Burn My Heart

Description

The Mau Mau - the name of a secret society that once struck terror into the hearts of British settlers in Kenya. An episode in history that ended in a State of Emergency, with violent and brutal acts dividing a nation. This is an intensely personal and vivid story of two boys, one black, one white. Once they were friends, even though their circumstances are very different. But in a country riven by fear and prejudice, even the best of friends can betray one another. . . Internationally acclaimed and award-winning author, Beverley Naidoo, explores new territory in this beautifully realised and moving story set in Britain's colonial past.

Beverley Naidoo was born in South Africa, but has lived in the UK for many years. She became involved in resistance to apartheid when she was a student and her first children's book was banned in South Africa until 1991. In 2000 she won the Carnegie Medal and the Nestle Smarties Silver Medal with The Other Side of Truth.

Sometimes you have to break the rules, particularly when those rules are based on prejudice. Naidoo breaks the rules, producing books for young people which recognize that they want to know about the real world * Guardian * Naidoo shows her ability to take stories that are hot off the press, give them emotional depth and raise questions about society and our own responsibilities to each other -- on Web of Lies * Books for Keeps * A wonderfully accessible story laced with powerful messages of family commitment and human rights. Beverley Naidoo's own South African origins and subsequent exile in London provide heartfelt spine to this book -- Jon Snow on , winner of the Carnegie Medal * The Other Side of Truth *