Out Of Bounds - Softcover

Naidoo, Beverley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141309695 ISBN 13: 9780141309699

Publisher: Puffin, 2001

Synopsis

A collection of short stories - four previously published and three new - linked by the theme of young people experiencing personal dilemmas. All are set in South Africa, first under apartheid and then after the first democratic elections. They cover the period from 1950 to 2000 and reflect the lives of a range of young people, black and white, living in what was for many years seen as the world's most openly racist society.

About this title

About the Author

Beverley Naidoo is from South Africa but has lived in England for many years. She has worked as a lecturer and an adviser in cultural diversity. She is perhaps best-known for the award-winning book, JOURNEY TO JO'BURG, which has been translated intomany languages. NO TURNING BACK was shortlisted for The Guardian Prize, and her most recent novel, THE OTHER SIDE OF TRUTH won the Silver Medal in the Smarties Book prize. Beverley now lives in Bournemouth.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-This powerful collection takes readers on a sometimes harrowing journey through the nightmare that was apartheid South Africa. The stories take place at various times between 1948, the year that marks the beginning of apartheid, through 2000. The main characters, who come from different ethnic and economic groups, are all children, and Naidoo's reliance on a child's perspective ensures that the material remains emotionally manageable. The author's touch is deft and sure, as she captures the ordinary details of life, along with the racism displayed in the speech and attitudes of white South Africans. In one of the most wrenching stories, "The Noose," a boy of mixed race relates how on his birthday his father was reclassified "African," thus imperiling not only his job, but even his ability to live with his family. Other stories tell of the white daughter of politically progressive parents who is trying to negotiate the racist world of her friend's parents, and a black African girl whose grandmother is drawn into helping her activist granddaughter during the Soweto uprising of 1976. The final story, about a middle-class boy of Indian descent who comes to feel a connection to a child living in a neighboring squatter settlement, leaves readers with the hope that human kindness will eventually triumph over the divisions among people. A time line of apartheid laws linked to the stories helps to establish the social and political context. As well as enriching any study of Southern Africa or human rights, Out of Bounds will be embraced by children seeking to expand their understanding of the world and other people.
Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0141309695
• ISBN 13: 9780141309699
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160