An author's note comments on the story's background, and a glossary defines its Australian slang, which is generally clear in context and adds a certain charm to the narrative. In this quiet, heartwarming story, French does a wonderful job of portraying the precariousness of life during the 1930s Depression as well as the courage and warmth of people who not only survived, but also managed, in many ways, to thrive despite adversity. Although she comes to feel at home in the past, she knows that she belongs in the 1990s but it takes another terrifying shock, this time a natural disaster, to wrench her back around the corner. Becoming a part of Young Jim's large family, Barbara gains a sense of community and caring that she's never had before. Thinking a blow to the head has scrambled her brains, Jim takes her to the isolated shanty camp where his out-of-work parents live. Instead, she steps from 1994 Sydney, Australia, to 1932 Sydney and another violent demonstration, from which she's rescued by a raggedy boy named Young Jim. Terrified by a baton-wielding policeman at a rowdy demonstration, Barbara takes an old man's advice and imagines herself walking around a corner to a safe place.
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