Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet
Select a format:
Paperback ©2022--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Consortium
Annotation: In the final years of South Africa's Apartheid era, an unlikely trio - a sheltered white rugby player, a black farmworker's son, and an Indian shopkeeper's daughter - discover the consequences of knowing the truth and having the courage to speak it. One sexual assault and a nation at war with itself collide in this timely, edifying coming-of-age novel about a tumultuous period in South Africa's history and being a teen in a society rampant with racial and sexual violence.
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #6709699
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Consortium
Copyright Date: 2022
Edition Date: 2022 Release Date: 01/11/22
Pages: 454 pages
ISBN: 1-946395-55-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-946395-55-9
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2021940057
Dimensions: 21 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

Three teens from different backgrounds share a secret and form life-changing friendships.Pete is a 15-year-old White boy in 1986 South Africa whose father is a manager at a coal mine. One night, when out for a run, Pete crosses paths with Petrus, a Black farmhand's son who happens to be in the same area. Witnessing a crime in progress, they save Sarita, an Indian girl whose family owns a shop, from a violent sexual assault by White farmer Rudie. Over a period of months, Rudie blackmails them, threatening violence against Pete's mother, saying he will reveal that the boys were trespassing on a territorial White landowner's property, and suggesting they were engaging in interracial gay sex. These events take place in the final years of the apartheid era as protests to bring about changes in society are increasing in urgency. Although Pete's perspective is the primary one, the bonds between the three friends open their eyes to the different realities of the segregated worlds they come from and broaden their minds to embrace new possibilities. From the opening pages, Barnard sets an intriguing tone and fast pace. What follows is a thrilling, tension-filled story of friendship, love, radicalism, and justice that will resonate with many readers, although younger readers unfamiliar with the setting will benefit from learning more about the history and context.A heart-wrenching coming-of-age story. (glossary) (Fiction. 14-adult)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 5.0
Interest Level: 7-12

In the final years of South Africa's Apartheid era, an unlikely trio - a sheltered white rugby player, a black farmworker's son, and an Indian shopkeeper's daughter - discover the consequences of knowing the truth and having the courage to speak it. One sexual assault and a nation at war with itself collide in this timely, edifying coming-of-age novel about a tumultuous period in South Africa's history and being a teen in a society rampant with racial and sexual violence.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.