Washpool (Lisa Fuller, Lothian)

Lisa Fuller’s Washpool is a fun, heartwarming and insightful exploration of family and kinship that takes the portal fantasy genre to a new level. When Murri sisters Bella and Cienna suddenly find themselves in a mysterious land called Muse after taking a dip in the Washpool (the local swimming spot), they are desperate to return home to Eidsvold. However, things aren’t so straightforward. Once they meet Esura, a strange creature unlike anything they’ve seen, they soon realise they’re in a different world. Soon after, they meet a host of new beings, including Merpeople, fire birds, dragons, slime beings and wyverns, who are all focused on helping Lady Dragon find her lost egg. Joining the mission, Bella and Cienna journey to find their way back to one another and, more importantly, their way back home. While comical and witty when it needs to be, Washpool is a well-written story about discrimination, tolerance, and the hardships of being different in an unforgiving world. Fuller (Ghost Bird) is a Wuilli Wuilli woman who is also descended from Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka peoples, and what especially charmed me about the book was her masterful interweaving of First Nations language and traditions. Written in a manner entirely accessible to a younger audience aged 9+, the book uses footnotes where necessary, making the text ideal for audiences new to concepts relating to Indigeneity. Washpool was a winning manuscript in the 2019 black&write! Fellowships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, and is a fantastic read for fans of Rick Riordan and C S Lewis.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Nilab Siddiqi is a bookseller and publishing student based in Sydney set on diversifying the Australian industry. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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