A young white boy and a Zulu teen grow up together, building an extraordinary friendship as they explore the rugged Drakensberg mountains around a remote South African hotel during the apartheid era.
Jock and Papin forge an indelible bond while learning to love and appreciate each other’s cultures. Despite whispers from intolerant guests, the boys are oblivious to the consequences of their friendship. “There goes the zebra,” guests remark, claiming they can’t tell where the white boy ends and the black boy begins.
But the boys’ friendship is strong enough to conquer all—until society’s impossible expectations wrench them apart, leaving bitter disappointment and soul-deep wounds that will not heal.
A decade later, these long-lost friends converge on opposite sides of a harrowing battlefield, one a reluctant soldier, the other a passionate freedom fighter. Their intimate knowledge of the other’s way of life could be the very tools that save them … or destroy them. And an unimaginable choice will put Jock and Papin’s once-unbreakable bond to the ultimate test.
Jill Wallace, author of the multi-award-winning World War II novel War Serenade, brings together a fascinating coming-of-age story with a compelling tale of human connection in Zebra.
Inspired by the life of Athol Wallace
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“Wallace has done an incredible job of balancing the many complex aspects of this heartfelt and deeply personal tale…[and in] the accuracy and cultural significance of the dialogue…Narrator Peter Noble only further enhance[s] the unbridled emotional quality of the story with a stellar vocal performance…Highly recommended.”
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ReadersFavorite.com (audio review)