“There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below. . . . And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.”

This is a dystopian YA sci-fi by Indigenous Australian author Ambelin Kwaymullina of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Ashala Wolf is one of the Illegals living in Firstwood, persecuted for their powers. She is captured and taken to the detention centre of Chief Administrator Neville Rose for interrogation. She fears for her life and the survival of her tribe and feels torn by the betrayal of the double-crossing Justin Connor.

This is a pacey, gripping read. It has echoes of Indigenous spirituality and culture, and touches on the ugly history of Australia and the Stolen Generations. The character of the villain Neville Rose references Chief Protector of the Aborigines, A.O.Neville. The powers reflect elements of Indigenous spirituality. This was an enjoyable read. ( )

Representation: First Australian character
Trigger warnings: Fire, imprisonment
This was a book that was part of the library reading challenge of the month. Two of the goals were to read a science fiction book and/or a book from a First Australian author.

6/10, looking back at this I actually enjoyed it however I must say that I've definitely seen some better dystopian novels out there and I don't think this holds up well anymore more than a decade after it was published though I do admit there was a solid concept and the execution was alright I guess, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Ashala Wolf or Ashala for short and not too far into the book she was captured by Neville Rose and sent into a prison where she spends most of the book there and even that I've seen in other books I've read before and since then. Ashala meets some other characters whose names I forgot and she learns what it is like to live in the prison and I must tell you it isn't a very great place to live especially with the main antagonist and he wants to destroy Ashala's tribe which essentially means killing her as well and I didn't want that to happen but why would he do that in the first place I don't really know but it might have something to do with racism or something along those lines. Towards the end of the book Ashala and the other characters think of a plan to escape and they do that by burning the prison down and freeing the other prisoners which was very action packed and ended this on a high note. ( )

YA, dystopia, and fantasy/sci-fi is not my thing. I read this book because after searching for books the meet the criteria of a reading challenge, and after already reading and abandoning four other books that met the criteria, I feel I just have no choice lol. I like the twist in the plot. I didn't see it coming and enjoyed re-reading the earlier parts of the book once the twist was revealed. I also like the dynamics between the two main characters. It reminds me of what one would typically see in romance anime, or adventure anime with a romance arc. The male main character definitely reminds me of anime -- handsome, extremely capable, but _______ (can't say it out loud because of spoilers! But this quality is commonly observed in anime depicting romance.) I found their arc pretty romantic, until at the end when the physical scenes made everything too out there and thus I'm no longer invested in the success of their relationship.

What I don't like about the book is the character's narration. The descriptive passages are emotional
and so over-simplistic that it seems fake and exaggerated. I have found this to be typical of YA fiction, so I'm sure many readers enjoy it. YA is just not my thing. Another quality typical of YA: From the main character's viewpoint, grownups are just dumb. She and her friends -- all teenagers or children -- are the ones who know what is going on and have good ideas. It would have been convincing if indeed she and her friends are extremely thoughtful and wise. But that didn't come off convincingly. So this worldview just struck me as unrealistic and immature. Again, YA is not my thing. ( )

When Ashala first ran away to the Firstwood she never expected to find a place to call home, people to call family. This was her Tribe, and she would do anything to protect them. But when one of her own is a traitor, out to turn her and her new family into the government to be locked up simply for being born different, she refuses to stand by and do nothing.

Now Ashala finds herself a prisoner in the detention centre the government has set up for people like her, people who are different, and her betrayer stands by her side, as her guard. With the lives of her Tribe at stake, Ashala is helpless as the interrogation draws from her everything she remembers. But even as she is forced to reveal all, she cant help feeling there is something she's forgotten.

The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf takes place in a time after the Reckoning, after the end of the world, where the survivors no longer live enslaved to technology but in balance with nature. During this time there are those who are born with gifts, abilities that the government believes is not in balance with the world. This dystopian tale is an engrossing and enlightening beginning to a unique new series. ( )

It's nice to read a YA dystopia that holds some degree of actual cleverness in its execution.

The obligatory romance subplot is cheesy, but in a way its target audience is sure to eat up- and when it comes to the rest of the plot, thrilling pacing and decent foreshadowing combine to make this one of the better examples of the genre.

Overall, fun and lighthearted while suggesting the outline of deeper issues. I hope this one gains popularity. ( )