HIDDEN STAR

Hidden Star Nolitye lives in a shack with her mother Thembi in Phola, a dusty township on the edge of Jo'burg. She is good at maths and likes collecting stones, which she places in a bucket under her bed. She also has unusual powers: she can communicate with dogs. Nolitye has two close friends, Bheki, who is overweight, and the bespectacled Four Eyes. The girls' lives are made miserable by Rotten Nellie and her gang of Spoilers. One day, Nolitye finds a special stone that has the power to make people feel happy and laugh. Her mission from now on is to gather together the other pieces of the stone and reunite them, to stop darkness from taking control of her world. Ultimately, Hidden Star suggests there is a link between modern and ancient wisdom in Africa that remains a powerful tool to combat adversity and find happiness. K. SELLO DUIKER has created a sparkling novel that will engross adults and children alike. By the time of his untimely death, he had published various short stories and two novels. Thirteen Cents was awarded the Commonwealth Prize for a first novel, while The Quiet Violence of Dreams, won the Herman Charles Bosman Prize for English Literature.