Jenita

Jenita is an animated young girl who loves running barefoot through fields of lilac and playing in the beautiful Indian Ocean. She is the queen of her world, even when she blossoms into a slender teenager with knee-length hair. As the novel unfolds, you become one with the soul of South Africa, journeying past patchwork fields of sugar cane or viewing the Indian Ocean, whose untamed waters sparkle in a unique dance. Readers peek into informal settlements, where chubby-cheeked children dance to the beat of Zulu drums or delight in the tantalizing aromas of steaming-hot Indian curries that rise up from the pages. Minor characters like Nani, the betel-nut-chewing granny who is an expert storyteller, and Joe the gardener, who nurses his plants with a maternal fervour, promise entertaining reading. While Jenita is a poignant love story, the novel also exposes the brutality of the apartheid system and the seriousness of AIDS. What will happen when Jenita meets the dashing young art lecturer Sunil Mehra who rides a motorbike? Will she fall hopelessly in love with the heartthrob of the campus or forever remain the queen of her world? Come and join in the songs and dance of the rainbow nation South Africa. In the language of the Zulu peopleWozani!