“A frank, moving, compelling collection by students with a gift for storytelling.” - Frances Atkinson (The Sunday Age)

Source:

The Sunday Age (30 January 2011)

M Magazine p. 21

UNDER AGE

Author: Frances Atkinson

Date: 30/01/2011

Words: 492

Source: SAG

Publication: The Sunday Age

Section: M

Page: 21

FROM KINGLAKE TO KABUL

Neil Grant, David Williams

Allen&Unwin, $18.99

Two schools  one in Kinglake, the other in Kabul  swap a series of stories, through which students in both countries gain a better understanding of those in the other. Both places have been ravaged; one by fire, the other by 30 years of war. Conceived jointly by Neil Grant, the then writer in residence at Diamond Valley College, and David Williams, formerly the Head of English, both men have firsthand experiences to draw on. Williams lost his home in the fires and Grant spent time in Afghanistan where he came in contact with the International School of Kabul. Diamond Creek student Tess Pollock calmly recounts how she and her mother survived Black Saturday as embers engulfed their house, while Jahangir Said's piece recalls life under the Taliban and how, when he was just five, he stood up for a young woman who was beaten for not wearing shoes. A frank, moving, compelling collection by students with a gift for storytelling.