Tara June Winch knows how to write. Her words are lyrical and beautifully descriptive. Her stories are touching and eye-opening. Her characters feel real. 

Tara June Winch also knows how to evoke feelings with her writing. Swallow The Air is short but it made me feel sad, disgusted, angry and hopeful - just to name a few.
 
We see chapters of May's life as she searches for her absent father and as she tries to piece together her Aboriginal heritage. Each chapter reads almost like a short story. They could easily stand alone but together they create a masterpiece.

Swallow The Air is a story of loss, of generational trauma and displacement. We see the deep sorrow of May and of Aboriginal people in Australia, but it's all told with so much tenderness and care.

I love the way Tara June Winch paints such a vivid picture with her writing. The beaches near Wollongong, Redfern, outback NSW and the vastness of the Northern Territory all come to life throughout the book. 

Swallow The Air won many awards and it is so deserving of every single one. It's a moving, poignant and stunning coming of age story. If you haven't read any of Tara's books yet, you need to. They are all amazing and I'll be first in line for any future book/s she writes.