Hello everyone! Thank you for letting me be here today at the ‘Read, Watch, Listen Festival’, as we all celebrate texts for young adults. Everyone asks whether great texts can capture unique cultural perspectives to expand our understanding of the world and its people. Of course, it can! I am excited to recommend the novel ‘Lion A Long Way Home’ by Saroo Brierley. This is a great novel about the life of Saroo getting lost as a little kid and moving to Australia. This novel addresses the themes of family, loss and survival. Through the thought process of Saroo, we learn about what life was like for him and how he survived. ‘Lion’ is an invaluable text for us as young readers. Family is a major element in the book "Lion," as the protagonist Saroo's quest to find his birth family is what motivates him to start on this journey. Saroo's relationship with his adoptive family is also discussed throughout the book, illustrating the subtleties and intricacies of family dynamics. In one moving passage from the book, Saroo asserts that "family isn't just about blood relations, it's about the people who support you and love you unconditionally." As he learns that familial love transcends biological ties, Saroo's relationship with both his birth family and his adoptive family reflects …show more content…
Saroo, the main character, suffers from loss on several different levels, beginning with his early separation from his family. As he gets older, Saroo becomes more conscious of the magnitude of his loss and how it affects his sense of self and belonging. He also mourns the loss of loved ones and comes to terms with the possibility that some of his hopes and goals will never come true. The passage from the novel where Saroo comments, "The pain of loss was acute, and I felt it in my bones," is a moving example of how the issue of loss is highlighted. But I was aware that I had to keep going because life required