LoveReading4Kids Says
September 2017 Debut of the Month | In a Nutshell: Circus girl searches for roots amidst real-world cruelties
A dazzlingly powerful kaleidoscope of magic realism, folklore and the brutalities of people-trafficking in which a fourteen-year-old circus girl seeks to uncover her identity.
As a baby, Sante was washed up with a chest containing a bamboo flute and a leopard skin drum, and welcomed into Mama Rose’s travelling circus. Fourteen years later, still haunted by dreams of the sinking ship, and of those who furnished her with special objects to see her through life, Sante recognises two people from her dreams during a performance. “It's her all right. She plays just like Mamadou used to”, one of them remarks. But how do these people know her? Why does she dream of them? And who is Mamadou? Reluctant at first, Mama Rose reveals that Sante’s trunk also contained other treasures, including a note from her mother. With the strangers set on claiming Sante’s riches, she and snake charmer Cobra decide to discover the truth for themselves.
Throughout, Sante’s story sings with the hauntingly potent voice of the human spirit as it combines timely, poignant truths about refugees with timeless storytelling. This really is a triumphant, thought-provoking treasure trove of a novel. ~ Joanne Owen
LoveReading4Kids
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A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars Synopsis
A powerful, haunting, contemporary debut that steps seamlessly from the horrors of people-trafficking to the magic of African folklore, by an award-winning Ghanaian-British filmmaker. Sante was a baby when she was washed ashore in a sea-chest laden with treasure. It seems she is the sole survivor of the tragic sinking of a ship carrying migrants and refugees. Her people. Fourteen years on she's a member of Mama Rose's unique and dazzling circus. But, from their watery grave, the unquiet dead are calling Sante to avenge them: A bamboo flute. A golden bangle. A ripening mango which must not fall... if Sante is to tell their story and her own. Rich in the rhythms and colours of Africa and glittering circus days. Unflinching in its dark revelations about life. Yaba Badoe's novel is beautiful and cruel and will linger long in the memory.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781786695482 |
| Publication date: |
7th September 2017 |
| Author: |
Yaba Badoe |
| Publisher: |
Zephyr an imprint of Head of Zeus |
| Format: |
Hardback |
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Yaba Badoe Press Reviews
Praise for True Murder:
'The intimacy and uncertainty of adolescence is strongly evoked' Guardian.
'The novel surges with raw emotion: guilt, love, betrayal, loss - and treachery' Daily Mail.
'An action-packed chiller steeped in the passions and potential darkness of childhood' Sunday Telegraph
About Yaba Badoe
Yaba Badoe is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer. Yaba was born in Ghana but now lives in London with her husband. She has been nominated for the Distinguished Woman of African Cinema award. Her children's novel, Branford Boase shortlisted A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars, Wolf Light and Jhalak Prize longlisted and Edward Stanford Children's Travel Book of the Year shortlisted Lionheart Girl are published by Zephyr. Yaba is a judge for the Jhalak Prize 2023.
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