This week’s book stack is a pile of locally written teen reads… I love how the authors incorporate the South African personality, and culture. There is loads of very relatable moments between the pages of these books. I really enjoyed this selection… from heart wrenching, to somewhat sinister… there is something for everyone here.
All of these books are available in English and Afrikaans. This is a great oppertunity for students that “have to” read Afrikaans books for school to enjoy the drama of Afrikaans literature (even translated into English), in their own language. Afrikaans teen novelists have not bought into the Disney happy ending that English speaking writers seem to have, so there is always pain, there are miscommunications and misery, and just a little hope to keep you going.
Bravo! Charlie
This is an Afrikaans teen read, and superb. Charlie Flets is an ordinary 17 year old high schooler in a small South Africa Town. Charlie is a high school track star, he has an older sister, a mom who is a hairdresser and his dad is a pilot. His dad happens to bring the stress to the book, because he is trapped in South Sudan throughout the story. Charlie tries to keep his school work on track and his training consistent but the stress of the bullying his best friend is getting, not to mention his father, is enormous. Lot’s of difficult topics are raised and addressed in this book, not to mention Charlie’s beloved dog goes missing… Charlie has a difficult time and works hard to stay true to the high standards that he has set for himself. I loved this book and the nostalgic vibe, reminded me very much of my own high school days. Another excellent read from Lapa Uitgewers.
Breathe
An excellent, local teen read from Jan Vermeulen..
This is the story of Barries Barnard, who hates his father with a vengeance, since his father abandoned him as a small child. Barries life is unraveling faster than you can say “drug dealer,” and after a night of extremely wild revelling, the policeman who arrests him and sends him away to the Eastern Cape, to stay with his father, before he can get into any worse trouble. Not realising that Barries has rat poison in his bag, for the father he hates. This is an excellent read, and very much a case of “better the devil you know,” when he starts to get to know his father a little better, things start to change for Barries… not necessarily for the better. This is very a much a case of possibly too little too late. Excellent teen read, 100% recommend, especially since it tackles a variety of difficult topics that our teens are facing.
The 13th Day of Chengdu
This is the story of Hugo, who moves the the city of Chengdu with his mom. This book is for younger teens, and a really enjoyable read. There is a lot of adjusting and getting used to when you travel the world to live in a completely different part of the world. Hugo, is pretty nervous about all the new things he has to figure out on a daily basis, and on top of that he is also extremely superstitious. The elevator in his apartment block keeps stopping on floor 13, this is extremely challenging, especially since it appears that something sinister might have happened on floor 13. This is a mystery that needs to be solved, while Hugo is adjusting to a wildly different world. Enjoyed this suspenseful read.
Slaying in Sedgefield
This is a teen/young adult thriller from the local author that introduced this “tense local genre” in her previous book, the Witches of Hogsback. The main protagonists, from the first book are reunited as they meet up on a teen getaway on a private island Sedgefield. Right from the start, things don’t align well, there is pettiness and infighting, squabbling and cliques. Zelda is somewhat unsettled, to say the least… then there communications are cut-off, and a raging wildfire means that they can’t return to the mainland. And while Zelda and her best friend, Song, are trying to figure out how to survive, bodies start piling up… there is a killer on the island and nobody can be trusted. There are a lot of characters iin this book, all completely unique, and none of them last long… yikes. This is tense reading, at its best. Perfect for teens who think “reading is boring,” but have to read a book for school… it is short and sharp, and anything but boring!!!
All of these books are available in English and Afrikaans and were given to us for review purposes by Lapa Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.