Summer Reading List

I know school's almost out but if you're interested in learning more about South Africa this summer, check out some of my favorite young adult novels that take place in South Africa and other African countries.

1) Afrika by Colleen Craig. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It made me cry and it made me think about the world. Kim, is a 13-year-old Canadian girl who travels to South Africa with her South African mother and meets her extended family for the first time. Kim's mom is white (and Kim is pretty sure she's white too) but she's not really sure what to expect in South Africa since her mom hardly ever talks about the country. What's interesting is why her mother decides to go there. Her mom is a journalist and she's going there to cover the Truth and Reconciliation hearings that were held post-apartheid. I honestly had no idea what they were (and even that they happened) until this book. Basically Nelson Mandela, when he became president, made the decision to seek the truth about the injustices that happened under apartheid but the idea was not to prosecute people. Actually, you couldn't prosecute people who committed crimes or harmed others under apartheid. But the idea behind these hearings is that the truth would come out and people would be able to forgive each other. A beautiful idea in theory but I still can't believe this actually happened. And you can imagine how totally controversial these hearings could be.

Anyway, Kim and her mom Riana arrive in South Africa and Kim's whole world is turned upside down. She starts looking for her father. She makes friends with a black South African boy named Themba, who makes her see the world differently. She starts to realize why her mom fled South Africa when she was pregnant. She gets to meet her extended family and learns who they are now, who they were under apartheid, and gets to see firsthand just how much (or how little) had changed.

The book is beautiful. It's a wonderful way for younger readers to learn about the history of South Africa and some of the more modern problems in the country. The book makes you really understand why "undoing" apartheid in reality will take several generations. I loved that the characters were not black-and-white. The "good" characters had flaws and the "bad" characters weren't really "bad." You (through Kim's eyes) come to understand why they are the way they are and see the world from their eyes.

2) Journey to Jo'burg by Beverley Naidoo. Don't underestimate this short and easy read. I actually almost have up on it because this first time I tried reading it I got confused by the characters and went to sleep! But I tried again and I read the whole thing in one sitting!

What's great about this book is that on the surface it's a simple story. A couple of black South African kids travel to the city in search of their mom because their younger sister is sick. Seems simple enough, right? Well, you get to know and begin to care about the two kids quickly. After a series of adventures, they end up finding their mom and return to the village. Together they manage to get medical help for their sister. On the surface it's a simple story.

In reality, if you dig deeper, you will learn that this was a journey of self-discovery and awareness for them. They learned firsthand about apartheid because in Johannesburg they experienced it! They finally saw what their mother's job is like. They accidentally got on the white bus and were yelled at and were told they were stupid. They meet a girl who introduced them to the idea of freedom. They realized that there is a lot about South Africa that they don't know, which their schools are not teaching them.

3) Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. I had a lump in my throat throughout much of this novel and the ending absolutely brought tears to my eyes. It's a sad but beautiful story of a Sudanese refugee named Kek. Kek flees Sudan and is "resettled" in Minneapolis, where his aunt and cousin have already been living for a while. The book documents his adjustment to the U.S. and really, I think, captures just how emotionally difficult it is to leave your country because you have to, not because you want to. Kek is a great character and his optimism is heartwarming but it's so incredibly sad to watch him kind of "grow up" and become more like his cousin.

If you end up checking any of them out, let me know what you think!