The Other Side of Truth - Softcover

Beverley Naidoo,Beverley Naidoo

3.75

2,903 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141304766 ISBN 13: 9780141304762

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 2000

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Other Side of Truth

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About the Author:

South African author Beverley Naidoo was exiled from her home country when she was a student in 1965, for campaigning against apartheid. Her first children's novel, JOURNEY TO JO'BURG, was banned in South Africa when it was published in 1985 and only available there after the release of Nelson Mandela from jail in 1991. It was however published in many other countries around the world and widely praised for its eloquent, moving and accessible story. Her later novel, THE OTHER SIDE OF TRUTH, won the Carnegie Medal in 2000 and she has written many other acclaimed books for children. Beverley lives in the UK.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 5-8-With political insight, sensitivity, and passion, Naidoo presents the harrowing story of two Nigerian children caught in the civil strife of their beloved homeland in the mid-1990s. Eighth-grader Sade Solaja and her fifth-grade brother, Femi, are hastily stowed out of Nigeria after their mother is shot and killed by assassins' bullets meant for their outspoken journalist father. The children are abandoned in London and are unable to locate their uncle, a university professor who has been threatened and has gone into hiding. Picked up first by the police and then by immigration authorities, the youngsters remain silent, afraid to reveal their true names and background. They are placed in a foster home where kindness does not relieve their loneliness and alienation. School is a frightening plunge into Western culture, relaxed discipline, ethnic harassment, and peer intimidation. When their father, who has illegally entered the country, contacts them from a detention center, the children are jubilant. However, their excitement is overshadowed by his imprisonment and subsequent hunger strike. Sade enacts a plan to tell "Mr. Seven O'Clock News" her father's story. Public attention and support follow, prompting his release. Tension and hope alternately drive the story as Sade and Femi grapple with an avalanche of decisions, disappointments, and discoveries. Traditions temper Sade's despair as she remembers times at Family House in Ibadan, and her mother's quiet admonition to be true to yourself. Through these compelling characters, Naidoo has captured and revealed the personal anguish and universality of the refugee experience.

Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC

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