LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
November 2024 Book of the Month
Having adored Blessing Musariri’s YA debut, All That It Ever Meant, I had very high hopes for When It’s Your Turn for Midnight — hopes that were more than met by a beautiful, powerful, empowering story of sisterhood, and escaping generational trauma and the legacies of war.
“When I’m angry my words are lava and they even burn me”. So shares fifteen-year-old Chiante near the start of this remarkable novel, when she flees her family home in Harare and finds refuge with her feisty, fashionable grandmother, Ambuya Precious, after discovering a devastating truth about her father.
At first, Ambuya’s remote community in Mutare “feels like another country” to Chiante. From this secluded spot, Ambuya and her larger-than-life companions manage a very successful fashion-upcycling operation. But beneath their outward energy and joy, this unusual, remarkable clan of women are bound by war, and the enduring legacy of conflict — “Wars never end, they just change location”.
Simmering with secrets, When It’s Your Turn for Midnight blazes with survival, solidarity and the glory of strong-minded grandmothers as it also radiates courage, recovery and hope.
Joanne Owen
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About
When It's Your Turn For Midnight Synopsis
A scorching, euphoric YA novel about sisterhood, trauma and the fighting spirit of women, from Zimbabwean author, Blessing Musariri. When her mama drops a bombshell, Chiante's world shatters. In Zimbabwe, bloodlines matter, so when Chiante discovers her baba is not the man she thought he was, she flees. Seeking refuge in a secluded corner of Mutare with her feisty, stylish grandmother, Ambuya Precious, Chiante finds solace in a sisterhood forged by the bonds of war. This close-knit community of women and ex-combatants are living their best lives: singing, dancing, drinking and running a successful fashion-upcycling business. But at the heart of their carefully-built world is a secret no-one can give voice to which threatens to engulf them. As Chiante pieces together the puzzle of her family’s past, she wrestles with how sorrow seeps down the generations, and how hope survives all, obliging us to step up and live life to the full.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781035902569 |
| Publication date: |
7th November 2024 |
| Author: |
Blessing Musariri |
| Publisher: |
Zephyr an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
192 pages |
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Press Reviews
Blessing Musariri Press Reviews
'Powerful yet thoughtful, this novel about family, sisterhood and growing up gives a window into a young girl's inner turmoil and celebrates the courage of women. A worthy successor to Musariri's critically acclaimed YA, All That It Ever Meant' - The Bookseller, Editor's Choice
Author
About Blessing Musariri
Blessing Musariri is an award-winning author of short stories, children's stories, radio and screenplays, and contemporary adult fiction. Her work has also been published by the Guardian, Granta, and Poetry International. Blessing lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Photo copyright Lincoln Mandengu
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