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leavingsealevel's review against another edition
3.0
Arushi Raina is only 24! Wow. Great premise, characters, and research. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
alice94's review against another edition
3.0
Although this book was one that I was happy to read as the topic was one I found interesting, I must admit that the way in which this book was written was confusing at best. There are four main characters, whose points of view you jump between with no sense of rhyme or reason with nothing but a name to divided them, and for this reason it was one that I found extremely hard to finish and I was worried I may never be able to complete it.
The book itself is about the apartheid and the realism of what it was like, which is the sole reason why I chose to add the book to my collection, that being said I would have preferred it if the jumps between each of the characters was much longer (giving us time to familiarise ourselves with each one and their side of the story, maybe increasing it to a chapter jump) or at least one that was more defined in terms of logic or time skips.
That being said I know that this is the first book written by the author and considering the topic as well as how well it was written overall, with a few tweaks I do think it is going to be a book that should be considered a must-have on everyone's shelf.
The book itself is about the apartheid and the realism of what it was like, which is the sole reason why I chose to add the book to my collection, that being said I would have preferred it if the jumps between each of the characters was much longer (giving us time to familiarise ourselves with each one and their side of the story, maybe increasing it to a chapter jump) or at least one that was more defined in terms of logic or time skips.
That being said I know that this is the first book written by the author and considering the topic as well as how well it was written overall, with a few tweaks I do think it is going to be a book that should be considered a must-have on everyone's shelf.
philoundphie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
plamark's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Brilliantly written. A great book for learning for learning about thr complexities of Apartheid South Africa.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
5.0
What a good read! For those who don't like multiple narrators, this might not be for you, but it is more like these narrators are different camera angles than entirely different stories.
Really human portrayal of events leading up to the Soweto Uprising.
Interesting collection of views and pieces of the puzzles.
YA without all the histrionics that are sometimes included in YA.
Didn't actually take me 5 days, just got sick in the middle of it.
Will put this on my APWH summer reading list.
Full disclosure: received this book from An Open Book event at my high school where the author also graciously talked to my students about events in South Africa (including the pencil test) and writing in general.
Really human portrayal of events leading up to the Soweto Uprising.
Interesting collection of views and pieces of the puzzles.
YA without all the histrionics that are sometimes included in YA.
Didn't actually take me 5 days, just got sick in the middle of it.
Will put this on my APWH summer reading list.
Full disclosure: received this book from An Open Book event at my high school where the author also graciously talked to my students about events in South Africa (including the pencil test) and writing in general.
annamorgan27's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Violence, and Death
whatthekatdraggedin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
Without any connection to the characters (all of their voices sound the same), the story didn't do anything for me, so I dropped it. I didn't get the same sense of pacing and adventure other readers did. I found things picked up around the 100 page mark, but by then, I had already checked out. The first 30-40 pages, though, were rough.
addigetslost's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rashelreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This is a book I'm going to think about for a long time. It is a story of friendship, of perseverance, of the power of children and of hope.
I came to South Africa with very little knowledge of the countries' history; I had read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime and seen the episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain set in Johannesburg. I had heard of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela but that was pretty much it. I would be spending 4.5 months in a country I knew almost nothing about. I knew that I would have to fix this. I promised myself that while in country I would read at least one book written by a South African author, hopefully one written by a woman of color. Hoping to learn more about Apartheid, to learn of the stories' you don't normally get to hear.
When Morning Comes, while fiction, certainly delivered. The story chronicles the Soweto Youth Uprisings from the perspective of four children; two Black, one Indian, and one white. On the surface these children don't have much in common. Zanele is growing up with her mother and sister in a shack in the township, singing at a shebeen in the evenings to make ends meet, and helping to plan the uprising during the evening. Thabo is a gang member, striving to pay back his leader and bring down the abo gabo (police). Meena works at her father's store during the day time but dreams of being a doctor and helping to bring down the oppressive Apartheid regime. Jack, the most surprising of the bunch, lives in the white suburbs of Johannesburg. He has just graduated and is planing on attending Oxford in the fall, and his parents could not be prouder. Everything changes when the four lives intertwine, and ending the use of Afrikaans in township schools becomes a personal fight for the bunch. But the uprising does not go as planned and the four must combine forces to come out alive while still standing up for what is right.
This story was amazing, the writing style constantly kept you on your toes and dying to turn the page. The only reason this didn't get a full five stars from me is because I wish there was more. More detail. I think this book had some parts that could've been further developed for clarity. I think it would be hard for a reader with no background on the Soweto Youth Uprisings to understand the premise of the story and I wish that some of the scenes towards the end were more fleshed out. But, this is a story I will cherish and recommend nonetheless, the power of children and young adults is amazing and should never be undermined.
This is a book I'm going to think about for a long time. It is a story of friendship, of perseverance, of the power of children and of hope.
I came to South Africa with very little knowledge of the countries' history; I had read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime and seen the episode of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain set in Johannesburg. I had heard of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela but that was pretty much it. I would be spending 4.5 months in a country I knew almost nothing about. I knew that I would have to fix this. I promised myself that while in country I would read at least one book written by a South African author, hopefully one written by a woman of color. Hoping to learn more about Apartheid, to learn of the stories' you don't normally get to hear.
When Morning Comes, while fiction, certainly delivered. The story chronicles the Soweto Youth Uprisings from the perspective of four children; two Black, one Indian, and one white. On the surface these children don't have much in common. Zanele is growing up with her mother and sister in a shack in the township, singing at a shebeen in the evenings to make ends meet, and helping to plan the uprising during the evening. Thabo is a gang member, striving to pay back his leader and bring down the abo gabo (police). Meena works at her father's store during the day time but dreams of being a doctor and helping to bring down the oppressive Apartheid regime. Jack, the most surprising of the bunch, lives in the white suburbs of Johannesburg. He has just graduated and is planing on attending Oxford in the fall, and his parents could not be prouder. Everything changes when the four lives intertwine, and ending the use of Afrikaans in township schools becomes a personal fight for the bunch. But the uprising does not go as planned and the four must combine forces to come out alive while still standing up for what is right.
This story was amazing, the writing style constantly kept you on your toes and dying to turn the page. The only reason this didn't get a full five stars from me is because I wish there was more. More detail. I think this book had some parts that could've been further developed for clarity. I think it would be hard for a reader with no background on the Soweto Youth Uprisings to understand the premise of the story and I wish that some of the scenes towards the end were more fleshed out. But, this is a story I will cherish and recommend nonetheless, the power of children and young adults is amazing and should never be undermined.