The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, Zimbabwean Writer

This is Irene Sabatini's new book, coming out on September 8 in the United States.

Book Synopsis: In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the son of Lindiwe Bishop's white neighbour, seventeen-year-old Ian McKenzie, is arrested for a terrible crime. A year later Ian returns home, the charges against him dropped. He is brash and boisterous, full of charm and swagger, and fascinating to fifteen-year-old Lindiwe. She accepts a ride from him one day, despite her mother's warnings, and something grows between them -- becoming stronger and stronger in a world that wants nothing more than to divide them.

A secret that Lindiwe keeps hidden, and which Ian discovers years later, ensures that their lives will be irrevocably entwined as their country crumbles around them.
[from author website]

Irene Sabatini (photo credit: author website).

Irene Sabatini was born in Hwange, Zimbabwe and grew up in Bulawayo. She studied psychology at the University of Zimbabwe and then took a Masters at the Institute of Education in London. Irene Sabatini has followed a varied and international path: from teacher in Bogota, to researcher in the Caribbean, editor in Harare and author in Geneva, where she is currently based.

This is a moment to celebrate. I am not even going to mention that Irene is a Zimbabwean writer, and that Zimbabwean literature is expanding, because I have been saying that since 2007. Now I am going to focus on reading the literature.

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