Abela

by Berlie Doherty

När Abela står ensam, utan framtid i den afrikanska byn, kan inte göra annat än lita på sin morbror. Han lovar att ordna arbete åt henne i England. Men det är knappast av välvilja utan snarare för egen vinning. För det som väntar Abela är ett både omänskligt och ovärdigt slit.

I det nya landet finns Rosa - en lika älskad som bortskämd flicka. Men dagen när hon får veta att familjen vill adoptera ett syskon förändras allt. Rosa bestämmer sig för att sätta sig på tvären.

Genres: Africa, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Adoption, Fiction, Childrens, Tanzania

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Berlie Doherty née Hollingsworth is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for children's books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal.She has also written novels for adults, plays for theatre and radio, television series and libretti for children's opera.

Reviews

[Daniyal Ghani (Dan) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything about this book is great, the characters, the emotions , the feelings everything.
This book have a full life of two girls who are struggling with their own problems.
Abela, the intelligent yet unlucky.
Rosa, the girl with the fear of losing his mother's love.

It was seriously a good book to read, easy and fully defined each and every topic.

[Agneta Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I didn't like the writing style but as the story progressed it one of the most relevant novels. Abela is so optimistic and innocent, it was a wonderful story to tell

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abela is just 9 years old and she has already lost her father, mother and baby sister to the AIDS epidemic that is sweeping through her village in Tanzania. With her uncle scheming to get back to England she soon finds herself living in a strange country with a virtual stranger and her life will never be the same again. At 13 Rosa is the only child of a single mother living in Sheffield. When her mother announces that she wants to adopt a child from Africa she is horrified - why would her mother want another daughter? Isn't she good enough? Can Rosa come to terms with the idea of someone else joining her family and will Abela be able to get away from her Uncle and his plans for her?

As I reviewed this book as part of a campaign to raise awareness about HIV & AIDS to coincide with World AIDS Day I'm going to kick off the review talking about the beginning of the story while Abela is still in Africa. Berlie Doherty paints a vivid picture of life in Tanzania and does a great job of showing just how devastating the AIDS epidemic has been in Abela's village. Abela and her mother face a long and difficult journey just to get to the nearest hospital and the scenes when they get there brought tears to my eyes. It was heartbreaking to think that this is probably a reality that thousands are still facing every day.

The story is told from both Abela and Rosa's perspectives in alternating chapters. I have to say I found the switches between first & third person a little confusing at first but it didn't take me too long to get used to the writing style. At first I found myself getting very annoyed with Rosa and her selfish attitude towards adopting another child - especially when you're comparing her easy life to the hell that Abela is facing so stoically - but then I started thinking about how I would have reacted myself at her age and in her situation. I think her reaction was probably quite realistic and I enjoyed watching her thought process as she came to terms with the idea. Rosa really does a lot of growing up by the end of the story. Abela quickly earned a place in my heart, she has been through so much in her short life that it makes you desperate to see a happy ending for her. I think my only slight complaint about the story would be that I would have liked to have seen the ending through her eyes rather than Rosa's - I wanted to know what she thought of the situation she ended up in. That is only a minor issue though and definitely not worth making a big issue over.

Abela: The Girl Who Saw Lions touches on a lot of interesting topics that I've not come across much in YA fiction obviously AIDS being one of them but also child abuse, trafficking, immigration, fostering, adoption and multicultural families. It is a story that will break your heart into a thousand tiny pieces and although by the end it will put you back together again it will change you forever in the process. I'd highly recommend the story for both adults and teens and am definitely going to be looking out for more of Berlie Doherty's books in the future

[Greenglasses · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING. Just Amazing. Although this book was very predictable, Abela would get orphaned and end up in England and then get adopted by Rosa and her mum, it was still good. By the way I know it was like a spoiler but it basically says that in the blurb so ya.

[Rachel Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Everything about it. The plot, the characters, the format, the language, I loved every bit of it and I couldn't put it down!

This book follows the lives of Abela and Rose. Abela is a 9 year old African girl who lives in poverty in Tanzania. She has lost her mother, father and younger sister due to the epidemic of AIDS in her country. Her uncle comes and takes her away from her grandmother and sends her to England because he believes she will have a better life there. Her life is changed forever after many obstacles and struggles, she gets adopted. Rose is a 13 year old girl who happily lives in Sheffield with her mother and she is frustrated with the news that her mother wants to adopt a little girl. Little does she know, her new sister will soon become her new best friend.

I decided to read this book because it is about a girl who gets adopted, and my grandmother is adopted, so I thought it would be interesting to know what it's like. Also, when I picked it up off the shelf, someone came past me and told me they read it last year and it was a great book. I 100% agree.

The category on the bingo board that this book fits into is the category "A book that teaches you about another culture other than your own." I really likes this category, because to my surprise, it wasn't to hard to find a book to fit into it and it was very interesting. I loved reading about the differences in Abela and Rose's lives and how completely opposite they were!

My favourite quote from the book was just after Abela had found out about her sister death and she thought to herself; "And this was all a new thing for me to think about; to live or to die, to be sick or to be healthy, was it all a matter of chance? Could this be true?" I loved this quote, it really stood out for me because it's very though provoking. It made me realise how little people who live in poverty have and yet they still manage to carry on with life, just by thinking that life and death was about chance. I think that it re-enforced the kind of person that Abela is.

Something new I learnt from this book is not to take ANYTHING for granted, because everything can me taken away from you so quickly, just like what happened to Abela. She lost her mother, father and sister, then she was taken away from her only loving family member and all her friends and people she had grown to love. She was taken away from her life. She was forced into and unknown world of wealthy people who thought nothing of her. She had lost everything and she was only 9. I think this is a very important lesson to learn because people who don't have much to live by, still manage to live with a smile on their face, but people who have everything someone could ask for always find something to complain about and they don't realise how lucky they are.

A character in this book that was interesting to me was Miss Carrington. She was a woman who saw Abela while she was visiting Africa and she gave her money to buy medicine, and she was also one of the social workers in England. I loved Miss Carrignton because she was such a lovely person who did her best to understand what Abela had gone through and she tried her best to relate to her, even though it was hard. She helped Abela in every way possible and I think she is a very courageous and inspiring character.

I give this book 5 out of 5! Highly recommend to anyone! (This book is also called "Abela" as well as "The Girl Who Saw Lions.")

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: Black, Asian and biracial (half Black and half white, half Black and half Asian) characters
Trigger warnings: Adoption, physical and terminal illness, death of parents and children, grief and loss depiction
Score: Five points out of ten.
I own this book.

I got Abela by Berlie Doherty from a library giveaway. I read it later and was disappointed.
Abela is an example of blackface and cultural appropriation.

It starts with Abela and Rosa. Abela lived in an impoverished Tanzanian village infected with HIV/AIDS. Many died. That felt like shock value. I see Rosa's perspective with her white mother later.

The characters are relate with. Abela went through hardship to find a foster family after her biological parents died. The narrative is too disjointed because it switches between POVs every second chapter. It didn't work here.

Abela first resides at her social worker's house, but she is abusive. So, she has to move to white family. She had to leave them. She stayed with a British Nigerian family. However, cultural differences caused her to exit swiftly.

Rosa's mother considered adding an adoptive child to her family. Rosa was chagrined. Rosa once had an adoptive brother but his biological father wanted him back.

Abela stayed at Rosa and Rosa's mother's house, making that her fourth foster family. Rosa's family felt like white saviours. Doherty could've made Abela stay at a British Tanzanian family. A Black author would've done better.

[Joanne Balharrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The Girl Who Saw Lions is a middle-grade book dealing with a lot of complex and deeply emotional issues, including HIV and adoption. The novel follows Rosa and Abela, two young girls who are dealing with their own lives and issues before eventually being tied together.

I thought the way the novel dealt with these issues was very skilled. This book is clearly one for use in schools, providing a springboard for discussions and a place to consider opinions and personal reactions. There was enough detail to provide an inkling of what was going on and what had happened, but not too much to be depressing to younger readers. A reader would be able to go on and talk to the adults in their life and learn more about these hardships of life. They’re not something that you would particularly like to talk to children about, especially the treatment Abela receives at the hands of her uncle, but it is something that they need to learn about at some point in their life.

That being said, the treatment Abela receives is horrific. The contrast with Rosa’s life helps illustrate this fact, presenting a clear distinction between the difficulties faced in the Western world with those of Africa. The novel helps to teach more about the way the world works and to think beyond one’s own life into how you can help someone else who may be struggling more than yourself.

Rosa’s character, for this reason, was tough to like at first. The sheer contrast between herself and Abela in terms of their reactions to their hardships made it difficult to get attached to Rosa. The fact that Abela is a few years younger than Rosa as well made it even harder to like her, as Abela was nowhere near as stroppy as the latter. The language used by her was also quite childish and did not seem to fit with the rest of her character. However, the contrast between the two of them helped to break up Abela’s narrative and provide a short moment of less drama (although it still contained dramatic elements for sure).

All in all, I think this was a great children’s book. Novels like this, that can provide a platform for conversation alongside entertainment, are what I like most about children’s literature. Anything that can encourage further learning whilst also encouraging reading itself is great in my book (no pun intended).

5 stars.

[Richa Bhattarai · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a sweet, compassionate read (for children of around 8-14).


I hated it at first because I wrongly assumed it was adult fiction trying to talk down to me. But then I realized it was for children, and could begin to see its beauty, magic and warmth.


Abela lives in Tanzania, and is rooted to her home and customs. Rosa is in London, safe with her mother and grandparents. They are destined to meet. But how and where?


It’s like reading an Enid Blyton, or a Jacqueline Wilson. I would highly recommend it to parents trying to teach their children about the wider world, about privilege and freedom, sisterhood and sharing, adoption and race, and even female genital mutilation and AIDS. The novel carefully tries to weave all of these in. There’s also a little but significant surprise about Rosa’s identity that fits in beautifully.


Some things appear sanitized to me as an adult reader, but would have been a revelation if I’d read it earlier. The writer also makes serious attempts to present and respect the African culture.


I’m now going to hand this over to the the mother of a nearly-teenaged daughter I know, I’m sure she will like it.

[Meredith Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle-grade fiction: age 11-14. 4.5/5 stars.

A compelling middle-grade read, told from the dual perspectives of two girls whose lives are ultimately joined.

Thirteen-year-old Rosa lives is England with her single-parent mom and loves her life just the way it is. When Rosa’s mom announces her plans to adopt, Rosa feel hurt and rejected. Meanwhile, nine-year-old Abela lives in rural Tanzania, born into a family devastated by HIV. An illness whose effects young Abela cannot not comprehend. Still reeling from the deaths of her mom and baby sister, Abela’s uncle rips her away from her grandmother and home, trafficking her to England with the intention to sell her.

The treatment Abela suffers throughout the novel is disturbing, and it is the honesty of its content that makes The Girl Who Saw Lions such a relevant and moving read. The parallel storylines dramatically narrate Abela’s horrendous ordeal without dismissing Rosa’s own inner struggles as “insignificant by comparison.” And it is the equality of its storylines that make this read so deeply resonant for young readers. Abela’s ordeal is horrendous not because her life is being mirrored against Rosa’s developed-world upbringing—but because Abela’s ordeal truly is horrendous. This eye-opening and thought-provoking story will spark many questions in young readers, making it ideal for classroom settings and family discussions.

[Ailsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book at first - I thought it offered quite a reductive portrait of Tanzania, but further into the book it expanded this and showed the author really loved the country. My one real criticism is that Rosa is supposed to be thirteen, yet she has the emotional maturity of an eight year old. It was a little bit jarring, as were the constant changes in narrator mid-chapter. I did get sucked into it at the end though, and really grew to love Abela. I would recommend this book for children learning about Tanzania or immigration - it would stimulate some great classroom discussion about other countries, and how it would feel for a child moving to a new country. I just wish that Rosa was as young as she sounds!

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story of two very different cultures- Tanzania and England. A story of two very different girls who end up becoming sisters. Very relevant, current story!

[Paperback Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's about a quarter of the way through before the story actually gets moving. Quite a boring read for me.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much that I am going to buy a copy to keep and have on my shelf.

Really loved the mix of characters and differences of culture.

[Is Jem]

DISCLAIMER: I'm a white, British woman.

This is an interesting one. It's a middle grade novel for sure, and it deals with some tough AF topics, including racism, prejudice against people with AIDs, being orphaned, being used by grownups for monetary purposes, and genital mutilation. The last one was definitely the toughest one for me to read, partly because I straight up wasn't expecting it, and because it was the protag's beloved grandmother who made it happen, and because she's nine.

Most of the merit in this book was in the emotional impact, which chiefly comes across from Abela's half of the story. Abela was, overall, the more sympathetic and well drawn of the two narrators, and it felt very much like we were getting to follow Abela through all areas of her life... whereas the story we hear from Rosa is almost entirely narrowed to her feelings about her mother wanting to adopt another child.

The summary on GoodReads (and on the book jacket itself), is definitely misleading, as it suggests that it's about the two girls learning how to be sisters, when actually the two girls don't meet until the last chapter or so, and it's glossed over to the point that we don't see how any of their conversations go. An interesting story, but... a) not the one I signed up for and b) Rosa's honestly wasn't necessary. In regards to b) the book is even called 'The Girl Who Saw Lions', so... yeah, it's definitely an uneven story. Personally, I feel like she should've cut out Rosa's chapters, and used that word count to lengthen the story out so we got to see Abela becoming part of the family. It's also very strange to me that we don't get to see Abela's own reaction to her new life in her own words.

The way it's told was also extremely odd, as it flipped back between first person Rosa, first person Abela, and third person omniscient with no apparent rhyme or reason, often multiple times within a singular chapter. This was explains a little later in the book when it's suggested that the first person portions are actually extracts from both girls' journals, but.... why not just establish that from the start? It made the story puzzling and a little hard to read, and I thought about DNF because it was so odd.

On the one hand, this feels like an important book for MG children to read, even it is likely to upset them, as it's a way for children to learn about these kind of topics through a fictional avenue. On the other hand, the author is a British white woman writing from the POV of two black girls, one of whom is African, and... yeah, I'd prefer to rec a book that deals with similar topics to children which is #ownvoices. It just seems impossible to entirely avoid the #whitesaviourtrope when you're a white author writing about these things.

Unsure if I'd rec this book.

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The alternating stories of the two girls are both captivating and full of vivid and raw emotions. The author has a way of hiding details and revealing them in a surprising and effective manner (such as the ethnic background of Rosa.) My only slight concern is how the book ends with ROSA's side of the tale and not ABELA's -- the book is entitled The Girl Who Saw Lions, and its original British title even starts with ABELA's name as ABELA: THE GIRL WHO SAW LIONS. I really wished that the tale concludes with Abela's thoughts and reactions to her new life.

I really appreciate Doherty's stylistic experiment of alternating not just two narrative perspectives but within each section, there are both 3rd person and 1st person narrations. It's handled beautifully.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is powerful. It covers adoption, female circumcision, child slavery, AIDS, death, and the foster care system, all in a child-friendly format!
Seriously, this book had me in tears several times as I was reading it to my kids, because the amount of bad things that happened to this girl just kept piling up, but she is an amazing character. It was not upsetting to my kids at all, and provides a good opportunity to discuss things with them.

[Shafia Yousuf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't just feels like a story, but, like reading about a real life, because there are thousands of girls and boys just like Abela dying of hunger, diseases and poverty everyday and there is no way of escape for them, only if some outsider can come and give a helping hand.

Abela's every family members dies from diseases and she founds herself lost in England, because of his uncle, who went for some illegal stuff doing child traffic. Later on she was put for adoption and her uncle was banned to come to England.

On the other side of the story, there was this lovely woman, who wanted to adopt a tanzanian child, because of her deep and sensual affection for those people living there. There is a very lovely story about her that she once was in love with a tanzanian man and gave birth to her daughter, Rosa.

The story is all about Abela's strength and bravery, Rosa's love and acception and other poeple who somehow play a role in the sensitive age of their lifes.

MY POINT OF VIEW

• I loved the cencept and realism of the book. It teaches and shows alot of feelings and emotions we have missed to understand about all the needy people in the world. How much grief they have to go through, but theg still stay strong.

• This book is also special, because it has so much cruelness in it along with the kindness of people. About how your behaviour can be helpful for this society.

• Overall, the grammar and words were great. It wasn't that hard to read. It had simple easy literature one can have fun while reading and have a strong grip on the emotions of the characters.

• Last but not least, i loved and loved the idea. Because it just not feels like a fiction but a real story of someone bearing all this pain on the other side of the Earth.

[_thatgirlwiththebook_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an average middle grade book, covering the topics like adoption, female circumcision, child slavery, AIDS, death, and the foster care system, all in a child-friendly format. To be very honest, I did not like the book very much because of the abrupt and constant change of narrators throughout the book and I didn't think the plot was well thought and the title didn't make no sense to me till the end. I understand that the book portrayed a very important and powerful message, I just wish it was written better.

Synopsis: The story is altering between Abela and Rosa. Two young girls living worlds apart in very different circumstances. Abela is 9 years old, living in very troublesome conditions in Tanzania with very little to eat and no proper shelter over her head. Abela has seen her father, mother and little sister die at the hands of AIDS. After the death of her family, Abela is illegally moved to England in an act of child trafficking to be sold to the rich. After a lot of happening, she's found by the authorities. Now, being an illegal resident, its proving hard to put her up for adoption in England.

Rosa is 13 years old, living safe and sound with her mother and grand parents in England. Her life is perfect even when she has no father - because she has her mother. But she is suddenly confronted by a great dilemma when her mother decides to adopt a child. Another addition to the family means Rosa won't be just her and her mother anymore... And Rosa doesn't know how she feels about it.

[Seawood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in a Toppsta giveaway. This does not affect my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Abela and Rosa's separate tales are intertwined in alternate chapters which don't follow the path you think they'll take from the set-up in the first chapter. This is a brilliant writing decision as it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering if both girls will be ok and if they'll ever get to meet. As an adult I loved how Abela's new school is described - I like to think our own school would be as kind and welcoming; however, the author doesn't shy away from describing how things can go wrong in the care system and this is nicely handled. As an adult I was very moved by both girls and I look forward to hearing what my Y7 daughter makes of it. The end will have you cheering, though!

I would recommend this for Y7/age 11+ in a school setting because there may be some tough conversations to have around refugees, poverty, HIV/AIDS, child trafficking and FGM (there is a certain level of assumption that some of these ideas are familiar to the reader already). I'm fairly sure this wouldn't work well for my own primary school library, but if you had children who are affected by these issues then it would be well worth looking at for Y6/10+. For parents wondering about the content, read it yourself first and decide if your child is ready for these conversations. Many will be, so don't be caught unawares.

[Khulood [IG:Khulogophile_reads] · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Book Review"
.
✨The book "The girl who saw lions" is written by "Berlie Doherty" who is a novelist,poet,and screenwriter. this book was published in the year 2007. the book has two stories in it, both from different settings, both are girls and both are facing different problems in life, the two main characters are "Abela who lives in Africa and "Rosa who lives in England", for me the main character or you can say the protagonist of the book is "Abela".
.
✨Abela faces so many problems in life and she did so many struggles in small age and yet she is still brave and strong throughout the story that makes her the hero of the book for me. whereas Rosa also faces some problems when her mom wants to adopt another child. i don't wanna spoil by mentioning more about the story.
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✨The book was such an awesome read for me, when i bought it i judged and thought that this book gonna be adventures and funny but it was completely opposite of that, it indeed is adventurous but it's full of emotions and feelings and so full of lives,i didn't find any single page boring, it has an amazing flow of loss, love,hatred, jealousy, strength, bonding, relationship etc etc. there's a lot going on in this book.
.
✨i felt like i read a lively book after so long, you'll see the meaning of life in it and that is the best thing about this read 💙

[Annelies leest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik kocht dit boek bij een uitverkoop van de bibliotheek, en wat ben ik blij dat het boek mij toen uitgekozen heeft als zijn nieuwe eigenaar.
Het verhaal Abela wordt verteld vanuit het leven van twee heel verschillende meisjes.
Abela woont in Tanzania, samen met Bibi, haar grootmoeder. Abela raakte pas haar moeder kwijt, die net zoals alle andere familieleden overleed aan aids. Plots duikt haar oom Thomas op, die wilt Abela perse meenemen naar Engeland.
Abela's verhaal wordt afgewisseld met dat van Rosa.
De dertienjarige Rosa woont in Groot-Brittannië samen met haar mama. Contact met haar vader heeft ze niet, maar dat vindt Rosa allemaal prima. Zij en haar mama zijn beste vriendinnen en doen alles samen. Maar wat als Rosa's mama er toch nog graag een tweede dochter bij wil?
De verhalen van de twee meisjes maken het samen tot een prachtig geheel. Het verhaal leest zo vlot, ik kon niet stoppen en las het in één avond uit. Ik was heel erg vaak ontroerd en aangedaan, vooral door het intense verhaal van Abela zelf. Een meisje van negen, alleen op de wereld...Maar ook Rosa heeft het moeilijk met de wens van haar mama. Is ze niet goed genoeg meer als enige dochter? Berlie Doherty weet je te raken met haar woorden, tot tranen toe. Een aangrijpend en intens verhaal dat ik zeker iedereen kan aanraden om te lezen.

Vindt mij ook op Facebook en Instagram @annelies_leest.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story.

What I really liked from the start how the story is constructed, showing the two perspectives of the girls in the book. Abela and Rosa’s contrasting stories are throughout this book written perfectly, and how the writer threads similar themes through each girl’s story (for example, the starting chapter’s references to shadows) really show just how the characters tie but contrast.

This book quickly does become a page turner as the story begins to grow, particularly Abela’s story as her life quickly changes in this book. For both characters you see development as Rosa adapts to the idea of having a sister, but also you see Abela finally get the ending she deserves after going through so much.

A story that covers an array of social issues too through two great characters, The Girl Who Saw Lions is a book that puts an important focus on adoption, trafficking, AIDS and privilege (maybe the last less consciously) that no matter what age you are I think you would gain something from reading it.

Side note: The artwork for this edition is beautiful!

(I got an ARC from Netgalley for a review).

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Girl Who Saw Lions was such an incredibly impactful story that touched on so many serious topics.  Middle grade literature never ceases to amaze me.  This book tackles the tough topics of HIV/AIDS, child trafficking, adoption, and death.  

Going between Abela and Rosa allowed for insight into two vastly different cultures, but cultures that do interact with each other in both social and institutional ways.  This is, of course, not to mention the dialogue between the two about privilege, autonomy, and what it means to be or have family.  

Doherty is a master of showing her readers what's going on--when I was with Abela, I felt like I was in Tanzania, and when I was with Rosa, I felt like I was in London.  The individual struggles and strife became so real and apparent to me, and each time I got off of the metro, I couldn't wait until the next time I had to hop on to continue reading this.  Overall, this is a truly  poignant book that's completely deserving of a read.

Review cross-listed here!

[Katherine Blessan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought Abela over a year ago, and read the first chapter, then due to many factors I put it to one side to read lots of other books in between. I returned to it only yesterday and have just put it down now. What a beautiful book. It is one of those few perfectly formed, eloquently written and superbly characterized books that you struggle to put down and will stay in your mind for days to come.

The themes of love, loss and security are universal, but the story itself is a unique one that explores topics of adoption, trafficking, illegal immigration and even FGM. It is narrated from both protagonists' points of view - 13 year old Rosa in Sheffield, and 9 year old Abela first in Tanzania and then in England, with Abela eventually being adopted by Rosa's mother, Jen. There is a special poignancy in the way that Abela's childlike fears, hopes and perspectives are contrasted with the adult way of looking at things, and I was moved to tears at times.

[Sally Flint · Rating 4 out of 5]

This come with great reviews and it was a very powerful read. It explores the life stories of two girls in very different circumstances. Rosie, has pretty much everything, a loving mum and grandparents who want to give back and adopt; Abela has nothing- tragically orphaned and illegally in the UK, we get a detailed insight into the desperation of her situation. The book tracks their parallel lives up until the point that they come together. This is very well done, but my sticking point is that I then want to see what happens to their shared life, whereas it is at the meeting point when the book pretty much ends with only a quick summary of what happened next. Nevertheless, this was a moving read and one that I would definitely recommend to teen readers.

[Zainab Rida · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Girl Who Saw Lions" by Berlie Doherty. I just fell in love with the cover of this book, when I saw it on a online bookstore, I purchased it instatntly... When I started reading it few days back, its end was obvious and predictable. But I just loved the way 2 little girls: Abela & Rosa who are raised in different countries, in different families and in different ways, their childish emotions, and their minds were dipcted so well by author. Though the book was gloomy from the beginning but it ends on happy note. . Amazing - Amazing Book. I'm giving it 5 Stars just on the way Abela' s 9years' life was portrayed so vividly.

[Keeny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a book like this. It really hit a spot in my heart and opened it wider than ever. This book really makes you realise how much we have. Here I am sitting on a comfy bed in warm house with a healthy family on a laptop when young girls like Abela are pounding away at corn with buzzing flies in her hair and worrying about death that stalks her village like a hungry hyena, sparing no family. Things start to change one cold lonely night and since then things only carried on changing. "Be strong my Abela," her mother tells her "Be strong."

[Andreia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tentative 4 stars...In all honestly closer to 3.5 but I really loved the story and the message of this book that I could look past things that would lower its rating.

Namely, the writing wasn't fantastic but I am not the target age to be reading this - this is more middle grade, if not less, definitely made for children. I am not a child and therefore it was a really easy read for me.

But Abela's story was incredible and really made me think a lot about the world. In comparison, Rosa's story was much less interesting but I understand the comparison that is needed there.

[Sumith Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

To give a chance of happiness to someone in any situation is a rare gift. Putting money in a charity box is easy. A little kindness costs you nothing at all.

Two girls, from very different places, are brought together in a tale of loss, courage and family.
Abela has lost everything, and now she must leave her home in Tanzania and flee to Britain.
Rosa's struggling to cope with her mum's wish to adopt a child.
When they are brought together, will Abela and Rosa ever be able to love one another like sisters?

[Terri Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop reading

I am a teacher who needed a book set in Africa (this one takes place in Tanzania and England). The language is not difficult and the story has good pacing. The author switches points of view between 1st and 3rd person which I found distracting at first. Still, after finishing the book, I wouldn't change a thing. I hope my students will like it as much as I did!