Afrika

by Colleen Craig

For thirteen-year-old Kim, travel to South Africa with her journalist mother will mark the end of her childhood and the beginning of a remarkable journey. Expecting nothing more than three months in her mother’s homeland, Kim comes to terms with the country’s diverse and often shocking history. The Truth and Reconciliation Hearings in post-apartheid South Africa open her eyes to the tragedy and brutality of its segregationist policies. Kim’s first meeting with her relatives, her contact with schoolmates and cousins, bring her face-to-face with the realization that she is not as removed from this powerful story
as she thought.

As her mother struggles with her past, Kim becomes more and more determined to unlock the secret that has always kept her from knowing her father. Helped by the young son of a long-time family servant, whose own father was a casualty of Apartheid history, Kim eventually unlocks her mystery and brings her mother and herself to their own truth and reconciliation.

Layered and complex, this is a novel that raises questions and challenges beliefs.

Genres: Young Adult, Africa, Fiction, South Africa, Teen, Cultural, Childrens

Library Binding

First published April 8, 2008

About the author

Born and raised in western Canada, Colleen Craig studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia. She then lived in South Africa during the 1980s and observed apartheid firsthand. In 1991 she moved back to Canada and settled in Toronto where she continued her career as a playwright. In 1997 she became a Stott Pilates teacher and in 2001 began to publish the bestselling Pilates on the Ball series which has been translated into six languages. Afrika is her first novel.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the recent history, different ethnic groups, and contemporary problems of South Africa for kids around the age of the narrator Kim, who is 13. It's a little simplistic for adults, but I enjoyed it.

Kim's mother's Afrikaaner family has been emotionally and financially entangled with Themba's Xhosa family for generations. Kim's quest to discover the identity of her father, whom she has never met, before she must return home to Canada gives suspense and drive to the narrative. In a parallel plot, Themba must decide whether or not to attend the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing where his father's killer will testify about the night of the killing.

The characters are well-drawn, and even the racists are more complex than stereotypes. The friendship between Kim and Themba is believable, particularly the way that Themba finds Kim's Canadian cluelessness about South Africa both annoying, but also reassuring that she does not harbor the racist attitudes typical of his other white classmates. He wants to protect her, but also to destroy her innocence about the ugliness of South African race relations.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Kim goes to South Africa with her journalist mother to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings, she hopes to finally find out information about her father, and about why her mother left South Africa to live in Canada before Kim was born. The book gives perspectives of the events and the country's history through the eyes of Kim, her mother, her grandfather, a black boy at school, and a black servant. Very interesting look into what apartheid did to the country.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! This is the story of a young girl who came to South Africa with her mother with a plan to learn more about her heritage and she learned a lot more about herself than she bargained for. Against the backdrop of the unfolding events surrounding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Kim our 13-year old protagonist discovers why true Afrikaaners spell Africa with a K, why some truths are too painful to consider and why sticking a pencil in your hair is not as casual an act as it seems.

I fell in love with the characters in this book. Kim is the typical budding teenager, headstrong, defiant and a girl who knows it all. She is a very complex character that vacillated between being a typical teenager who looked with disdain on her mother's lack of fashion sense and being a naive little girl unable to comprehend the forces of human oppression that she was suddenly faced with. The relationship between Kim and Rianna was dynamic. At times it seemed that Rianna was present only by the force of Kim's will alone.

I loved that this book made no apologies for the cultures it described. It highlights in simplicity the horrors of apartheid, but also shows the intricate nature of the relationships between cultures and classes. I enjoyed the friendship that Kim shared with Themba and his family. The bond between Kim and Themba was powerful, intimate and boundless, strengthened by sharing the pain they two of them felt being "fatherless".

I wish the book shared more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission itself. The effects of this event are still reverberating in South Africa today but the book I felt diluted some of its meaning and purpose. That being said, this was a lovely read. This book moved at a leisurely pace that was easy to follow, yet exciting and kept you on the seat of your pants. A great YA read for "teenagers" of all ages.

[Hasan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Afrika" is a story about a girl who was born and raised in Canada, whose mother had lived in South Africa for all of her childhood life. The main character, Kim, visits the country she is from for the first time, only because her mother, a journalist, is called to her country to cover a story. Kim soon finds out that there are many secrets being kept from her about her birth, her father, and her mother's past. The story becomes very interesting as you go along in the book, as Kim tries to find information about her father, who her mother told her nothing about. To me, the book seems like it's based on the author's life, and she is trying to differentiate between the two very different situations of life in Africa and the western world. The book also tackles the issue of racism and the apartheid which is not just implied by the actions, but also by the skin colors of characters throughout the book and the notable difference of the conditions in the lives of people with different skin colors. Overall it was a good read and I probably wouldn't mind reading a few more books by the same author.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! A 13-year-old girl named Kim travels to Africa with her journalist mother. She has so many questions about her father and her mother's homeland that she feels ready to burst but her mother remains silent about her father. Who was he? What was he like? Would he love her? Why did he never contact her in Canada? She finds the answers to all of these questions as her mother works on her African assignment. Her mother has been estranged from her family and her homeland for so many years that the visit is fraught with stress, pain and uncertainty. All of this was tied up in apartheid and the struggle for equality among the African peoples. This is an outstanding story and I recommend it to those who wish to understand more about such issues. I learned so very much from those who were involved.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Afrika" by Colleen Craig is a very interesting book that not only entertains the reader but it also informs the reader on some of South Africa's history as well as different ethnic groups. the book is about a 13 year old girl, Kim, who travels to South Africa with her mother who is a journalist. Throughout the book, Kim's mother suffers financially and from her past. During these times, Kim becomes determined to find our who her father is and why she never met him. Not only this but she is trying to figure out why her mother left South Africa to go to Canada before she was born. Throughout the book, Kim comes to realization with the countries harsh history and brutality. Not only are these problems shown throughout the book but racism is a big part as well.

This book was filled with curiosity, always keeping me at the edge of my seat. The narrator, Kim travels to South Africa with her journalist mother and she uncovered a lot more about her birth, her father, as well as her mother's past. Throughout the book, Kim slowly discovers new things that she never knew. Kim discovers all of these things while her mother works on her assignment of covering the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings. Considering this, you never know when Kim is going to discover more crazy things. I enjoyed this a lot about the book because it always kept me very intrigued. The book as well tackles racism as Kim becomes friends with an African teenager. The teenage boy, Themba makes her view the world completely different. This causes Kim to slowly realize why her mother left Africa while she was pregnant and how harsh the country really is. Throughout the book, I enjoyed how Kim slowly untangled things that helped her discover family mysteries, including her father and her mother's past. A final thing that I enjoyed in the book is how descriptively written the book is. This really helped me create an image in my head of what Kim's surroundings really looks like.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I suggest others to read it as well. The book not only entertains but informs the reader about South Africa's history and ethnic groups. Not only this but it has very descriptive writing that makes the story more enjoyable to read. Throughout the book, Kim is constantly realizing and finding out new things, which helps make the book entertaining.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen yr old Kim van der Merwe accompanies her journalist mother to Cape Town South Africa while her mother reports on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission meetings. Kim's mother is originally from South Africa but left before Kim was born. As Kim watches her mother struggle with the information from the meetings, Kim is herself struggling with race issues as she becomes friends with a black teenager, the son of their housekeeper. Themba offers to help her find out about her dad who she never knew and whom her mother has not told her about. Will the 3 months in Cape Town be a time of truth and reconciliation or further division?
Found this some time ago when I was searching books on various African nations. But it was just recently that I determined to request a copy through the library system. It is an easy read, in terms of being written on the YA reading level but it also speaks to the ugliness of the apartheid system and the efforts of the Council to grant amnesty to those involved. I felt that I traveled to South Africa visiting the areas which speaks to how descriptively it's written.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kim travels from her home in Canada to her mother's home in South Africa, so that her mother can cover the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings for work. The apartheid divided the country and now, in attempt to heal and move forward, these hearings are being conducted to shed light/truth on horrendous acts that have occurred. Much of Kim's mother's past is a mystery to her, even her own father. Kim hopes to get answers about who her father is and what happened when her mother lived in South Africa.

This book was an interesting exploration of this historical time. I found the ending to be unsurprising and the narrative was dry at times. However, I think this is an important novel, which addresses important issues.

[GrantK56 · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the story “Afrika” by Colleen Craig the main character Kim travels with her mother to South Africa to do a report on a very controversial story. She hopes to find her father who her mother refuses to tell anything about. But she goes through conflicts while in South Africa. Such as the apartheid after Mandela just became president. And finds out some things she was not expecting. This story did an outstanding job of giving detail and comparing different cultures. The only problem with this book was that I felt it was very predictable. But in the end it was a very good book and I would recommend it to people.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's amazing. It made me cry. It made me think. It made me feel more than any book has in a long time.

I read this for a class I am taking and I am just completely floored by how great this book is. The protagonist, Kim, is a 13-year-old Canadian girl who travels to South Africa with her South African mother and meets her extended family for the first time. Kim's mom is white (and she thinks she, therefore, is too) and she's not really sure what to expect in South Africa since her mom hardly ever talks about the country. What's interesting is why her mother decides to go there. Her mom is a journalist and she's going there to cover the Truth and Reconcilation hearings that were held post-apartheid. I honestly had no idea what they were (and even that they happened) until this book. Basically Nelson Mandela, when he became president, made the decision to seek the truth about the injustices that happened under apartheid but the idea was not to prosecute people. Actually, you couldn't prosecute people who committed crimes or harmed others under apartheid. But the idea behind these hearings is that the truth would come out and people would be able to forgive each other. A beautiful idea in theory but I still can't believe this actually happened. And you can imagine how totally controversial these hearings could be.

Anyway, Kim and her mom Riana arrive in South Africa and Kim's whole world is turned upside down. She starts looking for her father. She makes friends with a black South African boy named Themba, who makes her see the world differently. She starts to realize why her mom fled South Africa when she was pregnant. She gets to meet her extended family and learns who they are now, who they were under apartheid, and gets to see firsthand just how much (or how little) had changed.

The book is beautiful. It's a wonderful way for younger readers to learn about the history of South Africa and some of the more modern problems in the country. The book makes you really undertanding why "undoing" apartheid in reality will take several generations. I kept comparing this to Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country, which I also LOVED, and this is probably the YA equivalent. I loved that the characters were not black-and-white. The "good" characters had flaws and the "bad" characters weren't really "bad." You (through Kim's eyes) come to understand why they are the way they are and see the world from their eyes. It's a really well done novel. I want to have at least some of my students read it next year.

[Kennedy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word I would use to describe the book "Afrika" by Colleen Craig is: okay.
I liked the plot (although it could have used a few twists), I liked how she wrote things (even though they could have been spruced up a bit more). So overall, it was okay.
Kim's mother, Riana, is a journalist for a radio station. She lives in Canada with her daughter Kim. They live a peaceful life: soccer games every week, a nice house; Kim has nice friends who also play soccer, and she goes to a school that was recently built and shines like new.
Kim finds only one problem with her life: she doesn't know her father. She knows her mother used to live in Africa, and she believes that her father lived there too. She also knows her father has dark skin, because Kim does, and her mother has fair skin with dark blonde hair, which Kim did not inherit.
So, when Riana gets a job offer: to travel to Africa and study equality, it is not a surprise that Kim's father is on both Kim and Riana's minds.
They get to Africa. They are staying at Kim's Oom Piet- uncle's- home.
Riana does not like having a servant, but there is one- Lettie. Lettie has a son, named Themba, who is the same age as Kim- thirteen. They attend the same school, since they both have dark skin, and Kim befriends him. He learns about how she does not know her father. Themba's father was taken away by authorities when he was younger. Themba promises he will help her find her father, and Kim believes him.
Meanwhile, Riana is having issues dealing with her past, and covering the stories that she has to record every day, with horrendous details of how people's loved ones died. She needs a therapist to help her sleep at night, and is becoming more and more distant from Kim.
Will Kim be able to find her father? Will Themba get closure on what happened to his? And how will Riana deal with all the problems she is having?
Although somewhat lacking in character, this book is amazing and truly opens up on how easy you may actually have it. "Together, they listened to the deep, melancholy sound of the harbor foghorn- a sound Kim had never heard in landlocked Alberta." (page 100) is how Kim feels- in a place of new excitement and adventure. I would suggest this book for anyone who likes learning about different cultures.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

When Kim accompanies her journalist mother to South Africa, she can’t begin to imagine the ways in which this experience will shape and change her understanding of herself and the world. Kim’s mother has been sent to Cape Town to report on the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s hearings and their impact on post apartheid South Africa. However, having been born and raised there herself, this assignment proves to be a tremendously painful homecoming for Riana, one which forces her to face many demons of her own personal past as well as their nation’s collective history of subjugation and injustice. Kim worries about her mother as the pressures of this assignment continue to exact a heavy toll on her. Yet for Kim, there remain so many unanswered questions – namely who is her father and why has he never made any efforts to contact her? And why does her mother refuse to speak of him? Kim’s newfound friend Themba encourages her to pursue the answers to these questions even while struggling to come to terms with what happened to his own father and with what the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s hearings will mean to him and his family. In this story, Colleen Craig skillfully conveys a sense of what life was like in South Africa during the height of apartheid, as well as in its aftermath. As Kim learns more about her mother’s family and the events that lead her to leave her home and the country that she dearly loved, so too the reader is introduced to the inequality that so rigidly defined their society. Readers also gain some valuable insight into the purpose of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, as well as the mixed reactions to it. Craig adeptly depicts the myriad complex emotions involved, but perhaps most importantly she conveys the spirit of South Africa and the love that its people have for their homeland.

Reviewed in Canadian Children's Book News
Summer 2008 VOL.31 NO.3

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Afrika was an okay story. The writing seemed slightly childish for such a heavy plotline. Not much really happened. The way the book was led made it seem as if there would be many exciting and interesting things going on. Basically, a girl is trying to adjust to her life in Afrika, making friends and supporting her mother, meeting her family and trying to find the father she never knew. By the end of the book, there was no real connection established with her family, the discovery of her father was completely unexpected, the would be romance never even happened and I feel like it ended without accomplishing anything. That said, this was a great story of endurance and family, as well as explaining more about Africa's history. Apart from the actual characters and plot, I liked the history best in this book and was shocked by all of the things I learned. This did open up my eyes to what it is like in South Africa and the struggles the country has faced. The aspect of the past brutality and the way of the land was portrayed very well, and I especially liked the explained tensions between people of different races. The characters were very realistic, but if I were Kim, you think she would be a little more abrupt and pushy. She sat back and moped around a lot while her mother suffered through listening to everyone else's victim experiences. I liked this book but it could have been better.

[Littlecloud · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I was reading this book, I kept on thinking one thing: "Is Colleen Craig a ten year old?" If she was (or when she wrote it) I would've thought it was good, but she was most likely not. The characters are whiny and over dramatic, and they (or at least one of them, Kim's friend) is really bipolar- and so are Kim's thoughts on him. I read this for school, and I learned, but I didn't enjoy it. I am (almost) a young teen- the intended audience, and I didn't like it. I either couldn't tell what was going on (lack of detail) or was bored by too much on stupid things that didn't have to do with the plot. I can't even think of a climax that could've been. Practically NOTHING HAPPENED

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young adult story of 13-year old Kim, who travels to South Africa from Canada with her South African born journalist mother. Kim's mother is covering the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings in post-apartheid South Africa and Kim must come to terms with the brutal realities she hears about there. Kim wants to find out more about the South African father she never knew and does so with the help of the son of the family servant. This is a complex, well told story of South African history told against the backdrop of a teenager's quest for her own truth.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rarely talked about and I think misunderstood topic. Throughout the book the reader learns about the effects of apartheid, both past and present. I think it's important for teens to understand how far racism can go to tearing apart the fabric of a country.
Though I think this is a topic that needs to be written about more, this book could have done a better job. Neither the characters nor the plot was very gripping. I finished it because it was a short book but there was nothing compelling me to the end.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to like this book since it was about South Africa and I had lived in Southern Africa for a few years. The Southern African references were appropriate although unexplained so I'm not sure how others would know what they meant but the whole book was a disappointment overall. The main character seemed too naive, her mother seemed nuts without a reason for it and the other characters were stereotypes. It had a forced and overly emotional tone which I didn't care for. It did make the reality of Apartheid and the Truth and Reconciliation commission more clear but other than that....

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rarely talked about and I think misunderstood topic is given a good reading in Afrika. Kim, the daughter of an expatriate South African, returns to that country with her mom who is reporting on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Kim, who grew up in Canada, doesn't know who her father is and why her mom left South Africa in the first place. Throughout the book the reader learns about the effects of apartheid, both past and present. I think it's important for teens to understand how far racism can go to tearing apart the fabric of a country.

[Sabrina]

I wrote this poem using the poetic words from my novel named "Afrika" by Colleen Craig.

THE NIGHT
Plant creepers and flag-leaf
Shimmered in moon light,
A high white trellis stood,
Beside the front door.
Wooden stalks of roses cut off at the bottom
The house was small but spacious,
Shelves sagged with book weights,
Shells and carvings of zebras and ziraffes
A rectangular chimney,
A cast-iron fireplace burning,
The night was mysterious.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring does not mean bad. However, in the world of reading, boring never means good.

[Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had been a young teen I probably would have given this book four stars.

Young Kim goes back to her mother's home country of South Africa where Kim is curious about who her own father is.

During her brief stay of a few months she comes face-to-face with the facts of her birth and what life was/is like in a country where apartied is just beginning to disappear.

[Imani ♥ ☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, let's see. What can I say about this book? Well for one thing when I first got this book I thought the author accidentally spelled Africa wrong. But then I read the book and realized she didn't. Then I read this book last summer and then I took a test on it for school and flunked it :O. Guess I didn't get much out of it! :/

[Missy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poor. Story is a sad excuse to write about South Africa's apartheid and Truth and Reconciliation Hearings. Should have been better edited as many details repeat awkwardly or unnecessarily. It niggles! Characters don't get off the page and plot weak and unispiring. Had to commit to finishing it.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and it's look at apartheid and it's more recent effects. It was well presented and understandable for a teen audience (for which it was written). I would highly recommend Afrika.

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Canadian author, teen accompanies mom who is part of Truth & Reconciliation process--I was disappointed, didn't think it was all that interesting to teens, even though the subject matter is an important one and something few adolescents would be aware of.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly a remarkable journey... Especially since it is not a journey I'm very familiar with. Put a very personal perspective on it. Ashamed to say that even though it is very recent history, I didn't know enough about it, but feel more enlightened about the terrors it involved.

[Kathy Wawer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look at S. Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Hearings after apartheid. Craig illuminates the sensibilities of members of different groups as the country lurches toward the future. Lots of grays exposed through interactions between people, the courts, law enforcement, etc.

[Rachel]

Starred Review SLJ

[Joant · Rating 1 out of 5]

weak plot and characters, a disappointment

[Karen Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA novel with a personal look at the effects on apartheid. Very revealing coming of age nove.