Description
She wants a future – is that too much? This Thing Called the Future, the multiple-award-winning young-adult novel from J.L. Powers, is finally coming to South Africa, its country of origin. The book is set in Imbali, the sprawling township outside Pietermaritzburg. Khosi is fourteen years old. She lives with her grandmother and her little sister, Zi. Both her parents tell her of the past, about a time when hundreds of Imbali residents were killed in political violence. Khosi wants a future; she wants to help make South Africa a better place. Is that too much in an environment where some men believe that raping virgins, like Khosi, will cure them of AIDS? Meanwhile, Khosi has fallen in love and really, really just wants to experience that warm, fuzzy feeling that happens when Little Man, the handsome boy in her class, touches her hand. In a world where HIV and AIDS are treatable for those with money and access to good state-sponsored care, Khosi has to negotiate hours in clinic lines, vengeful men, her mother’s disdain for traditional healers, her grandmother’s faith in their sangoma, and the terrible curse her next-door neighbour has cast on their household. This beautifully crafted young-adult novel never preaches and never falls into the trap of “warning” teenagers against anything. It simply deals with the realities of township life and the hardships a young virgin faces. This Thing Called the Future has won several prizes in the USA. LAPA and Catalyst Press are proud to bring it back to its country of origin.
