Abi Edwards

I loved this book. It is both a cracking good read and the author has shown a human side to the subject of those who are so desperate to get to America. She shows that behind every individual there is a unique story, reasons and often such a desperation that is difficult to understand from TV footage. What drives people to risk their lives and the lives of their children time and time again to escape. Criticism of the author's lack of ethnicity and therefore credibility is absurd. By those criteria then only black people can write about black people, white people about white people, gay people about gay people...... Writing, art, music should transcend any of these enforced limitations which seem to me to be a form of censorship. Fiction IS story telling and as long as the story is believable then the writer has succeeded. I think there is an awful lot of intellectual snobbery out there - this story has reached a very wide audience, highlighting a very contentious subject in an accessible way - brilliant job!