The Hidden Star

by K. Sello Duiker

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Pub Date Jun 05 2018 | Archive Date Jan 10 2019

Myrick Marketing & Media | Cassava Republic Press

Middle Grade | Multicultural Interest

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Description

Nolitye lives in a shack with her mother Thembi in Phola, a dusty township on the edge of Johannesburg. She is good at maths and likes collecting stones, which she places in a bucket under her bed. She also has unusual powers: she can communicate with dogs. Nolitye has two close friends, Bheki, who is overweight, and the bespectacled Four Eyes, who join with her to resist the bullying from Rotten Nellie and her gang of Spoilers. One day, Nolitye finds a special stone that has the power to make people feel happy and laugh. Her mission from now on is to gather together the other pieces of the stone and reunite them, to stop darkness from taking control of her world.

Nolitye lives in a shack with her mother Thembi in Phola, a dusty township on the edge of Johannesburg. She is good at maths and likes collecting stones, which she places in a bucket under her bed...

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781911115434
PRICE	$10.99 (USD)
PAGES	210

Additional Information

Average rating from 5 members

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Featured Reviews

Toni L, Reviewer

The Hidden Star took a little time to really get into, but once I did it was well worth it. Maybe it was only because I was trying to read it with my 9 and 11 year old girls and it was a little different than what they are used to. But it is a magical tale set in a wonderful landscape that everyone should experience. Thank you so much for this brilliant work to read and review.

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Karen L, Reviewer

Journey deep into South Africa, where heroine Nolitye navigates life in a township of "squeezed-in shacks, dusty streets, shebeens and other small corner stores, and stray dogs." Nolitye, her friends Four Eyes, Bheki, and school bully Rotten Nellie are about 11-12 years old. The novel mixes elements of real life (school bullying, friendship, absent parents, disappearing children, rock collection) with magical realism (talking dogs and wildlife, evil witches, journey to a fantasy world, magical powers).

The themes here are potent: family; community; youth power and heroics; ancient cultural wisdom; good vs. evil; persistence. Magical elements resonate throughout scenery, culture, and myths of South Africa. Fans of the HARRY POTTER series, or Tomi Adeyemi's CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE will likely savor this adventure. A solid choice for middle-grades or even HS classroom discussion.

Prizewinning author K. Sello Duiker (who came of age in Soweto) is a masterful storyteller; the world is richer that this fairy-tale-like novel was edited (by Annari van der Merwe, one of the author's close friends) and published following the author's tragic death, too young, too soon.