Dirt Poor Islanders

Meadow Reed's grandparents come from Australia, Tonga and Britain, and as a small girl she says she is full-White and full-Tongan. Her looks come from her Anglo-Saxon side, but everyone who brings her up and loves her is Tongan, which is what makes her Tongan too. Coming of age in Mount Druitt in Western Sydney, she meets palangi who think themselves superior to Islanders, learns what it is to be raised by many mothers, and discovers women who love women. Her community does everything as one, yet Meadow senses the world is larger than that, and she must push back against tradition, family and her own sense of self to become whole on her own terms.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Coming of age, Family, Migration (assigned by AI)

Set in

Australia

First published

2024

ISBN

9780733649264 (Hachette Australia, Australia)