The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliott
Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781406385854. 368pp.
(Age: Upper primary - secondary) Highly recommended. The Good
Hawk by Joseph Elliott has a solid central character in
Agatha. It is a fantasy story where two friends are forced to leave
their ravaged home and travel to distant, frightening places that
are shrouded in dark history and mystery. The use of the
Scottish-Gaelic and Old Norse language throughout adds to the
ethereal, otherworldly atmosphere of this tale.
Agatha is a loyal and steadfast character who perseveres against all
odds to defend and uphold her clan and her friends. We hear her pure
and unaffected voice in the first person. She stutters but she
expresses herself with the clarity of the innocent. She sees through
people to their true core and she has a special and unique skill -
communication with animals. Early on the reader hears that she is
teased - told that she should have been thrown off a cliff as a
babe. We read that she looks different. We understand that she has a
disability, that she is not able to do some things and that people
think they can't rely on her. But she has a steely pride - she is a
Hawk. Jamie is her friend with his own fears and undiscovered
strengths.
Their journey to rescue their clan takes supreme courage in the face
of fearsome obstacles, the out-and-out brutality of evil foes and
frightening mystical, wild, primeval forces.
There is consideration of the alternative perspectives of all manner
of cultural and societal beliefs and practices as our two heroes
encounter extraordinarily outlandish good and evil characters during
their journey. Love remains demonstratively pure and powerful
throughout.
This book is not for the faint hearted but it is redemptive.
Elliott's depiction of a heroine with Down's syndrome is wonderful.
I agree with Katya Balen, author of The
Space We're In in her praise for Elliott's portrayal of
Agatha. She is indeed . . . "the sort of hero children's literature
has been lacking for too long."
The Good Hawk is a swashbuckling adventure set in a fantasy
world somewhere up in the North Sea in the vicinity of the Isle of
Skye, Scotland and Norway; The Space We're In is more
domestic. Both books are powerful portrayals of lived disability.
They will surprise and grip the reader. The gap that has existed for
books about heroes with disabilities is at last being addressed and
it is a very good thing.
I highly recommend both books to Upper Primary and Senior School
students. Teacher's
notes are available.
Wendy Jeffrey