Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel.
Do not miss this book when it is published next week. It's a must read and book clubs will love it. Its comparison to books such as The Help and The Secret Life of Bees is spot on - if you loved those books, you'll love this one. To think that it is a debut novel is all the more amazing.
The book is set in South Africa in the 1970s, when Apartheid rules. The story is told in two voices - Robin, a young white girl, growing up in relative privilege. She has a beloved Black maid, her father is a mine boss, and she loves her tomboy life. The race difference is just assumed and engrained in her world. Beauty is the other voice - a widow with two young boys at home in a rural village. Life is hard and she sent her 18 year old daughter out of the village and to Johannesburg for schooling. She gets word that Nomsa has gone missing and travels to find her. These two characters' lives intersect - Robin is living with her aunt and Beauty is hired to watch her. They try to create new lives and new bonds.
This is a stunning book - Robin's chapters are filled with humor and a view of the world through a child's eyes, while Beauty is such an amazing, positive soul who refuses to give up hope of finding her daughter.
The ending leaves hope that there will be another book to continue this story and I can't wait. Do not miss this book - it is inspirational.
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