This book highlights the racial and communal lines, on which a country like Australia is divided.
In the story,
Jamilah, a teenage girl with a seemingly normal life. The book shows an insight on how her
identity is seemingly normal, but very dual at the same time.
Jamilah lives with her widowed, conservative father, her extremist sister, and rebel brother. All of them are desperately trying to find out who they really are, and where they belong.
At
school, life is totally different for her. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and fits in with the crowd. Everyday, she witnesses various instances of racial tension among her classmates. She feels ashamed, as nobody at school knows her true identity. She wants to reveal herself, but what with the reactions her classmates show towards the other Asian students, she shrinks away from it.
She starts to get in touch with ''John'', an unknown person she met on the internet. She pours out her whole life to him, and he reciprocates. He is the only person who accepts and understands her for who she really is, she feels. He, in turn, tells Jamilah about his life.
An unexpected meeting brings out the true identity of John, a boy called Timothy, from Jamilah''s school. Angry and ashamed, Jamilah refuses to talk to him anymore.
As time passes, Jamilah starts to accept her culture, and not care about what others think.
She opens up her life to her best friend, and Timothy.
The climax of the story ends in high spirits, involving a school dance in which Jamilah finds herself, and her place in the society.