Bound To Stay Bound

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Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2016 In 1976, Joshua lives with his mother in Cape Town, South Africa, although he’s legally supposed to be living in a black homeland with his grandparents. His mother’s employer, Mrs. Malherbe, who’s already dealing with an abusive husband, turns a blind eye to the legal implications and isn’t above taking advantage of the extra set of hands. Joshua unknowingly complicates his situation when he brings home an injured stranger who is on the run from the police; the fugitive, activist Tsumalo, befriends Joshua and tells him about the anti-apartheid cause. Unfortunately, Tsumalo is nearby when Mr. Malherbe attacks his wife, and after saving her life Tsumalo is blamed for the attack and shot by the police. A raging Joshua is whisked away by Tsumalo’s colleague to a rebel training camp in Angola. Eventually, Joshua makes his way back to Cape Town to bomb a shopping mall for the anti-apartheid forces, and there he wrestles with his conscience over whether perpetrating violence makes him as culpable as the bigots he’s fighting. In this slim, tightly constructed novel, Warman stays true to the narrow perspective of the naive country boy observing an uprising in a city he scarcely knows. For readers who lack context for the 1970s South African civil rights struggle, however, the dizzying speed at which events transpire without explanation may be baffling. Even the author’s concluding note, in which she speaks of her experiences as a privileged white girl in apartheid South Africa, offers more personal commentary than factual background. Middle-schoolers who are intrigued by Joshua’s situation, however, should have little difficulty finding material to make sense of this gripping drama. A glossary is included. EB - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 04/15/2016 In this novel, Warman, a South Africa–born journalist, draws upon personal experience with the apartheid era. In 1976, Joshua lives with his mother, who works as a maid in the house of the Malherbes, a wealthy white family. His awareness of the events that will change the shape of South Africa’s history is scant, but it rapidly grows when he and his mother harbor Tsumalo, an agitator in the fight for change. Joshua bears witness to a frightful event, one that pits the powerful Mr. Malherbe against Tsumalo and sends Joshua away from the city to join the fight for his long-deserved freedom. The succinct and specific prose will transport readers to a pivotal moment in time. Readers unfamiliar with South African history may wish to supplement the text, for the spare portrayal of background events may not provide enough context for some readers. Through a child’s eyes, Warman perfectly captures the discovery of white privilege and the intentional creation of two distinct worlds just as their dividers come crumbling down. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.

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