Leopold Blue

By Author / Illustrator

Rosie Rowell

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Hot Key Books

ISBN

9781471401251

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

02-01-2014

Synopsis

A tense and moving South African coming-of-age story about family, friendship and first romanceMeg Bergman is fifteen and fed up. She lives in a tiny town in rural 1990s South Africa - a hot-bed of traditionalism, racial tension and (in Meg's eyes) ordinariness. Meg has no friends either, due largely to what the community sees as her mother's interfering attempts to educate farm workers about AIDS. But one day Xanthe arrives - cool, urban, feisty Xanthe, who for some unknown reason seems to want to hang out with Meg.Xanthe arrives into Meg's life like a hurricane, offering her a look at a teenage life she never knew existed. But cracks quickly begin to show in their friendship when Meg's childhood friend Simon returns from his gap year travels. LEOPOLD BLUE is an emotionally taut and beautifully written story from a debut author with a mesmerising voice.

Reviews

Living in a tiny rural town in South Africa, 15 year old Meg Bergman is fed up of the traditionalist values and racial tension her self-proclaimed 'despair' of a town possesses. In the midst of South Africa's political and social change in the 1990's, Meg's teenage anxieties and angst are catalysed even further as she is made to feel like an outsider of her town and family. Yet as she is introduced to the new girl at school Xanthe, Meg believes her rebellious friend will lead her to the adventurous and exciting life she has been longing for. However as Meg gets caught up in Xanthe's world, she also finds herself tangled in the web of adolescent betrayal and heart break. Despite being set in the unfamiliar (to me) setting of South Africa, I connected with Meg's character as she felt like a flashback of my viewpoint as a teenager. Rosie Rowell has exceeded in capturing the voice of a teenage girl, which I feel many adolescent readers internationally would be able to relate too. Yet what sets aside Rowell's coming of age novel is the underlying education of the social and political history of South Africa. The alteration of Meg's attitude and opinions as the novel progresses synthesises with the changes in the social and political order of that time. Combined with the beautifully vivid descriptions of South Africa's landscape, Leopold Blue is a great read for those seeking engaging characters within a factual portrait of history. 272 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Sarah McInerney