illness etc.. and I would not recommend it for children under 12 years old, unless reading it with an adult who could talk about some of the issues. Very well written as I would expect from Geraldine McCaughrean and a glossary at the front is very helpful, I referred to it often.
January 3, 2026
This book was ok for me. It is about a young girl who is on a remote telegraph station with her family. When her mother dies her father becomes a bit of a recluse. She retreats into the company of the Aboriginal house boy and they become friends.
The a combination of a dodgy new assistant telegraph operator and a combination of lies results in some disastrous consequences.
The a combination of a dodgy new assistant telegraph operator and a combination of lies results in some disastrous consequences.
May 15, 2015
4.5 stars.
In a remote outback telegraph station, Comity and her father find their lives turned upside down when Comity's mother suddenly dies. Herbert Pinny sends messages down the wire all over Australia and takes refuge in his work, relying on Comity to inform the family of their new situation. Comity can't bear to tell them the truth. This, along with the new assistant Quartz Hogg will lead to dark and dangerous deeds, as Quartz takes against Comity's aboriginal friend Fred.
This doesn't pull punches with its young readers - death, racism, violence, intolerance, abuse, grief all play a role in Comity's story. She's a strong character, who misses her mother terribly but who tries to keep herself and her father going, tries to do the right thing. Her lies are understandable, even when they escalate.
I found Herbert PInny slightly unrealistic - his treatment of his daughter after losing his wife seems excessively callous, thought Hogg made a beautifully named villain. His story though I would have liked to end differently.
The story takes unexpected turns, changes rapidly from a story of grief, to one of lying to one of violence and its consequences and at the end, another twist brings all these elements together in a moral of tolerance and bravery.
McCaughrean has crafter an intelligent period story that has been recognised with its addition to the Carnegie shortlist.
This is one for ages 9-12, and for those interested in Australia / aboriginal stories.
In a remote outback telegraph station, Comity and her father find their lives turned upside down when Comity's mother suddenly dies. Herbert Pinny sends messages down the wire all over Australia and takes refuge in his work, relying on Comity to inform the family of their new situation. Comity can't bear to tell them the truth. This, along with the new assistant Quartz Hogg will lead to dark and dangerous deeds, as Quartz takes against Comity's aboriginal friend Fred.
This doesn't pull punches with its young readers - death, racism, violence, intolerance, abuse, grief all play a role in Comity's story. She's a strong character, who misses her mother terribly but who tries to keep herself and her father going, tries to do the right thing. Her lies are understandable, even when they escalate.
I found Herbert PInny slightly unrealistic - his treatment of his daughter after losing his wife seems excessively callous, thought Hogg made a beautifully named villain. His story though I would have liked to end differently.
The story takes unexpected turns, changes rapidly from a story of grief, to one of lying to one of violence and its consequences and at the end, another twist brings all these elements together in a moral of tolerance and bravery.
McCaughrean has crafter an intelligent period story that has been recognised with its addition to the Carnegie shortlist.
This is one for ages 9-12, and for those interested in Australia / aboriginal stories.
July 13, 2017
I was quietly horrified by this tale, which shows it must be quite well written. A young girl is subjected to neglect, emotional trauma and witness to cruelty and racism in the Australian Outback during the late 1900s and she survives to live another day. I felt enormous pity for Comity and aggravation towards the stupid and cruel adults in the novel, and sometimes even towards her as she innocently blunders her way through trauma after trauma. It wasn't fair, or her fault, and I was worried her natural 'comity' was being crushed out of her by larger, more powerful forces. However, I didn't think the book was spellbinding, something was missing, disjointed even, but I can't put my finger on what it is, which is why it only gets 4 stars.
May 3, 2015
I've only read one book by Geraldine McCaughrean, Pepper Roux, which I did not get on with. As this one is on the Carnegie shortlist I thought I would give her another go and I'm glad I did.
Straight away you're immersed in the Australian Outback, covered in sand and sweat following Comity's adventures and how she lives up to her name. This book touches on many issues (death, grief, depression, bullying, racism, friendship) without it becoming an "issues" book. I loved the character of Comity too, you can picture how wild and loving she is and vividly see the world through her eyes.
Straight away you're immersed in the Australian Outback, covered in sand and sweat following Comity's adventures and how she lives up to her name. This book touches on many issues (death, grief, depression, bullying, racism, friendship) without it becoming an "issues" book. I loved the character of Comity too, you can picture how wild and loving she is and vividly see the world through her eyes.
July 13, 2017
A gem by McCaughrean (mac-cock-rahn, for those of you curious of how to pronounce it).
The Middle of Nowhere is well balanced and a journey through issues like how different family members react to a mother's death, a young girl's friendship with a boy from a different culture, bullying, and racism. McCaughrean has written many books and she knows the craft: the storytelling is beautiful and the message feels natural, not hammered onto you like some children's books tend to.
Like The White Darkness, one of favourite books, TMOW has a main character who uses denial and lying (to herself and others) to deal with a situation that's become to horrible and difficult for her to deal with. My personal opinion is that McCaughrean does this searingly well and my heart aches for Comity when she writes letters to her cousins pretending everything is fine. This tendency is one of the things that builds up the tension of the plot, so if you dislike this trait in a main character, you'll probably find the entire novel incredibly frustrating - like "All this could have been avoided if you didn't lie to begin with!!". But to me, the denial and lying feels like a natural reaction from the characters and I think it's executed brilliantly.
What I slightly dislike is the almost cowardly attitude towards racism in this book. Comity's best friend, Fred, is an aboriginal boy and at the hand of various white men he suffers abuse. Horrible, racist abuse fed to him like an every day occurrence. Comity reacts to this like a naive child ought to and thinks it is awful. But that's sort of the end of it. In the end, there's a scene where whites, aboriginals and Punjabis are shown helping each other. It's supposed to be heartwarming and inspiring - "Look, we're all human, we can all get along!" - and I mean, that's nice but it's not a happy ending to me. It doesn't change the fact that all other whites outside of that group are still racist. It doesn't change the fact that children like Fred will be abused and murdered in the rest of Australia for decades to come. To think that racism ends when white, aboriginal and Punjabi children hold hands is foolish and cowardly, because it completely ignores the systemic oppression. They all forget about that part, which leaves me with a bitter aftertaste.
It's a shame, because if McCaughrean had thought a little harder and looked into that, I believe this book could have been like an Australian answer to To Kill A Mockingbird. Now, the cynic in me almost wonders if McCaughrean uses the tension the systematical racism produces merely as a plot device.
But even if McCaughrean treats racism in a disappointing way, that is merely one theme of many in the the book, and the other themes I think she handles very competently, which justifies my 3 star rating of it.
The Middle of Nowhere is well balanced and a journey through issues like how different family members react to a mother's death, a young girl's friendship with a boy from a different culture, bullying, and racism. McCaughrean has written many books and she knows the craft: the storytelling is beautiful and the message feels natural, not hammered onto you like some children's books tend to.
Like The White Darkness, one of favourite books, TMOW has a main character who uses denial and lying (to herself and others) to deal with a situation that's become to horrible and difficult for her to deal with. My personal opinion is that McCaughrean does this searingly well and my heart aches for Comity when she writes letters to her cousins pretending everything is fine. This tendency is one of the things that builds up the tension of the plot, so if you dislike this trait in a main character, you'll probably find the entire novel incredibly frustrating - like "All this could have been avoided if you didn't lie to begin with!!". But to me, the denial and lying feels like a natural reaction from the characters and I think it's executed brilliantly.
What I slightly dislike is the almost cowardly attitude towards racism in this book. Comity's best friend, Fred, is an aboriginal boy and at the hand of various white men he suffers abuse. Horrible, racist abuse fed to him like an every day occurrence. Comity reacts to this like a naive child ought to and thinks it is awful. But that's sort of the end of it. In the end, there's a scene where whites, aboriginals and Punjabis are shown helping each other. It's supposed to be heartwarming and inspiring - "Look, we're all human, we can all get along!" - and I mean, that's nice but it's not a happy ending to me. It doesn't change the fact that all other whites outside of that group are still racist. It doesn't change the fact that children like Fred will be abused and murdered in the rest of Australia for decades to come. To think that racism ends when white, aboriginal and Punjabi children hold hands is foolish and cowardly, because it completely ignores the systemic oppression. They all forget about that part, which leaves me with a bitter aftertaste.
It's a shame, because if McCaughrean had thought a little harder and looked into that, I believe this book could have been like an Australian answer to To Kill A Mockingbird. Now, the cynic in me almost wonders if McCaughrean uses the tension the systematical racism produces merely as a plot device.
But even if McCaughrean treats racism in a disappointing way, that is merely one theme of many in the the book, and the other themes I think she handles very competently, which justifies my 3 star rating of it.
May 30, 2018
The book The Middle of Nowhere written by the award winning author Geraldine McCaughrean is an addicting book that you want to read over and over again. This book is spine-tingling with adventures at every turn that will leave you not wanting to put the book down.
In the book, Comity Pinny is just a young eleven year old girl who is struggling to keep her life together. Her mother died a few weeks ago from a snake bite and Comity is literally left in the middle of Nowhere. Her dad Herbert Pinny is so miserable, he goes to his office and rarely comes out. Comity Pinny is left to take care of herself without the help of anyone else.
This book is amazing because the author includes so much descriptive language that leaves your mouth dry for more. The author's writing is extremely powerful and beautiful. One example of some really descriptive language that the author includes is on page 136.
There are so many strengths to the book like the descriptive language, the authors writing, and her way of describing what is going on. In most of the books I read I can usually come up with some weaknesses that the book has but in this book, there were no weaknesses that I noticed.
I would proudly rate this book a 10/10 and I would recommend this book for grades 5 and up because of the extraordinary language the author uses.
In the book, Comity Pinny is just a young eleven year old girl who is struggling to keep her life together. Her mother died a few weeks ago from a snake bite and Comity is literally left in the middle of Nowhere. Her dad Herbert Pinny is so miserable, he goes to his office and rarely comes out. Comity Pinny is left to take care of herself without the help of anyone else.
This book is amazing because the author includes so much descriptive language that leaves your mouth dry for more. The author's writing is extremely powerful and beautiful. One example of some really descriptive language that the author includes is on page 136.
There are so many strengths to the book like the descriptive language, the authors writing, and her way of describing what is going on. In most of the books I read I can usually come up with some weaknesses that the book has but in this book, there were no weaknesses that I noticed.
I would proudly rate this book a 10/10 and I would recommend this book for grades 5 and up because of the extraordinary language the author uses.
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January 9, 2020Plot Summary
This book was very interesting and this girl called comity had her mother dying from a snake bite and she didn't want to tell her aunt and grandmother the terrible story that happened.So then comity had to stop a bad guy from doing bad ,evil and cruel things.
Characters
Comity pinny is the main character in this book and she is the one that had her mother dying,her father had to quit his job because his wife died,her aunt and grandmother were the ones that comity had to live and the the aboriginal boy which him and comity became best friends.
Who should read this book and why.
I would recommend this book to people from 10+ and i think this because there are some hard and difficult words for people on the lower age .
My opinion on this book
I think this book was very interesting,adventurous and fun.The reason i say this is because im a type of person that really likes adventures and im really into mysterious and adventurous things.
This book was very interesting and this girl called comity had her mother dying from a snake bite and she didn't want to tell her aunt and grandmother the terrible story that happened.So then comity had to stop a bad guy from doing bad ,evil and cruel things.
Characters
Comity pinny is the main character in this book and she is the one that had her mother dying,her father had to quit his job because his wife died,her aunt and grandmother were the ones that comity had to live and the the aboriginal boy which him and comity became best friends.
Who should read this book and why.
I would recommend this book to people from 10+ and i think this because there are some hard and difficult words for people on the lower age .
My opinion on this book
I think this book was very interesting,adventurous and fun.The reason i say this is because im a type of person that really likes adventures and im really into mysterious and adventurous things.
March 6, 2022
I found it on my kindle, obviously bought after reading something which prompted me to read it. I was very surprised that is was a young adult book as the content and subject was quite adult and graphic at times.
The characters were all very diverse. I felt each one was the epitome of the character they represented. Each interaction with the other came from their intense characterisation. A young gullible girl, a man widowed and alone in his grief, a young Indian boy finding his was in a new world, an aboriginal boy living the old way of life. A narcissist who comes across all the weakness that he can use to his advantage. The wilderness of the outback. I found it an insight into this time, and how some people lived and managed their lives alongside making a living and trying to bring up a family in this harsh environment. I will read more from this author. It was certainly a very different story from all the murder mystery crime and suspense thrillers on the shelves at the moment.
The characters were all very diverse. I felt each one was the epitome of the character they represented. Each interaction with the other came from their intense characterisation. A young gullible girl, a man widowed and alone in his grief, a young Indian boy finding his was in a new world, an aboriginal boy living the old way of life. A narcissist who comes across all the weakness that he can use to his advantage. The wilderness of the outback. I found it an insight into this time, and how some people lived and managed their lives alongside making a living and trying to bring up a family in this harsh environment. I will read more from this author. It was certainly a very different story from all the murder mystery crime and suspense thrillers on the shelves at the moment.
September 14, 2018
It's the late 19th century in Australia, and Comity lives on a remote telegraph station with her father and aboriginal servants. When her Dad's new assistant turns out to be an evil bully planning to take over the station, Comity and her friend, Fred, try to stop him. And then Comity tells a very big lie...
This is a brilliant adventure story in which you'll learn lots about aborigines, the Australian outback, camels, morse code, Indian traders and the ridiculous and cruel things people did to each other in the name of civilisation.
The way this author describes people and events is second to none (she also wrote The End of the World, which I loved). Truthful, wise, sometimes sad, sometimes shocking and sometimes very funny indeed.
This is a brilliant adventure story in which you'll learn lots about aborigines, the Australian outback, camels, morse code, Indian traders and the ridiculous and cruel things people did to each other in the name of civilisation.
The way this author describes people and events is second to none (she also wrote The End of the World, which I loved). Truthful, wise, sometimes sad, sometimes shocking and sometimes very funny indeed.
April 21, 2019
Excellent children’s book with realistic child characters, pace and menace. There is always a note of pathos in her novels which sharpens the impact of her stories and this is no exception. The early death of her mother and the grief of the father underpin the tragedy within the story but serve to make it more appealing and more human. Comity’s forced maturity both disempowers but then enables her to be in control of her on life. Her friendship with Fred is both comical and enduring and there is a genuine sense of threat generated by the novels villain. Messages of unity and inclusion from the author are clear along with the understanding of bereavement and the nature of child/parent relationships when things go wrong. Lovely book.
August 18, 2023
I’m not sure where to start…I’m kind of overawed and need a bit of time to properly absorb the skill of the writing in this book.
It’s the story of Comity and her life as a recently bereaved daughter of a telephonic operator in the outback just before the turn of the century.
Like her namesake, she represents unity between nations and has an incredible friendship with Fred, an aboriginal boy. This is not approved of by any of the adults and Comity is forced into an extreme adventure with life and death stakes. It’s an epic tale in this powerful and sometimes brutal setting.
Wow. Just wow!
I would love to know what children think of the book. I adored it but I’m nearly 50 and I wonder how younger readers get on with the style.
It’s the story of Comity and her life as a recently bereaved daughter of a telephonic operator in the outback just before the turn of the century.
Like her namesake, she represents unity between nations and has an incredible friendship with Fred, an aboriginal boy. This is not approved of by any of the adults and Comity is forced into an extreme adventure with life and death stakes. It’s an epic tale in this powerful and sometimes brutal setting.
Wow. Just wow!
I would love to know what children think of the book. I adored it but I’m nearly 50 and I wonder how younger readers get on with the style.
July 23, 2018
I went searching through my school library's catalogue for overlooked gems, and this is one that came up. It is really powerful - probably one for your extended readers in Y5/6 and for Y7-8, I think (content warning for death/murder/racism). It's quite hard going to get into the historical and racial context of the story; I would compare it to The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge and McCaughrean's own Where The World Ends for similar historical fiction. It is top-notch writing, though, and will really reward students willing to give it the time. I can absolutely see why it was on the Carnegie list.
October 11, 2018
At the end of the 19th century at an isolated Australian telegraph station, a young girl's mother dies from a snake-bite. Comity is left to fend for herself in a cruel, male-oriented world with her only ally Fred, an aboriginal boy, as her father retreats into his work. It is beautifully written, gripping, and very evocative of a particular place and time. The way Comity tries to make sense of her world through Fred's aboriginal stories and her letters to distant relatives (often quite comedic) belie the seriousness of a situation spiralling out of control. I found this in the children's section of the library but appreciated it very much as an adult
December 16, 2020
The Middle of Nowhere captures life for nineteenth century settlers in Australia and the conflicts and attitudes to Aborigony communities from white settlers. Told from the eyes of a young teenage girl who is freinds with an Aborigony boy this story is very sweet in places and captures stories of the Aboriginal Dreamtime. It made me smile in places and I found it quite a page turner - I'd definitely recommend it! Even though it is middle grade fiction I think most adults would enjoy it - and because it is aimed at younger readers it sensitively deals with the abhorant racism of that period without being too graphic or disturbing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2019
Read this with my 8 year old, it was the first AR book he’s had all year that he struggled with and took more than 2 days to finish.
In the end it took us a month.
I found it an interesting story but found the language hard for him to understand and follow and basically translated every page for him.
However it gave us a great opportunity to talk about loss, grief, strength, race and loving your neighbour. There were a few times when I wanted to give up, but I needed to know what happened to Comity, Fred and Moosa!!
In the end it took us a month.
I found it an interesting story but found the language hard for him to understand and follow and basically translated every page for him.
However it gave us a great opportunity to talk about loss, grief, strength, race and loving your neighbour. There were a few times when I wanted to give up, but I needed to know what happened to Comity, Fred and Moosa!!
April 15, 2019
A good story, and great setting in the Australian outback. Such a time to have been relying on morse code messages, rather than real time texts! Such a difficult environment to live in, and keep in touch with family elsewhere. The relationships Comity maintained were strong and showed no colour bounds, easy for a child perhaps to be friends with a local Aboriginal boy and an Indian boy from the Camel trains.
September 23, 2023
It’s actually so bad it’s not even funny. The amount of dedication it took me to finish this is unreal. The only thing that’s in the middle of nowhere was my brain trying to fathom what was going on.
Don’t even get me started on how bad the storyline and the plot was. Cause I wouldn’t have much to say there WAS no plot the setting changed every half page I could not keep up. I still to this day don’t know what happened in the book.
Don’t even get me started on how bad the storyline and the plot was. Cause I wouldn’t have much to say there WAS no plot the setting changed every half page I could not keep up. I still to this day don’t know what happened in the book.
December 14, 2017
I struggled at the start to get into this book. After chatting to a friend, she informed me about what a lot of the book was about. I feel that it could have done with an introduction explaining the circumstances of the time period this book was set in. Other that, once i had done a bit of research, the book began to make sense.
April 12, 2021
Was not a massive fan of this book. I really liked the cultural aspect of the Australian Outback and McCaughrean's use of Aboriginal language, however, I found Comity's perspective confusing at times which sometimes made the plot difficult to follow. Whilst I didn't enjoy the story, the book has definitely sparked an interest into Australian literature and Aboriginal culture.
March 23, 2018
I’m quite surprised with how much I enjoyed this book as it’s not normally something I would read. I liked how the book presented the outback of Australia and its issues with race and gender. It was a very atmospheric book and the characters appeared to be very isolated.
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