Boy vs. Girl (20 page)

There is no time to look for rain clouds here. There is no point. Now we live to die, not to sow seeds and help cows give birth to calves that will one day pay roora for daughters yet to come. Now my home is the bush and my family is my comrades. My bed changes every night as we follow the signs left for us by the savannah.

Some days nothing happens, other days the earth shakes to the rhythm of land mines, limbs are lost, blood is spilled and my heart cannot stop flooding with terror. But I am strong, like my mother, and I cry my tears on the inside.

Will I ever see my home again? I do not know.

Will I ever see my father again? I do not know.

Will life ever be the same again? I do not know.

But it comforts me, comforts me and pains me, to think of how it came to this, how I came to call the bush my home.

So I will think of it now. I will remember everything that happened and try to comfort myself. And ease the pain of exile under this unfamiliar sky.

 

What causes fourteen-year-old Tariro to leave the home she loves so much?

And how is her fate entwined with that of Katie, another fourteen-year-old who loses her family farm in Zimbabwe in 2000?

A home called Zimbabwe
is the tense and gripping story of how two girls, though separated by race and time, are destined to play their own part in Zimbabwe's turbulent history.

 

Also for teens,
by Naima B Robert

 

From Somalia, with love

My name is Safia Dirie. My family has always been my mum, Hoyo, and my two older brothers, Ahmed and Abdullahi. I don't really remember Somalia – I'm an East London girl. But now Abo, my father, is coming to live with us after 12 long years. How am I going to cope?

Safia knows there will be changes ahead, but nothing has prepared her for the reality of dealing with Abo's cultural expectations, her favourite brother Ahmed's wild ways and the temptation of her cousin Firdous's party-girl lifestyle. Safia must come to terms with who she is – as a Muslim, as a poet, as a teenager, as a friend, and, most of all, as a daughter to the father she has never known. Safia must find her own place in the world, so that both father and daughter can start to build the relationship they long for.
From Somalia, with love
is one girl's quest to discover who she is – a story rooted in Somali and Muslim life, that will strike a chord with teenagers everywhere.

 

Praise for
From Somalia, with Love

“Warm, engaging and intensely thought-provoking…”
Carousel

“Has relevance for anybody affected by frictions between age and group loyalties. That must include all of us.”
Books for Keeps

“Vivid and sympathetic”
IBBY Link

“A lovely story about being a teenager with two different cultures, and trying to find out who you are.”
Wellington City Libraries, New Zealand

 

Naima B Robert
is descended from Scottish Highlanders on her father's side and the Zulu people on her mother's side. She was born in Leeds, brought up in Zimbabwe, and went on to university in London. At High School her loves included the performing arts, public speaking, and writing stories that shocked her teachers!

Her debut novel for teens was warmly received by reviewers.
School Librarian
said: “The strong story of Safia's quest to discover who she is will strike a resonance with many of today's teenagers.” Her picture book
Ramadan Moon
, with Shirin Adl, was also enthusiastically received. “With its flowing text and striking illustrations, it captures the excitement and ethos that underlie the principles of Ramadan.” (
Books for Keeps
)

Naima divides her time between London and Cairo, and dreams of living on a farm with her own horses. Until then she is happy to be a mum to her four children, and to keep reading and writing books that take her to a different world each time.

Find out more about what she's up to by visiting
www.naimabrobert.co.uk