Out of Shadows

Wallace, Jason. (2011). Out of shadows. New York: Holiday House. Zimbabwe in the early 1980s is a country in the midst of change. After a war, there is a new president, Robert Mugabe, who seems to offer hope for the nation's black citizens while respecting the claims of its whites. For Robert Jacklin, the family's move from England to this new place means attending a boarding school where many of us classmates are among the most privileged in the country. Robert is desperate to go home to England and begs his mother to help him leave the school, but despite her best intentions, she has troubles of her own. Robert's father experiences white guilt for the country's riches, due in part to white's oppression of blacks in the past as well as theft of their lands and natural resources. On the first day at school, he introduces Robert to Nelson, one of the few black boys at the school, and urges them to befriend one another. The school contains older bullies who take advantage of the younger boys and make their lives difficult. At first, Robert and Nelson stick closely to one another until Robert makes the choice to side with Ivan, the son of a wealthy farmer who hates the blacks and the changes occurring in their country. All the notions of fairness his father has taught him seem to evaporate, and he is increasingly drawn into Ivan's circle and increasingly violent activities. Once Ivan comes under the tutelage of a charismatic teacher who seems to be still fighting the war, Robert watches as his friend grows angrier and angrier. Since the story spans 1983 to 1987, the years of Robert's schooling, it is possible to observe the changes within him as he finally faces the truth about Ivan and about some of his own unsavory choices. As the story builds to its climax, readers will be astonished at how long thoughts of revenge can be allowed to incubate.

One of the most appealing aspects of this book is the narrator's honesty. Robert recognizes his own weakness and the fact that many of his own actions are rooted in fear and a desperate need to survive, and once he realizes that he has reached as far as he is willing to go and takes a stand, his actions seem authentic. My enjoyment of the book was marred by some aspects of the ending, though, which seem all too convenient to be true.

Favorite Lines:

“The cold air tugged sharply that afternoon, but there was something about the day that made us believe summer could return” (p. 175).