Adventures in Librarianing

Deadly, Unna?

Phillip Gwynne

273 pages, published 1998

From the Back Cover:

Dumby Red and Blacky don't have a lot in common.

Dumby's the star of the footy team. Blacky's a gutless wonder.

Dumby's got the knack with girls. Blacky never knows what to say.

Dumby's got a killer smile. Blacky needs braces.

Dumby's from the Point. Blacky's from the Port.

Dumby's a Nunga. Blacky's white.

But they're friends.

And it could be deadly, Unna?

I'm finally getting to the bottom of my class reading list and so was quite eager to move this one into the 'done' pile. I can't say that I particularly liked Deadly, Unna? however there was certainly a lot in it that could be used in a classroom and, seeing as that was the point of reading it in the first place, I suppose it was all well in the end.

Blacky's voice was quite strong as he dealt with the issues of racial difference in his town as well as the difficulties faced by his own large family. There were certainly some interesting parts - the relationship between Blacky and Clarence, the incfluence of the town's politics on something as seemingly small as a local boys football team - but on the whole it wasn't really a book that I could re-read. 3/5