Malini

Through My Eyes

by Robert Hillman, Lyn White

Malini lives with her parents and young sister, Banni, in northern Sri Lanka. As the civil war heads towards its catastrophic end, Malini and her family are herded by Tamil Tiger troops towards the coast where they will act as human shields, along with thousands of other Tamil civilians. When Malini's father pushes a mobile phone into her hands and tells her to run off into the forest with Banni, Malini does as she is told. But then the shelling begins, and Malini has no way of finding her mother and father.

With the role of parent thrust upon her, Malini has no choice but to travel to her grandfather's village a long way inland. She and Banni will need to keep off the highways and stay alert for soldiers from all sides. But where will the next meal come from? Who can they trust? Where will they shelter? And will they ever be reunited with their parents again?

The uplifting story of one girl's odyssey through war-torn Sri Lanka.

Genres: War, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Robert Hillman is a Melbourne-based writer of fiction and biography. His autobiography THE BOY IN THE GREEN SUIT won the Australian National Biography Award for 2005. His critically acclaimed MY LIFE AS A TRAITOR (written with Zarha Ghahramani) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2008 and was published widely overseas.
After many years of teaching in high schools and university, Robert Hillman now works as a full-time writer. He has three children and lives in Warburton, in Victoria's Yarra Valley.

Reviews

[Rosanne Hawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malini by Robert Hillman is another worthy addition to the Through my Eyes series for middle school portraying present day children living in war zones. Malini is set in Sri Lanka where soldiers round up civilians and herd them to the coast to act as a human shield. Malini's father tells her to run into the forest with her little sister and make west to their grandfather's village. The journey is fraught with danger. A gripping story with plausible characters. I learned so much about the conflict. Lyn White is the series editor and the six titles include John Heffernan's Naveed, set in Afghanistan and Shahana set in Azad Kashmir, by Rosanne Hawke, Amina (Somalia) by JL Powers, and Emilio by Sophie Masson (Mexico). The last in the series will be out next year: Zafar by Prue Mason, set in Syria. Can't wait for that one either.

[Kaleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

May actually be 3.5 - 3.75 stars, but I'm rounding to 4. I think this is a great series for students to learn about international conflict zones, and how those living conditions impact children's lives. Malini has to leave her parents and lead her sister through war-torn Sri Lanka in search of safety within her grandfather's village. Her parents are being used by soldiers as human shields. The circumstances force Malini to grow up quickly and become the parent figure to her sister and others they encounter along the way. Loss of innocence is a major theme in this story; be it children who escaped from their ravaged villages and are trying to survive on their own, or children who were forced to serve as child soldiers.

I didn't know much about the civil war in Sri Lanka, so this book enlightened me to just how long and brutal the war was. The appendix gives historical context with a list of key events and dates, such as the 1956 "Sinhala Only Act", that triggered the escalation of the war. There were other cultural and historical details I found informative, such as the fact that many of the Sri Lankan Tamils had migrated from southern India. I wish the author had explored more of the details of Malini's parents and the other Tamils being used as human shields along the coast. Instead, it was just vaguely mentioned. I also felt there were parts that were hard to follow and visualize, particularly when Malini tried to cross the river. Those minor preferences aside, I learned a lot from this book, and it piqued my curiosity to do some additional research on the topic. Should be required reading for students.

[Arne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malini Book Review
I think that Malini is a very good book which has a lot of conflicts and character development but is also thrilling from the beginning til end.
The book is about two sisters, Malini and her younger sister Banni and they live in Sri Lanka. There is a civil war going on in Sri Lanka between the Rebels and the Government, one day the Rebels come to Malini and Banni's village and force them out of their homes. They are to be used as human shields on the coast of Sri Lanka. On the way to the coast Malini and Banni manage to escape into the woods without their parents and so their journey begins to find their grandfathers village. On the way they meet a lot of interesting characters that help develop the story.
This book fits very well into the war genre because of it's conflicts and character development and that you get to know how peoples lives have been affected by war.

[Nali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much stronger novel than Hasina, another of the Through My Eyes series, in terms of character development and plot. A good read for young adults who want to broaden their understanding of the world and of the experiences of refugees.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who travelled to Sri Lanka this year, Malini was an interesting story around their civil war. Likeable child characters lead us on a long journey through an extraordinary country where adults cannot be trusted and children must grow up fast in order to survive.

[يوسف عبداللطيف · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Malini (Through Their Eyes)", "Robert Hillman"'s focus on exposing the suppression of free expression shines through. A mature piece showing that critical writing still holds real power today.

[Lin Lin]

I find it hard to put down once I start reading this book, which is one of the "Through My Eyes" series. I did not know that a Civil War broke out and lasted for 26 years until 2009 in Sri Lanka between the government troops and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers Tamil Eelam). Malini, in this fiction, demonstrated her courage as she led a group of children to escape the LTTE army when they were used as human shields against governmental forces.