A breathtaking YA novel set in Zimbabwe about freedom, inter-generational friendships and forgiving the past. Tumi desperately wants to make the Zimbabwean national swimming team. Only in swimming does he escape the hatred and exclusion that his albinism brings him. But when he has to stay with his grandmother for a while, the trauma of the terrible thing that happened to him comes rushing back. Can Ambuya reassure Tumi by revealing her own shocking past - a story riddled with racial hatred in war-torn Rhodesia, featuring murder and an illegal love? And what of Tumi's suspicions that she was involved in his nightmare? From the author of HOPE IS OUR ONLY WING.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12-18 years.

There are 384 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2020 by Hot Key Books .

Rutendo Nomsa Tavengerwei lived and studied in Zimbabwe until the age of eighteen, when she moved to South Africa to study Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has just completed a Masters at the World Trade Institute, and is now working at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Rutendo has always loved to write and received tutorials from her father from the age of nine. HOPE IS OUR ONLY WING is her debut novel. Rutendo says, 'When I wrote Hope I wanted to tell a story with a message. A story that doesn't underplay how hard life can be, but also doesn't underestimate how hope can inspire the will to go on. Most of all, I wanted to share a story about my home, Zimbabwe. I hope that as you read it, you'll get angry, you'll laugh, you'll get shocked and perhaps even cry at times. But I hope you remember through all that emotion that hope is our only wing!'