Coast to Coast

by David Fermer

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. When 17-year-old Cooper Jackson discovers a half-drowned Afghan boy on the beach one night, he is drawn into a conflict about right and wrong, and takes a journey into the darkest corners of Australia's "stop the boats" policy.
Coast to Coast tells the story of a friendship between two youngsters who know no borders.

Genres: School

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[greta :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5 stars - good message, liked cooper and bashirs friendship, still a school lecture and a bit boring

[Knecht · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lest diese SCheiße nicht

[Johannes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here my Book- Review. I had to read Coast to Coast in English class and we had to write a review about the novel. I hope, I can help anyone with this little inspirations ;)

The ignorance of borders

The youth-adult-fiction novel “Coast to Coast” published in 2016, was written by
David Fermer and deals about two boys, who don’t know any borders.
The story acts in Darwin, Australia in 2013. After a discussion with his dad, the
17-year-old Cooper Jackson find the half-drowned Afghan boy Bashir sit in the
mid of the beach. The boys create a strong friendship and help each other in a lot
of conflicts. So, the whole Jackson family experience a journey through one of
the darkest points of Australia's "stop the boats" policy and support Bashir that
he’s able to stay in Australia.
The big problem is, that Cooper’s dad is a politician in Darwin supporting the
strict asylum policy at first and run with this program for office. When he gets to
know Bashir’s story, he’s beginning to fight with his conscience about right and
wrong.
Coast to Coast is the story between two friends, who won’t know any borders. In
my opinion this novel is versatile with the majority of the focus at the storyline
telling people about the problems with refugees and of refugees. Also, I enjoy the
way, that you have both perspectives of the story at the same time. I think that
everyone can understand the story and the motivations of both parties better, when
he tries to understand backgrounds as the one from Bashir. But to inform people
about the refugee crisis around the world, I would rather recommend a
documentation or similar, especially this version of this book is more like a
“peace, joy and pancakes” story, than a clear reflection of reality. The book gives
the feeling that everything will be fine, which in most cases it will unfortunately
not. In addition, I have to mention, that the end of the novel is very abrupt but the
text was easy to read even with broken English. Just as a story about a strong
friendship it is in conclusion very to advise, especially for adolescents.

[Sara 🌚🦇 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t read worser book than this and the end omg so dumb it was really badddd

[✨Mariii_789✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, so I had to read this book for school, and I'm guessing that's also a reason why I hated it so much. The other reason is because of how poorly written it is. Not gonna lie, I laughed a few times because of how terrible the writing was. I understand that it's a school book and people have to learn English from it, but they could have done a better job. The sad part is that the story has an amazing potential and I think an actual good book should be written about it. This is a serious subject and this book just does not deliver it.

[Varnikha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.85*

[Marie Hornemann · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good thing was the message, but the book was way to short and a bit to unrealistic.
David fermer could not convince me that Bashir survived a war, a bomb, the journey to australia and the camps without any signs of mental health issues.

[Lisa kuligowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Anfang war gut .Aber das Ende unrealistisch.

[૮ ’• ˕ •` ა · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ariane wo bist du !?

[Book girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Geschichte an sich ist schön. Aber am Ende geht es sehr schnell

[bianca anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it for school.

At first, I didn't like the author's writing style but then I got used to it and it was kinda okay. The story wasn't exciting but it could be interesting at some point. The end was very short and I got the feeling that the author wanted to end this book very fast.

2.25⭐️

[Emilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

All in all not a bad story, it was just in a boring way written. This story could have been so much more if it had been more exciting. But it conveyed very well how migrants are treated in Australia. That's why I recommend reading it anyway.

[Gesa Pezirkianidou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this in school and it was the first time i‘d learned a bit about the migration policies in Australia. Deep message and great story. Definitely still reads like a school book (aka easy language, makes it a bit less exciting)

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in school

[Rudolf]

This book is so interesting because I love the story that should describe the situation of the refugees

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

... it's just bad
The story could have been so interesting, there was so much potential but sadly it was a complete letdown.

[✨️Isi✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, nice plot could have been a bit better

[mads 111 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
pretty good book, had to read it for school

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

for school & the ending <<<

[Qiulu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it, because of a Englisch class. Didn't enjoy it, but didn't hate it either

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a school book it is very good

[Maya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very important topic but the story itself was a little boring.

[Halaty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pretty good. I read it because our teacher said so but i didn’t mind it. I learned some pretty good stuff👍🏻

[ADELE.Pjo · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Coast to Coast" earns its 2 stars not because it was a school assignment, but because it falls short as a book. Instead of 'show, don’t tell,' it relies heavily on 'tell, don’t show,' which weakens the storytelling. The plot feels underdeveloped and entirely predictable, leaving little to keep readers engaged.

[rabia nur · Rating 3 out of 5]

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"all we can do is fall to our knees."

this is a book we were tasked to read in english class. first, i’d never thought that it would be too interesting or too much of my own taste, it’s a school lecture after all. now that i have read it, i can fairly say, it’s a great tool for sensitizing people with the topic of immigration. i was once strongly against it, until i realized we all bleed red and we all die the same, eventually. the ending sucked though. i get the idea of leaving it open for the readers, but NO REUNION?? i loved it still, will cherish it in my heart.

⭑.ᐟ

[Julia Schilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book wasn't bad, but I expected more from the theme, especially at the end. Other school books offer more material for discussion. In my opinion, the ending was somewhat unrealistic? Or portrayed as “easier” than it probably is.

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

the ending was just too rushed. the rest of the novel was fine and sometimes even exciting.