‘Odette, be sensible. Sissy cannot leave this town.’ Shea threw his hands in the air. ‘Listen to me, please, Odette. It’s not as if your Sissy is a white girl.’
Odette Brown has lived her whole life on the fringes of a small country town. Raising her granddaughter Sissy on her own, Odette has managed to stay under the radar of the welfare authorities who are removing Aboriginal children from their communities. When the menacing Sergeant Lowe arrives in town, determined to fully enforce the law, any freedom that Odette and Sissy enjoy comes under grave threat. Odette must make an impossible choice to protect her family.
In The White Girl, Tony Birch has created memorable characters whose capacity for love and courage are a timely reminder of the endurance of the human spirit.
Won, 2020 NSW Premier's Literary Awards – Indigenous Writers' Prize
Shortlisted, The Miles Franklin Literary Award
Shortlisted, 2020 The Barbara Jefferis Award
Shortlisted, 2020 NSW Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted, Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) – Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year
Highly Commended, 2021 Kate Challis RAKA Award
Island Story Gatherers interview between Tony Birch and Chris Flynn [video]
Author talk: Tony Birch on The White Girl with Goldfields Libraries
The Garret: Writers on Writing, Tony Birch on 'The White Girl'
The White Girl on Speaking Out with Larissa Behrendt
The Age: Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist announced
Sydney Review of Books, The Hidden Children: The White Girl by Tony Birch
The Guardian, Tony Birch on The White Girl: ‘No Aboriginal person I know is intact’
Knowledge Melbourne, Lunchtime Talks: Tony Birch
The Wheeler Centre, Double Booked Club: Tony Birch and Tara June Winch
