The Other Side of Truth

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Also referred to in the novel is the civil war in Somalia, which Sade's school friend Mariam experienced as a young child. HOW CAN THEY TELL SUCH A GREAT BIG LIE? If only Femi and I had told the truth...then the people here would know that this is a TERRIBLE DISGUSTING LIE. Anyway, yes, this is technically a young adult novel but I struggled to view it that way while I was reading. The issues are actually really complex and you have to have a decent grasp on Nigerian history and politics as well as colonization and the relationship that England and Nigeria have in this novel. It’s not talked about explicitly but unless you are aware of certain things, I don’t think the novel would make a lot of sense. You call your article ‘Our Children’s Future.’ What do you imagine will happen now to your own, Folarin?

A powerful novel which explores what it means to be classified as 'illegal' and the difficulties which come with being a refugee - winner of the Carnegie Medal 2000. Sade and Femi were the protagonists all throughout the book. The children had to leave their own country for their safety. The Nigerian government was the antagonists. At the beginning of the book they killed Sade’s mother and threatened their family. The Other Side of Truth won a UK Arts Council Award for work in progress. [3] After publication it won the British librarians (CILIP) Carnegie Medal in 2000 as the year's best children's book. A retrospective citation by CILIP says that it "skilfully blends fact and fiction to leave a lasting impression of real issues at work" and describes it as: "An important book which challenges the notion of 'truth' itself." It further describes the writing as "gripping, powerful and evocative". [2] Why does Beverley Naidoo include Marcia in "The Other Side of Truth", and what is her significance? Her name is Mrs. Bankole. She has a British passport with a girl and boy on it—just the right ages for you both—but they aren’t traveling with her. She has agreed to say you are her children—and also to take you to your Uncle Dele.The Other Side of Truth is a young adult novel about Nigerian political refugees, written by Beverley Naidoo and published by Puffin in 2000. [1] It is set in the autumn of 1995 during the reign in Nigeria of the despot General Abacha, who is waging a campaign of suppression against journalists. A Nigerian girl and her younger brother must leave suddenly after their mother is killed in a failed assassination of their outspoken father. They are sent to London but are abandoned and must cope with the police, social services and school bullies. Naidoo won the 2000 Carnegie Medal, recognising the best children's or young adults' book in English published in the United Kingdom during the preceding school year. [2] Plot summary [ edit ] This introductory scene to be told sparsely and shown in the form of images imprinted on Sade's mind e.g. in first person present tense and possibly italicised: their mother falling, children racing towards father cradling their mother, snatches of conversation etc.] This novel wholly deserves its classic status. The Other Side of Truth won the Carnegie Medal in 2000 but the trauma and murder endured by Sade and her family, and their experience of fleeing the familiar to become refugees in an alien country, is still relevant and poignant.

Writing a novel is such a many-layered process. If we create characters in whom we believe and in whom others can believe, can we ever get to know them fully? Perhaps that is what leaves a novelist sometimes feeling there is unfinished business… and then a sequel has to be written. That is how it has been for me. I read The Other Side of Truth. I liked that the book was about a poor country with a corrupt government. I also liked how the author gave me a point of view of the refugees. I also liked how the author was so realistic with his descriptions and about the children and the situation they were in. It made me sad knowing that there are so many refugees that go to different countries just like Sade and Femi just to be safe. What factors should be considered when discussing the empowerment of readers by modern children's books?A shot. Two shots at the gate in the early morning and a car screeches away down an avenue of palm trees. A tragedy – and a terrible loss for Sade and her younger brother Femi, children of an outspoken Nigerian journalist. Now terror is all around them and they must flee their country. At once. And alone. Plans for their journey have to be hastily arranged. Everything must be done in secret. But once Sade and Femi reach England, they will be safe – won’t they? Mrs. Appiah is a Ghanaian woman living in London. Mrs. Appiah is compassionate because when she finds Sade and Femi stranded, she takes them to an immigration lawyer to help them. Fortunately, the lawyer helps Sade and Femi get a family that adopts them. Mariam The Other Side of Truth' is a harrowing account of how the lives of Sade and her brother, Femi, are turned upside down. The story it set during the Autumn of 1995 in the aftermath of Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution in Nigeria for alleged political crimes. Sade's father, a controversial journalist for the Newspaper 'Speak' is determined to unveil the oppressive military regime in Nigeria. In an attempted assassination on his life, his wife is shot in the chest and it is made known that the culprits will return and the family must flee Nigeria. Sade and Femi are sent ahead to London with a shady woman, Mrs Bankole. On arrival in London, the children are abandoned by the Nigerian woman and have to find their own means of living. Walking through the concrete jungle of London the siblings are met with a series of unfortunate events. They are soon swept into care and have to deal with the despair of not knowing if their father is even alive whilst attending a school system which is completely foreign to them and applying for political asylum.