‘Be strong, my Abela.’
These are the last words of Abela’s mother in their HIV/Aids stricken African village, where it seems that to live or to die, to be sick or to be healthy, is just a matter of chance. It takes all Abela’s strength to survive her Uncle Thomas’s scheming to get to Europe, but what will be her fate as an illegal immigrant?
‘I don’t want a sister or brother, ‘ thinks Rosa in England, when her mother tells her that she wants to adopt a child. Could these two girls ever become sisters? Is there room in Rosa’s family for an African orphan haunted by lions? Is there room in their hearts?
Abela is a powerful and moving story influenced by a visit to Africa, from the Carnegie Medal-winning author Berlie Doherty writing at her very best.
Sobre o autor
Berlie Doherty began writing for children in 1983, after teaching and working in radio. She has written more than 35 books for children, as well as for the theatre, radio and television. Berlie has won the Carnegie Medal twice: in 1987 for GRANNY WAS A BUFFER GIRL and in 1992 for DEAR NOBODY. She has also won the Writer’s Guild Children’s Fiction Award for DAUGHTER OF THE SEA. Her work is published all over the world, and many of her books have been televised.