FlumeAward – Out of Shadows //Out of the Shadows// by Jason Wallace
This is a complex story set in 1980s Zimbabwe with bullies, victims, and bystanders in a boys’ boarding school. It is ugly in its brutality and racism. It is told from an adult pov remembering his young years at the school. I think this novel is very thought provoking and I hope many of you read it but has several problems which keep me from recommending it for this list. ~ Gail Zachariah, Keene Public Library
This was a disturbing read involving an adult remembering his days of torture and racism at a boys’ boarding school in Zimbabwe. Reading the story, I found some of the African slang hard to translate until I discovered the reference in the back of the book! Very powerful, you won’t forget this story. Not to be read for enjoyment, thus I’m not sure it should make the list. Definitely for high school teens.
Denise Schaaf, Goffstown Public Library