Out of Bounds

by Beverley Naidoo

We are the young people, We will not be broken For almost fifty years, apartheid forced the young people of South Africa to live apart as Blacks, Whites, Indians, and "Coloreds." This unique and dramatic collection of stories--by native South African and Carnegie Medalist Beverley Naidoo--is about young people's choices in a beautiful country made ugly by injustice. Each story is set in a different decade during the turbulent years from 1948 to 2000, and portrays powerful fictional characters who are caught up in very real and often disturbing events.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Africa, Young Adult, Cultural, South Africa

142 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2001

About the author

Beverley Naidoo was born in South Africa on 21 May 1943 and grew up under apartheid. As a student, she began to question the apartheid regime and was later arrested for her actions as part of the resistance movement in South Africa. In 1965 she went into exile, going to England. She married another South African exile; they have two children.

Reviews

[Maureen Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Stories
Out of Bounds, by Beverly Naidoo
Maureen Judith Shea
(2001). Out of Bounds (p. 175). London: Harper Collins Publishers.
Awards
Jane Addams Book Award
Parent’s Choice Silver Honor
Children's Africana Book Award Winner: Best Book for Older Readers
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Format: print
Selection process: Initially reviewed the “Book List” in textbook Literature for Today’s Young Adult by Allsen P. Nelsen . Then I looked for available books in the local library. Could not find any of the books listed. The librarian assistant found “ Out of Bounds”
Review: Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu wrote the inspiring forward describing how humanity should always remember the apartheid of South Africa, and how we should never repeat such human oppression again. After a brief introduction by the author defining contextual terms, and providing a glimpse of the times, Ms. Naidoo wrote a collection of short stories spanning the time frame from 1948 to 2000. The Dare describes how a simple “dare” among children becomes a life experience for the one taking on the dare. She witnesses firsthand how prejudicial hatred is acted on a child for stealing fruit. The Noose, and One Day, Lilly, One Day describe the effects of the rising tensions of apartheid. The Typewriter portrays a grandmother mother’s love to protect her granddaughter, all for the sake of the written word. The Gun keeps the reader on edge of whether the main character will actually use the weapon for revenge. The Playground describes how when integrated education began, the courageous people who stood their ground to receive the education they so sought. The last story, Out of Bounds describes how over a short span of time, a child’s favorite play area becomes a line to not cross over. Ultimately, both sides of the line regarded the other neighborhood as out of bounds. Finally, Naidoo provides a brief outline of some main events of the times and how each story was inspired.
Highly Recommend

Naidoo, B. (2001). Out of Bounds. London: Harper Collins Publishers.
(2013). A. P. Nilsen, B. James, K. L. Donelson, & N. D. F., Literature for Today's Young Adults (p. 482). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

[Stephanie Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to give this book 3.5 stars, but I can't so I've upgraded it to 4 😂
I enjoyed all the stories and I wanted each one to carry on as I was enjoying it so much! I thought some of the characters weren't described enough so I couldn't work out which "class" they were from. I found this book very interesting though and I would love to find more on the topic.

[Jared Pangier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often read short stories, but I would like to change that. I had a copy of this collection from my school library—a book set that fell out of use. For its information about Apartheid across 7 decades in South Africa, this collection is phenomenal! What a good way to share about this sad part of history. From a storytelling perspective, two of the more recently written short stories (around 2000) were my daughter and my favorites: "One Day, Lily, One Day" and the titular "Out of Bounds". Both of those stories have very real human emotion and the first one focuses on the historic tragedy of the Sharpeville Massacre. My wife was a little surprised that I read this to our 7-year-old but, after having just finished it, it was no mistake. We were able to talk through the violent scenes (which were done tastefully and not too graphically) and she had so many questions about why human beings would treat other human beings in the ways they did through the stories. Great learning to create a new generation that places love for humanity and human beings first!

[Crabbygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent collection of stories set in south africa during the apartheid years. each story is told from a child's perspective in a different decade, allowing much of south africa's history of racial segregation to be explored. what's more, the children are black, white, and indian - a very wonderfully humane way to tell a story without coming squarely down on a white-is-evil-and-black-is-good mantra. these are children who are often in conflict with their surroundings, as well as their elder's attitudes. a great read for modern children who never lived through the headlines of apartheid and are baffled by the spectacle of nelson mandela's funeral

[Suzanne Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading this book to my children in the last few weeks. We started reading it before the recent tragic events in America but it is definitely a good one to read at the moment. It shows the awful treatment of black people in Africa without going into too much horrific details for children. The book is upsetting in a "it is good you know about this" way. It has lots of mini stories all from different years and shows different ways in which black people have been wrongly treated. I recommend it for ages 8 plus.

[Alisa T ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

With it’s seven separate short stories described in chronological order, all in different years, this book does an excellent job of presenting the ongoing conflicts in regards to racial discrimination, a concept of extreme importance in modern society. Each story takes place in a part of Southern Africa, and is told from the perspective of diversely colored people—some black, some white, and some in between or unspecified—in order to shed light on the struggles for freedom and racial equality throughout time.

[weemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the World book - South Africa 🌍

I always like to read books from other countries so, when I spotted this one in a Little Library, I snatched it up. .

It is made up of 7 stories set across the decades, showing all different aspects/times of apartheid in SA. I thought that was so smart! And I really enjoyed it. And feel like I learnt something (especially because there is a timeline at the back of the book).

I'd recommend this book to anyone!

[Oriana F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing.
We used it in my Language class on the teacher's training college and we analysed a lot of aspects in order to understand composition of a narrative essay.
Furthermore, I had never heart of apartheid before this book.
Really good.
The last story was my favorite. Being inside Rohan's head and seeing the world from Solani's perspective was a very satisfying parallel.

[Susila Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the format the author used to narrate the story. IT was chronologically related to the opressive apartheid laws and followed on to the formation Of the Rainbow Nation . The stories give an insight on individuals perception and how events shaped and affected their Lives. A Great Book for Children and will help any reader actually with personal historical perspective.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my 6th grade class. It was great to talk about Apartheid and also to see overlap in the history of the US and racism in general. Highly recommend as the short stories make it easier to access. There is some cultural understanding and language that is specific to South Africa in the book that could make it harder for EAL students but it was a great read overall.

[Lynne Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The short story for each decade 1950-2000 gave a snapshot of life at that time in South Africa. A disturbing picture but well worth a read for someone who just wanted to know what life was like before reading on the subject in more detail.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about apartheid in South Africa over the years. Each story shows racism in a different year with the final story taking place in 2000.

While I think the stories are well written for a young audience, this wasn't my kind of thing. I am not a huge fan of the short story format.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are heartbreaking. One from each decade of the apartheid in South Africa. It clearly shows how people were divided by the color of their skin. This period lasted over 50 years and affected countless families.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories felt dated (use of "sissy" in the first, for instance), but I may use "The Playground" in the apartheid unit. For my own learning about apartheid, I found the entire book interesting.

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories dealing in the apartheid of South Africa.

[bookss.and.more.bookss :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ!!!

[Sherry Tobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking. These short stories really made you stop and think from another's experience and point of view.

[Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[gnatzinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020

[Shel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naidoo, B. (2001). Out of Bounds: Seven stories of conflict and hope. London: Puffin Books.

9780060508012

Organized chronologically, these seven short stories explore different events and conditions of Apartheid through South African children’s perspectives. With varying degrees of hope, the protagonists face difficult choices and risk when deciding on what they believe about Apartheid depending on their various class and racial backgrounds. By remaining focused on issues among family members, friends and school all of the stories remain child-centric. Despite this, students may have some difficulty understanding the historical contexts of the stories (despite the presence of a timeline at the end) without the assistance of a teacher.

While Naidoo provides a complicated and emotionally striking view of apartheid, one perspective is missing—that of someone who supported the laws. While a few secondary characters in several of the stories are supporters, most of them are placed in the roles of villains. I think showing the justifications that those in power tend to make to maintain their power would have been a complicating view to trigger discussion and a challenge to Naidoo as a writer.

Activities to do with the book:

After going through the stories him or herself, a teacher could decide to read one or two aloud to children. (My personal recommendation is to start with “The Playground” since it is closest to the experience of school desegregation in the United States and could provoke more immediate conversation)

This book would be good to use alongside lessons on the history and evolution of Apartheid.

Students could also create drawings in response to some of the images and scenes described in the book, or could examine American art for comparable images. (A good starting point would be Norman Rockwell’s “A Problem We All Live With”)


Favorite Quotes:

“The oppressors opened their prison doors and sat down with those they had oppressed…people they had locked behind bars for years or driven out of the country. They exchanged words instead of bullets” (xiii, introduction).

“The year I turned ten, apartheid gripped me fully by the throat for the first time. Of course its fingers had been there all along, but I had been too busy to take much notice” (p. 18).

“When I was six, policemen snatched Daddy away in the middle of the night. They came to our house with banging, thumping, and shouting. Their flashlights swooped over the garden through the dark” (p. 50).

For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

[Jordan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Bounds is a book based in South Africa. It offers seven stories laid out in chronological order of South Africa during apartheid. The beginning of the book is set in the year 1948. As the book progresses it shows the change in the country of South Africa and how the people and government came together to make change for the better. An example of one of the stories within the book is called The Noose. It is about a family and particularly a young boy who has to deal with feeling like a second tier civilian. He is upset by the fact this his mother is making a “Lone Ranger” costume for a young white boy, the exact one he wants for his birthday. Just about all the work his mother does as a seamstress is for white families. The young boy’s father is asked to present his certificate to prove that he is not fully “African” because at that time you were faced with much more adversity if you were considered fully “African.” The sad part of this story is that the father is rejected as being a colored and is instead considered “African.” This means that his father would lose his job and would be under even more scrutiny from the South African government. This book is sort of deep in the way it presents the racism in South Africa. I think that the beginning of the story set in the mid 1900’s would be hard for young students to identify with or even understand. This is because of the extreme conditions that the country was in. That is my only “weakness” I felt involved in this book.

[Mary Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Bounds is a heartbreaking glimpse into apartheid and the traumatic events that have shaped South Africa's past. Naidoo chronicles the systemic racism that existed during this time. It is shocking to read about how evil people can be, and yet how resilient as well.
My favorite story was "The Typewriter" because it depicted the risk that people go through to be activists. It is the story of young people fighting back and making an impact. The characters in the story were not totally successful in their goals, but they were adamant about the cause. While the piece doesn't have a fairy tale ending, this story of conviction makes me think that people can really make a difference despite setbacks.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of Bounds explores the apartheid of South Africa through several stores that span across as many decades. While fictional, the stories are very realistic and offer great insight into what people were thinking, feeling, and experiencing during this time. Helpfully designed, the chapters take the reader through the decades of apartheid and its effects, and even includes a timeline of the major events of the apartheid. A great supplement to any study of the apartheid of South America, this book will help students connect with the events and people of this time.

*The characters within these stories are, at times, hard to follow, but overall the stories are engaging and strightforward.

[Shantay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of Bounds


Yet, another historical fiction book that tells of Apartheid in South Africa this time. It tells of what life under apartheid meant for children. I like how the book gives extras on Out of bounds with Q & A’s with Beverly Naidoo Her Banned Book. Although I did not finish the book or read it in depth, I merely previewed it; but I think it will make a good read for those who are interested in learning more about Apartheid if they can distinguish between the fact and fiction of the stories. It’s a good thing that there is a timeline with important historical dates referenced and related to each story within this book!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection of stories in this book, were hard hitting, touching and written with a great amount of emotion. I was pulled into each story, and really enjoyed reading them all.

It was definitely an interesting concept, having stories through the generations, and despite each story being short, it never felt as though it wasn't being developed well enough. Each story had it's own voice, and was really well done.

I would say that some stories grabbed me a little more than others, and that's the only reason the book as a whole didn't receive top rating from me.

This collection of stories, is truly a wonderful read and I would highly recommend it.

[Terry]

This is an excellent and informative collection of stories. One has to be horrified by the gratuitous pain and suffering foisted upon people of color by apartheid. More remarkable is the courage, determination, and graciousness that people of color demonstrated in restoring freedom to their homeland.

See what the target audience thought in the full review at the Reading Tub.

[Ali Cullerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Out of Bounds, Naidoo writes seven stories which showcase life in a time of apartheid in South Africa. Through a combination of anecdotes and fiction, Naidoo is able to shed a light on varied experiences during this difficult time for South Africans. Through these stories, she is able to silently draw attention to the outrage that people were put through in very recent history. These stories show the resilience and courage of people of various ages and circumstance a midst tremendous injustice.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seven stories set in South Africa, each in a different decade between 1948 and 2000. The stories set during the 1990s and 2000 may be the easiest for middle-school readers to relate to because they may be able to draw some parallels to school desegregation during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and current racial/socio-economic conflict in the U.S.; stories set in earlier times may be less accessible to middle-school readers who may not yet have learned about apartheid.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about apartheid in South Africa. I thought this book was sad. A sad part was the arrest of kids for protesting against laws. Some kids ran away from home. Others kids helped other kids when it was needed. Some kids went to all white schools when apartheid was over. They went through people protesting blacks in all white schools. It was a very sad time in history.

[Seashellsrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Bounds was a story that really opens our eyes to the horrors of apartheid in South Africa. In each story, each of the characters shows determination and tries to make sure what that everything goes right. It is a must-read, and you won't be able to put it down. It stops in places that make me desire more.