There is a lot in this book. It is divided into three parts.
In Part I, the story is told by Tariro, a 14-year-old girl in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time, 1964). She loves her family and her home, in the fertile land around the great baobab tree where her ancestors had lived for generations. But white settlers claim more and more land, eventually shuffling her tribe to a barren resettlement area in order to hand the fertile land to white farmers. Her life becomes a misery, capped off by being raped by the brutal white man who had always done the most harm to her people. In spite of herself, she loves the baby within her.
In Part II, the story jumps to 2000 in Zimbabwe. On that same land, around that same baobab tree, 14-year-old Katie and her white family farm the land, as they have for many years. It is the only home she has ever known. But it is a time of political turmoil, and land owned by white people is being taken and redistributed, back to the black tribes from whom the land was stolen so many years ago. Katie and her family are eventually forced to leave. Sent to London, which they all hate.
In Part III, the connection between Tariro and Katie finally becomes clear. I made many guesses as I read how they would end up being related, and one of my guesses was correct, but I had several wrong ones too.
It's a powerful story of justice vs. injustice, compassion vs. brutality, racism vs. love for fellow man, and what "home" and "family" really mean. ( )

Reading this, in particular Tariro's story, put me in mind of "Shabanu," similarly giving a strong sense of place and time and the importance of the relationship of Tariro's people to the land. Katie's story was disturbing in that the white Zimbabweans' beliefs about blacks is so at odds with what I know and my own beliefs. This also reveals a history and culture many young people are not familiar with and does so in a compelling way. ( )

Katie and Tariro's worlds are linked by a terrible secret. 14-year-old Tariro loves her ancestral home in Zimbabwe, especially the baobab tree she was born beneath, and the boy she wants to marry; Nhamo. Tragedy strikes when the white settlers arrive, and her world is violently turned upside down. Thirty-five years later, 14-year-old Katie is the daughter of a white settler living on a farm with its baobab tree. Her life is fantastic, until the family are forced to flee to cold, rainy London.

The turbulent history of Zimbabwe is brought to life in this unforgettable and sensatively told story. It gave an insight into the history as news reports cannot. Highly recommended. ( )