Twelve-year old Joaquín lives on an island in Lake Nicaragua and thanks to his many jobs his family manages to survive. When he meets the fascinating German girl Rosa, daughter of an ethnologist, he delights in the opportunity to earn a little extra money with interviews given to Rosa’s dad. When Rosa discovers that he…
Young Adult Fiction
With a father more interested in money than family, a brother in prison, a sister with a secret, and a mother in denial, it’s no wonder Jeff buries himself in the safe world of mathematics. When a storm hits Wellington, a strange old woman is blown into Jeff’s life, challenging everything he thinks is true. by Joy Cowley “A high-drama…
Having finished high-school on the mainland, Cynthia returns to her native island in the Caribbean. A little paradise, actually: with white beaches and palm trees this is every tourist’s dream. Cynthia’s mother Mathilda runs a restaurant overlooking the most beautiful bay. But what Cynthia experiences and sees during the weeks of shrimp season has little…
In this moving and gripping tale of his life, Mbu recounts his childhood growing up in the shacks of some of the poorest townships in the Eastern and Western Cape; the battle to survive hunger, neglect and sleeping on the streets; the beloved older brother who took care of him as a toddler; the unwavering…
Together with her big brother Jando and her little sister Teya, Jeanne is well looked after as she grows up in Rwanda. Her parents—both teachers and members of the Tutsi—educate their children with affectionate rigour. But shortly after Jeanne’s eighth birthday her carefree childhood comes to a sudden end: in April 1994 the Rwandan genocide…