OUT OF SHADOWS by Jason Wallace (Holiday House 2011) is the story of Robert's first year in a new school in Zimbabwe in the 1980s. The war is over and Mugabe is now the president of the former Rhodesia. Robert is attending a private school for boys in a country still reeling from the war and the racial hatred that, unfortunately, bubbles near the surface still. For the first time, Robert witnesses bullying and violence and brutality at the hands of his classmates. When he sticks up for one of the few black students, he places himself at odds with his classmates. He has been taught by his father that men are equal, but Robert does not know how much stock to put in his father's assertions. This is a disturbing examination of racism and hatred that runs deep and explodes into violence with little provocation. <474>
Pair this one with PAPER COVERS ROCK and LOOKING FOR ALASKA for books that are set in private schools for boys. Pair it with other books set in the aftermath of war for a different ladder.
No comments:
Post a Comment