We Didn’t Think it Through
by Gary Lonesborough
Allen & Unwin
Sixteen year-old Jamie Langton is a Koori kid living in Dalton’s Bay with his Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bobby. In year 10 at high school, he is navigating family troubles (he hasn’t heard from his parents since he was 12) and racist jibes are continual, but his mates provide an escape from such concerns.
Daly has left school to do an apprenticeship and Lenny is going to move to Sydney with his parents. Then there is the older Steve who could be relied on to supply them with grog and weed. Mates were paramount, wandering the streets at night and drinking whatever they could get their hands on.
It was Lenny’s last night in town and it was the football grand final when Jamie decided to escape through his bedroom window to join the fun. After yet more racist jibes from the White kids, the trio decided it is time for some payback.
A joy ride in the rich White kid’s car started out as fun but the consequences were sobering. Jamie wasn’t even driving but he ended up in the Juvenile Justice Centre labelled as a “danger to society”. He was told “you’re not a good person, so don’t expect to be treated like one”.
Award-winning YA author Gary Lonesborough has worked in supporting Aboriginal children and young people in the youth justice system and out-of-home care. Living with his partner Matthew, he is dismayed by the number of Aboriginal children who are locked up and isolated and told they are criminals.
Vision of the recent riots at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre in Perth has been splashed across the television regularly lately as administrators, politicians and youth justice workers try to find solutions to the unrest. Lonesborough tells the powerful inside story of young Aboriginal teenagers caught in the justice system.
“I was inspired to write this novel after working closely with a number of Aboriginal kids involved in the justice system. I wanted to give a voice to those kids who get dragged through that system,” says Gary.
Lezly Herbert
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