Winner of The Branford Boase Award 2015 Leopold Blue is an emotionally taut and beautifully written story from debut author, Rosie Rowell with a mesmerising voice. Meg Bergman lives in rural South Africa, is fifteen and fed up until 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. This coming-of-age story about family, friendship and first romance is incredibly tense and will touch upon all manner of emotions.
Branford Boase Chair and Lovereading expert reviewer, Julia Eccleshare with the winning author Rosie Rowell, pictured.
A Piece of Passion from Emily Thomas, Publisher Not a book for the faint-hearted, Leopold Blue is set in 1980s South Africa, at a time when AIDS was rife and nationwide fear had left its people frozen. And in the midst of this horror, teenager Meg is battling with her changing self. Her courageous AIDS-campaigner mother is nothing but a major embarrassment, and all Meg wants is to fit in, to not feel different, and to get away from her family. When exotic and devil-may-care Xanthe arrives at school, Meg seizes the chance to befriend her, and to be seduced by Xanthe's seemingly unshakeable self-belief and independence. By the story's end, Meg comes to realise the value of her mother's stance, and the harm her own woeful selfishness could have caused her. It is beautifully written, evocative and not afraid to portray its characters as humanly dislikeable. It also smartly brings a shocking historical neglect to the fore of its readers mind. Wonderful.
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