A tense and moving South African coming-of-age story about family, friendship and first romance
Meg Bergman is fifteen and fed up. She lives in a tiny town in rural 1990s South Africa - a hot-bed of traditionalism, racial tension and (in Meg's eyes) ordinariness. Meg has no friends either, due largely to what the community sees as her mother's interfering attempts to educate farm workers about AIDS. But one day Xanthe arrives - cool, urban, feisty Xanthe, who for some unknown reason seems to want to hang out with Meg.
Xanthe arrives into Meg's life like a hurricane, offering her a look at a teenage life she never knew existed. But cracks quickly begin to show in their friendship when Meg's childhood friend Simon returns from his gap year travels. LEOPOLD BLUE is an emotionally taut and beautifully written story from a debut author with a mesmerising voice.
ABOUT THE AUTHORRosie Rowell was born and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2003 she left for London on a short working holiday with a backpack and a pair of hiking boots. Eleven years later she has lost the backpack but gained a husband and three small children. The hiking boots remain unused. Rosie is currently doing an MA in Creative & Life Writing at Goldsmiths University of London, and LEOPOLD BLUE is her first novel.
REVIEWSA thought-provoking coming-of-age story. Debut author Rosie Rowell has created some complex and engaging characters, and Meg's adolescent trials and tribulations are set against an intriguing portrait of a rapidly changing nation.', Booktrust
