Child of the River by Irma Joubert

★★★★✩
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Persomi’s dreams are much bigger than the world of poverty and deprivation that surround her in the Bushveld of the 1940s and 1950s in South Africa.

Persomi is young, white and poor, born the middle child of illiterate sharecroppers on the prosperous Fourie farm. Persomi’s world is extraordinarily small. She has never been to the local village and spends her days absorbed in the rhythms of the natural world around her. Her older brother, Gerbrand, is her lifeline and her connection to the outside world. When he leaves the farm to seek work in Johannesburg, Persomi’s isolated world is blown wide open. But as her very small world falls apart, bigger dreams become open to her—dreams of an education, a profession, and of love. As Persomi navigates the changing world around her—the tragedies of WWII and the devastating racial strife of her homeland—she finally discovers who she truly is and where she belongs.

A compelling coming of age story with an unlikely and utterly memorable heroine, Persomi’s English language publication solidifies Irma Joubert’s important place in the canon of inspirational historical fiction.

Another beautiful coming-of-age story from the author of The Girl From the Train, Child of the River grabbed my attention and compelled me to keep reading page after page. With rich historical detail, it transported me to a time and place I don’t visit too often in the books I read, and with excellent character development, I couldn’t help but become invested in Persomi’s journey. I absolutely loved Child of the River, as I did The Girl From the Train, and I highly recommend to any fan of historical fiction. It’s worth the read.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of Child of the River and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)