Malla Nunn

When the Ground is Hard is a YA novel set in Swaziland in the 1960s, (now known as eSwatini), mainly at the Keziah Christian Academy, a boarding school for mixed-raced children. The author was born in Swaziland before moving to Australia in the 1970s and in fact attended the school herself along with many of her family members.

Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa and is landlocked by South Africa and Mozambique to the north. Swaziland was a British high commission territory from 1903 to 1968, when it regained independence. Eswatini is the only absolute monarchy in Africa, currently ruled by King Mswati III. The majority of the population are Swazis and speak Swazi (siSwati). Swaziland did not officially have the legal Apartheid system as in South Africa but as a British protectorate there were strongly entrenched divides and economic differences between the racial groups with oppression and disenfranchisement being routine.

The main character in the book is teenager Adele Joubert, who lives with her mixed raced mother and brother Rian in Swaziland, with occasional visits from her white father who lives in South Africa with his wife and other family. In a school where the children are ranked according to wealth and colour, Adele is used to being one of the popular and powerful girls at school along with her friend Delia and “The Pretties.” She is disheartened and ashamed to find her position supplanted by a wealthier, whiter girl. She is forced to sit at the back of the bus next to Lottie Diamond, who she looks down on as poor and low class. With time the brave and fiesty Lottie challenges Adele to rethink her views on a system that treats people differently according to race and money rather than their actions. The two girls bond over reading Jane Eyre and stand together against bullies and hardships. Adele slowly learns to understand and appreciate her black roots.

The title comes from a beautiful African proverb “When the ground is hard, the women dance,” giving us a spark of hope in times of suffering. I really enjoyed this YA novel and think it would make a great class read.… (mais)

Representation: Biracial main character, Black main character
Trigger warnings: Physical abuse, death of a child

7.5/10, this was another amazing book by Malla Nunn, she definitely deserves the award she got, she earned it, previously I read Sugar Town Queens by the same author which I enjoyed more than this however this was a delightful book with its positives outnumbering its flaws so where do I even begin? I really liked the dynamic between Adele and Lottie, they make a great pair together, despite their differences, and they get along most of the time. I liked Adele because she experienced character development (turning from a girl with a sense of inflated ego to a rebel who can stand up for herself), which is always a good thing in books. These characters lived hard lives, just because they were biracial, and had to experience a lot of racism but they still managed to overcome that, showing their resilience. Definitely recommended if you want a historical novel with well-made characters and dynamics.… (mais)

Representation: Black characters, biracial main character
Trigger warnings: Racism

7/10, this book is actually in two of the libraries I got to but I went to the latter one since I couldn't borrow that from the former one due to reasons, anyway, this was an enjoyable read and since then I have read one more book from this author which I liked as well but even after all that it still isn't one of the best books I ever read but it's not bad either, where do I even begin? Did I mention this won a Children's Book Council of Australia Award in 2022, this deserves it but the other awarded books are just meh... It starts with the main character Amandla living her life in a poor town in South Africa and her mother Annalisa tells her that if she does certain rituals then her father will come back. The truth is Amandla's father has been gone since the beginning and both she and Annalisa only have hazy memories of him then the book cuts to a scene where Amandla is with her two other friends Lil Bit and Goodness toward the middle of the book which is where the suspense starts to build here. Afterwards, the story centres around the mystery of Annalisa's family which spans the latter half of the book, in the end, Amandla and the other characters finally solve it by exposing a person for his racist acts ending this on a high note.… (mais)

La palabra «ex» marca la vida de Emmanuel ­Cooper: ex soldado, ex oficial de la policía judicial, ex hombre blanco. Para ganarse la vida, Cooper se dedica a vigilar en secreto el sórdido puerto de Durban. Pero todo cambia cuando el brutal asesinato de un niño lo obligue a salir de entre las sombras y deba esquivar a la policía para llevar a cabo su propia investigación extraoficial. En poco tiempo se producen otros dos asesinatos similares y Cooper se convierte en el principal sospechoso. Se sumerge en los bajos fondos de Durban en busca de respuestas y descubre que los asesinatos son parte de una conspiración internacional por el control político de Sudáfrica. Con la presión de las nuevas leyes de ­segregación racial, deberá encontrar al asesino antes de que la policía de Durban le cargue a él con la culpa de esos crímenes.… (mais)