When Morning Comes by Arushi Raina

Teenaged Zanele plots secretly against the apartheid-era South Africa, government on the brink of the Soweto uprising. Her best friend, Thabo, has joined a gang and extorts protection money from a local Indian store owner. The store owner’s daughter, Meena, keeps a wary eye on the world outside the door, her curiosity gradually turning to sympathy for the protesters. On the other side of town, in the wealthy white suburbs, Jack lives in comfort, insulated from the troubles of black South Africa.Arushi Raina's book brings 1976 South Africa to young readers in a fresh and engaging way. Each first-person narrator has a distinct voice, and the perspective of each is, unsurprisingly, defined by race--at least initially, that is, until their stories start to intersect. That is where heartbreak lies, and revelation as well. There are no easy happy resolutions, the book suggests. All happiness comes at a cost, love and justice mixed with regret and loss. What the ending gives us, however, is a sense of life continuing, of the stories going on even after the last page has been turned. That's a tough thing to pull off, and Raina's characters manage to linger in the memory.Carefully crafted and lovingly detailed, this novel in multiple voices honors the past while drawing subtle meanings for readers here and now.  Published by Tradewind Books.