No Turning Back: A Novel of South Africa

Rating:
Summary: No Turning Back is a great read
Review: A well-written, exciting, informative, and poignant tale of a young boy growing up in post-Apartheid South Africa. Young Sipho runs away from home to escape an abusive stepfather and lives on the street. Eventually taken in by a white family, Sipho learns he's only there to provide cheap labor to the father's business. Sipho runs away again. Great tale about love, forgiveness, friendship, and guilt.

Rating:
Summary: A++
Review: Beverley Naidoo is an award winning author. Her book No Turning Back is exceptional. The story takes place in South Africa in the early 1990s, where a young black African boy of twelve years named Sipho makes a decision to leave home to avoid further abuse from his violent stepfather. Sipho makes his way to the streets of Johannesburg. Survival on the streets is sometimes just as hard and cruel as life with his stepfather. Learning who you can trust, hunger and cold nights are a few of the problems Sipho faces.
The author in my opinion touches base on many issues including homeless street children, drugs, racism and a country on the verge of change. The book shows many examples on how the South African's rose to support Nelson Mandela and his views of restructuring a troubled nation. The books realism gives readers a chance to become familiar with life in South Africa. Sipho struggles are those of everyday people in this region of the world. I would recommend this book as one not to pass over. You can follow Sipho from being alone, threw new friendships and his hopes for a better tomorrow.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, brilliant book. Must-read.
Review: NO TURNING BACK is indeed a book that tells more than a story. It is a book that transcend space and culture. This book speaks for all the teens. No matter where they are, teenagers do share the same needs: the need to be loved and cared.They are all vulnerable kids subjected to the evil forces of the society, especially in South Africa where the relationship between the White and the Black was that tense. But deep inside they are just kids, their voices can be heard in NO TURNING BACK.

Rating:
Summary: Out standing
Review: The book No Turning Back is a great shortlist book. This book is a great book to read on the fly. The book leaves you wanting more. The easy reading leave of this book lets you cruise through the pages very easily. The book keeps you guessing till the last minute.
The book is a boy named Sipho. Sipho is a young boy who runs away from his abusive stepfather to the life of the malunde (the street children of South Africa). The story takes place in apartheid S. Africa, right before the election of Nelson Mandela to Office. Sipho has to learn how to survive on the streets of Johannesburg, in a little outskirt called Hillsborough. Sipho gets lucky to make friends early on and find a clan to be able to help him in the way of the streets. Along the way Sipho meets a local shop owner in Hillsborough that gives him a job and a place to stay for a while. Sipho after commotion in the shop owner's house, Sipho runs away to a boy's shelter. The book has a cliffhanger ending that unless you read you will never find out what it is.

Rating:
Summary: Children of the Apartheid
Review: Thousands of blacks are forced on the streets because of the Apartheid, many of which are children. In the irresistible and unpredictable book "No Turning Back", a 12 year old black boy named Sipho runs to the streets of Johannesburg, with nothing but the clothes on his back. Sipho ran away from his family because his Stepfather abused him too much. When Sipho reaches the town of Johannesburg, he meets other boys living on the streets. The black boys living on the streets help each other to survive the cruel nights, the empty stomachs,and even the racist white police.

Sipho and his friends learn to survive the streets of Johannesburg, but can they continually find a cart to push for money, spare change from the rich white people, or enough food to survive the next day? I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read an exciting and unpredictable book that you can't put down. The author Beverly Naidoo does a phenomenal job depicting the character traits and feelings of black people living on the street during the Apartheid. This book is both educational and enjoyable for almost any age, no joke!