This is a sweet story of an Aboriginal boy in Outback Australia and his relationship with his family. It explores their love and closeness and the main character Billy's attempts to outwit his older brothers. I felt the author did an excellent job of describing Aboriginal culture and their daily lives. Although I have lived a short time in Australia, I did not come into much contact with Aboriginal culture - my main experience was as a tourist in Alice Springs. This, of course, is hardly an accurate insight into the culture. I also came into contact with Aborigines during an overnight stop in a small town the back of beyond called Tennant Creek - the type of town where people asked "why the heck are you stopping there?" Sadly, what I saw of the Aborigines there was very saddening. Most of them seemed to have no money, no job and no hope. I was delighted then to read this book which gave a much more positive (to my mind at least) view of these fascinating people. I also enjoyed the character of Billy and how this young underdog managed to get the best of his brothers using his wits. it was fun to see his preparations come together, and also how he gained more respect in his family through this. The strong family relationships shown in the book also made this a very heartwarming story. I will probably pick up the other books in this series at some point once I've got through my current TBR list.
