The novel Chalkline was written in 2009 by Jane Mitchell. It deals with a wide variety of powerful themes.
Author Bio.
Jane Mitchell is a Dublin-based writer who studied primary school teaching in Trinity College. She always loved writing and wrote her fi rst book of poems – fully illustrated and bound – when she was six! She has writ en several novels for young people that feature themes such as the refugee crisis, friendship and war.
What I will learn:
to identify and track a theme throughout a novel
REMEMBER:
A theme is the subject, topic or idea of a piece of writing. In novels it is an important idea that runs strongly through a piece of writing.
Think of one novel you have read and name one theme that it deals with.
Read the blurb for Chalkline, which gives you a little more information about this story, and then answer the questions on the next page.
Blurb for Chalkline BY JANE MITCHELL
Rafiq’s turn came and he stepped up to the chalk line. It reached the top of his ear. ‘This one is big enough. He goes in the truck. He’s our first.’
Rafiq is only nine when Kashmiri Freedom Fighters raid his village in search of new recruits. Tall for his age, he is the first boy to cross the chalk line into a life of brutality and violence. Jameela cannot forget her brother. While Rafiq is trained to kill in the rebel camp high in the mountains, she keeps his memory alive. When finally their paths cross again, Rafiq is unrecognisable as the boy who left the village. Will Jameela know him?
