I recently read the book The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo. The book is about two children that are smuggled out of Nigeria after their mother was murdered.

Their father is a journalist for a periodical that talks about the political corruption in Nigeria. Sade and Femi's father is the most honest writer of the staff. When he openly writes about how bad of a government the Nigerian one is, the government tries to kill him. But, instead of killing him they kill his wife. Later that day arrangements are made for Sade and Femi to be smuggled to their uncle in London.

When their plans fall through they are discovered by the police, but Sade and Femi make the decision to lie and not talk about who they really are. They are given to temporary parents. Their dad later joins them in London but is immediately sent to jail because of not going through the right immigration steps. The end of the story portrays true family love and is exceptionally amazing.

I really enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. The first of which is that the author does a great job explaining a very confusing plot. The second reason I liked this book was because this sort of plot has always really interested me. I would especially recommend this book for anyone that enjoys realistic fiction; this book is at the very top of the line in that category. This book was one of the best books I read all summer and I would highly recommend it to anyone, even people that might not have enjoyed this sort of book in the past.

This book has haunted me since I read it. It tells the story of two immensely likable young children forced out of their country and into a totally foreign culture. It managed to educate me about Nigeria and its political turmoil, while also cluing me into some of the problems faced by those seeking asylum, such as being imprisoned like criminals and often being sent home to face torture or death. Yet, despite the heavy material, Naidoo has a light touch that transforms the book into an adventure with the highest stakes, riveting you to the pages until the end.

I have read this book because it was assigned to me in English; however, I immediately became utterly engrossed in it and found it an un-put-down-able book until I had devoured every last one of its 224 very worth-while pages!
I will not go on to reveal the plot, for that is the absolute beauty of the book, and the tension created by this very gifted author with her own amazing, individualistic style of writing is fantastic!
Please read this book - it is such a lesson in Nigerian life, while at the same time you do not realise that you are learning so much!
A true epic!

In this book, No Turning Back, we meet Sipho, a young African boy who decides to escape the violence inflicted by his stepfather. With this choice come many experiences ranging from begging for money with a gang of boys to working for a white family that offer him most everything but respect. All of these experiences Sipho experiences are all in the name of survival and a quest for something better.
This book has many benefits for children and adults alike. In talking about big issues from the use of drugs (glue as an inhalant in this case) to the very serious issues faced by racism, Sipho's experiences open up many topics of discussion and reflection.
Besides the large physical issues that this book brings to the surface, it recognizes a number of internal issues dealing with emotion. From guilt and anger to friendship and hope, this story gives a real view of an area of the world that so many people are unfamiliar with. Though many of the issues this book addresses are known about, few are recognized as being associated with life in Southern Africa.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It is action packed, yet shows the reality of abuse, homelessness, and the end of apartheid in South Africa. This book show what an abused, homeless boy's life is like. It also shows the severity of apartheid. This is an excellent book for someone who wants to know what apartheid was like and the changes.

NO TURNING BACK is indeed a book that tells more than a story. It is a book that transcend space and culture. This book speaks for all the teens. No matter where they are, teenagers do share the same needs: the need to be loved and cared.They are all vulnerable kids subjected to the evil forces of the society, especially in South Africa where the relationship between the White and the Black was that tense. But deep inside they are just kids, their voices can be heard in NO TURNING BACK.

Chain of Fire

Have you ever had a incident where someone treated you badly because the color of your skin or you did things differently than others? That's what happens in this story. It is all prejudice and discrimination. A black tribe is forced to move because they need more room for the white people. The blacks try to stand up for themselves but in the process many get hurt. Will they have to move or will they all possibly stand up for themselves and die? You'll only find out if you read Chain of Fire. If you want my opinion I think that this is a great book because this really could of happen. What I am really trying to say is that the subject of the book could have really happened because it was about blacks and in this time blacks weren't treated fair. This book has to do with prejudice and discrimination. Back in the early 1900's blacks weren't slaves in all parts of the world only in some places but they still weren't treated fair. If you were to rate this book from 1-10 on a rating scale I would give it a 10.

This engaging companion to Journey to Jo'burg tells a passionate story of resistance. Naledi, the teenage girl in Jo'burg, and her brother, Tiro, join with the rest of their village to fight against South Africa's apartheid government that has marked their village to be destroyed and the occupants moved to a barren and nearly unlivable plot of land farther away. The fire within Naledi begins as a smoldering log. As she faces one injustice after another, the fire burns brighter and stronger. Her friendship with Taolo, the son of an active union leader from Soweto, pushes Naledi into a leadership position. She must accept the responsibility and the consequences of resistance.

Naidoo includes a diversity of personalities involved in resistance. Naledi's grandmother's hesitancy turns to quiet understanding while a few villagers choose to side with the apartheid goverment for the perks. Death, beatings, kidnappings and destroyed homes are some of the many consequences the black South Africans find in their struggle. Throughout the story you are shown the strength of community rising up against injustice.

Naidoo has provided strong and proud teenage characters who are not afriad to stand up against injustice. Naledi, Taolo and Tiro are inspirations for all of us.

The Chain of Fire is the best book I ever read. When I first started to read The Chain of Fire, I truly thought it was going to be boring. After a few chapters Naledi finds out that the government is going to tear down their village, then it got interesting. The story is about a girl named Naledi, who lives in South Africa, is trying to stop the government from tearing down their village. My favorite part of the story is when Naledi and the other students in her school did a protest. I liked it when the police came and started a lot of violence.I didn't like the ending because they didn't tell if Naledi liked their new "homeland".

I thought that the book Journey to Jo'burg was o.k. I decided to give the book 3 *'s. I did this because I thought the book would mostly be about a journey to johannesburg but in the book it only took tiro and naledi about 2 chapters out of the book to go on the journey. I think they should have named the book journey in jo'burg because the whole book was them in Jo'burg, meeting new people and doing other things.

The main character in this book is Naledi. She is caring, brave, and curious. The plot of the story is as follows: Naledi and Tiro went on a journey, because their sister was very ill. On the journey they discovered how blacks were treated by whites. Some examples are: they had to sit at the back of the bus; they had to have passes to travel; they had to work as servants; and they were harrassed by the police. They went to seach for their Mma. Will they find Mma? Will they save their sister Dineo?- You should read this book to find out!- by Sierra Serrano (Age 12), Johnnie Basham (Age 10), and Garrett Kovach (Age 11)

I found this a good book. When Naledi and Tiro's baby sister Dineo, gets sick, they decide to leave their small village and go to Johannesburg to call their mother to help Dineo. They discover so much about their country, about the way their skin colour changes their future and start to ask questions about why life is so unfair. Though readers found it very uninformative, at the time this book was written people were not allowed to write about how unfair the situation in South Africa was. This book said so much that it was banned for many years! It is designed to tell CHILDREN about the situation, so it can't be very gory, its just to give them an idea of the apartheid. I lived in South Africa and have studied the apartheid, this book gives the basic idea. Read it, its good.