Twelve-year-old Robert Jacklin comes face to face with bigotry, racism, and brutality when he is uprooted from England moves to Zimbabwe with his f...
read full description
reviews
Nov 05, 2011
Jo
rated it: 
3.5 stars.
“I nodded subserviently while inside I was chewing over his words: tipped the balance of power. It seemed a strange expression to me because it gave me an image of a seesaw, and when one end was up the other was always down. It was never actually balanced.”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
What… wait.. was that…? No.. it couldn’t be. Could that be an epilogue that didn’t make me superfluously angry?! I believe it was. Gosh.
And also… sadness.
Hi More...
“I nodded subserviently while inside I was chewing over his words: tipped the balance of power. It seemed a strange expression to me because it gave me an image of a seesaw, and when one end was up the other was always down. It was never actually balanced.”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
What… wait.. was that…? No.. it couldn’t be. Could that be an epilogue that didn’t make me superfluously angry?! I believe it was. Gosh.
And also… sadness.
Hi More...
3 comments
like
(7 people liked it)
Jan 01, 2012
Readingjay
rated it: 
As somebody who has had a bit to do with YA judging in recent years, I try to keep up as much as I can with international award winners. Out of Shadows was the winner of the 2010 Costa, the 2011 Branford Boase Award and the UKLA Children's Book Award, It was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize so I came with high hopes. Hopes that were not disappointed. I sat up into the night to finish this layered, terrifying, very political YA novel.
"You seeMore...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 12, 2011
Genre: Young Adult
Awards:
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
The novel is set in post revolutionary Zimbabwe. The narrator and protagonist, Robert Jacklin is a white British boy that relocated to Zimbabwe with his parents. Robert’s father came to Zimbabwe for a career in civil service. As a boy Robert is sent to Haven, a previously “all-white” boarding school. In order to please his father Robert befriends a young black student named Nelson .The school still has a very low proportion of More...
Awards:
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
The novel is set in post revolutionary Zimbabwe. The narrator and protagonist, Robert Jacklin is a white British boy that relocated to Zimbabwe with his parents. Robert’s father came to Zimbabwe for a career in civil service. As a boy Robert is sent to Haven, a previously “all-white” boarding school. In order to please his father Robert befriends a young black student named Nelson .The school still has a very low proportion of More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 06, 2012
Stefanie
rated it:
This is an important book, although one that might not find a wide readership due to an unappealing cover and a somewhat slow start. The book becomes more thrilling in the second half, but it also becomes more morally complex. This is best given to sophisticated readers who enjoy historical fiction and school drama (but obviously not the fluffy kind). A haunting read.
It is 1980s Zimbabwe, a few years after the war for independence that brought Mugabe into power. Robert and his fami More...
It is 1980s Zimbabwe, a few years after the war for independence that brought Mugabe into power. Robert and his fami More...
Oct 12, 2011
Beth
rated it: 
This YA novel is set in Zimbabwe in 1983, not long after the Rhodesian Civil War has ended. Mugabe has recently come to power, and still carries the hopes of his people. (It is interesting to telescope back to a time when "Mugabe" didn't immediately bring the words "villianous dictator" to mind.) Robert Jacklin, a British boy whose father is in the Foreign Office, has just joined an all-male boarding school in Harare. Although the school is mostly populated by the white s
More...
Sep 09, 2011
Talia
rated it:
Robert Jacklin has just moved from England to Zimbabwe shortly after its war for independence in 1983. Robert starts school at a nearby boarding school, but finds that many of his classmates are not in favor of Mugabe or the new country that has formed.
I give this book some props for the interesting topic and the writing. The author does a good job of “showing”, such as the progression of Ivan’s evilness, or other actions in the story. But then the narrative aspect of the story kinda b More...
I give this book some props for the interesting topic and the writing. The author does a good job of “showing”, such as the progression of Ivan’s evilness, or other actions in the story. But then the narrative aspect of the story kinda b More...
Aug 06, 2011
Cornmaven
rated it:
Awesome historical novel, covering a country and political event not normally found in historical fiction. Wallace takes Zimbabwe's war of independence and exposes the folly of everyone who lusts after power. The journey of an English kid transplanted to an exclusive boarding school in a country now ruled by Robert Mugabe, is a journey filled with fear, desire to belong, and violence. Wallace uses the intense bullying present at the school to mirror Mugabe's regime. Everyone is complicit in
More...
Jul 08, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 11, 2011
Gavin
rated it:
This book was interesting, It is a good example of historic fiction, because it follows the life of a boy (Robert), who moves to Zimbabwe just after it has been granted independence from Britain. Throughout the novel it shows Robert Mugabe's acceptance by the people of the country, and how the whites are treated after blacks gain rule, and how white people of the country feel toward blacks, before and after the change of power.
Much of the emotion in the book comes from the change of power More...
Much of the emotion in the book comes from the change of power More...
May 09, 2011
Katie
rated it:
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Autobiography
Awards: Costa Award
Summary: Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace is set in Zimbabwe in 1983 after a violent bush war and struggle for black independence. The story takes place at a prestigious boy’s private boarding school. The new beliefs of peace and freedom for Zimbabwe have posed an issue for a traditional school struggling to adapt to a changing environment. Admissions of black teachers and students have made it harder for the original More...
Awards: Costa Award
Summary: Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace is set in Zimbabwe in 1983 after a violent bush war and struggle for black independence. The story takes place at a prestigious boy’s private boarding school. The new beliefs of peace and freedom for Zimbabwe have posed an issue for a traditional school struggling to adapt to a changing environment. Admissions of black teachers and students have made it harder for the original More...
May 08, 2011
Steven
rated it:
Genre: Historical Fiction/Autobiography
Award: Costa Award
Summary:
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace is about an expatriate servant, Robert Jacklin. The story is set in Zimbabwe in 1983 after the Bush War has ended. The man in power, Robert Mugabe. After Jacklin’s arrival, he enrolls in prestigious, all-boys, boarding school. But, the school is not all that prestigious after all. Many of the attendees dislike the few black children that attend the school, and Robert is immediatel More...
Award: Costa Award
Summary:
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace is about an expatriate servant, Robert Jacklin. The story is set in Zimbabwe in 1983 after the Bush War has ended. The man in power, Robert Mugabe. After Jacklin’s arrival, he enrolls in prestigious, all-boys, boarding school. But, the school is not all that prestigious after all. Many of the attendees dislike the few black children that attend the school, and Robert is immediatel More...
Apr 28, 2011
Anne
rated it:
Reminded me of Lord of the Flies in its harsh depiction of boarding school life and brutal behaviour of the bullies. Hardly any adults around, and certainly not to be relied upon. Either useless or seen firing up youngsters to do their dirty work.
Language is gritty and realistic (especially when read with a South African accent!)
Robert is a character that grows up before your eyes: a gullible, lonely young boy, into a strong moral young man. His relationships with other c More...
Language is gritty and realistic (especially when read with a South African accent!)
Robert is a character that grows up before your eyes: a gullible, lonely young boy, into a strong moral young man. His relationships with other c More...
Feb 21, 2010
Kirsty
rated it:
“If I stood you infront of a man, pressed the cold metal of a gun into your palm and told you to squeeze the trigger, would you do it?
“What if I told you we had gone back in time and his name was Adolf Hitler? Would you do it then? Would you?”
So begins Jason Wallace’s Out of the Shadows, a gripping “what if” post-independence tale set in a prestigious boy’s boarding school, struggling to adapt to the new integrated Zimbabwe.
The story is told through the eyes of Robert Jacklin, More...
“What if I told you we had gone back in time and his name was Adolf Hitler? Would you do it then? Would you?”
So begins Jason Wallace’s Out of the Shadows, a gripping “what if” post-independence tale set in a prestigious boy’s boarding school, struggling to adapt to the new integrated Zimbabwe.
The story is told through the eyes of Robert Jacklin, More...
Jun 04, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
A disturbing and upsetting look at life and reactions after Mugabe's rise to power in Zimbabwe, from the perspective of young white men cloistered together in a fairly rigid British-style boarding school. The behavior of the young men was not so surprising - perhaps Lord of Flies prepares us to expect some bad behavior, and certainly tales of such boarding schools (even Harry Potter's) does. The war was recently over, and none of them were provided with any assistance in handling the change - th
More...
Dec 13, 2011
Jan
rated it:
This is a historical novel that has great appeal to both teens and adults. The writing is sharp and poignant, the characters unforgettable. The story is set in Zimbabwe, at the beginning of the presidency of Robert Mugabe. Whites who remain in Zimbabwe hope that Mugabe will promote tolerance between whites and blacks, but great racial tension remains, as exemplified by the attitudes of boys in a private prep school in Zimbabwe. The narrator, Robert, is a student at the school and is troubled
More...
Apr 13, 2011
Charlotte
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 23, 2010
Jenny
rated it:
Out of Shadows is one of the best debut novels I've ever read. It's fantastically written, and has left me close to how I felt when I read The Book Thief for the first time. It's powerful and important, and at times horribly shocking. I sat there in stunned silence after reading one particular page, and had to take a minute to fully comprehend what had happened. That's strong writing, if ever I saw it.
Out of Shadows begins in 1983, a few years after the end of the Rhodesian Bush War More...
Out of Shadows begins in 1983, a few years after the end of the Rhodesian Bush War More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 09, 2011
Jasmineluvsjb
rated it:
Imagine you move to a new school? Hard right? But imagine moving to a whole new country, where the customs are different, the people think different and a new school. Not to mention that the school is a boarding school. That's seems so hard right? Of coarse, and it is even harder then it sounds for Robert Jacklin, who moved from England all the way to the south African country of Zimbabwe. Right at the time where everything just started to calm down after the war, the civil war that has bee
More...
Aug 28, 2011
Beaverton City Library Teens
rated it:
This book has intriguing descriptions of the brutality and confusion of life in Zimbabwe in the early 1980s. The main character, Robert Jacklin, is fictional but the author notes that he drew on life experience for the setting (an elite boarding school) if not the actual events that occur. That the book reads like a memoir is great in the beginning. The descriptions are rich and you feel Robert's confusion at having his life upturned when his family moves from England to Zimbabwe. You are mud
More...
Apr 30, 2011
Yellowoasis
rated it:
So, the Carnegie shortlist is out! I'm sure it's something to do with the way the selection process has been changed, but I've read all but two of them.
1. Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness
2. The death defying Pepper Roux, Geraldine McCaughrean
3. White Crow, Marcus Sedgwick
4. The Bride's Farewell, Meg Rosoff
5. Prisoner of the Inquisition, Theresa Breslin
6. Out of Shadows, Jason Wallace
My rating so far in this order:
1. Monsters of Men
2. White More...
1. Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness
2. The death defying Pepper Roux, Geraldine McCaughrean
3. White Crow, Marcus Sedgwick
4. The Bride's Farewell, Meg Rosoff
5. Prisoner of the Inquisition, Theresa Breslin
6. Out of Shadows, Jason Wallace
My rating so far in this order:
1. Monsters of Men
2. White More...
May 23, 2011
Georgia
rated it: 
This book wasn't good.
But it wasn't bad, either.
Yes, the story was confusing.
And the politics weren't explained.
The characters were annoying.
And you had no idea what race any of them were.
But it wasn't the worst book ever.
Which I was expecting it to be.
So that's good.
But it wasn't bad, either.
Yes, the story was confusing.
And the politics weren't explained.
The characters were annoying.
And you had no idea what race any of them were.
But it wasn't the worst book ever.
Which I was expecting it to be.
So that's good.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 23, 2011
Kristy
rated it:
This book has been nominated for the Carnegie Book Award and it's been a controversial choice because of the violence and language involved. I found it to be no more violent than many films and games aimed at teenagers. I won't be recommending it to 11 and 12 year olds but the things that make it controversial are likely to make it all the more appealing to teens. The subject matter is interesting and thought provoking. If nothing else most kids should be able to identify with the theme of p
More...
Aug 15, 2011
Although this is a school story, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, it's not for children. The narrator, Robert, entering boarding school in Zimbabwe in 1983, is 13 at the beginning but looking back on the events from a present-day perspective, with an adult awareness which takes over when he visits the school, now closed, at the end. Coming from England, he hasn't experienced the war that led to Rhodesia becoming Zimbabwe: his father thinks Robert Mugabe a hero and supports the integration of
More...
Jan 20, 2012
Jack
rated it:
This book was interesting, or at least the premise was. I did enjoy the story, but I don't think it was written in a very clear way. There were several times when I had revelations late into the book even though they were written (unclearly) earlier in the book. That's not to say it wasn't a good book, it was confusing at times.
The school reminded me of the school in Leverage, for obvious reasons. And, like Leverage, I felt really bad for whoever was put through the ordeals. Greet wa More...
The school reminded me of the school in Leverage, for obvious reasons. And, like Leverage, I felt really bad for whoever was put through the ordeals. Greet wa More...
Jun 18, 2010
Deborah
rated it:
Started reading this yesterday morning and was up late to finish it. Very evocative account that brings back the 'feel' of the place through the weave of the tale, through the casual, incidental details that immediately make it exactly of its time and place. It is horrifying to ponder the 'what if' this book poses and that makes for some seriously uncomfortable reading. I found it impossible to be passive as I read - instead, this book was an excoriating experience. It demanded my interaction: i
More...
Nov 01, 2011
Robin
rated it:
Set in post-conflict Zimbabwe during the 1980'2, this semi-autobiographical account of an English boy attending boarding school is a tough read. The anger, racism and brutality of disenfranchised whites toward President Mugabe and the anti-white economic reforms poisons life. Robert Jacklin has moved to Zimbabwe with his family and suffers at the hands of bullies until he is accepted by the ruling clique of boys. Buckling under social pressure he makes decisions that will haunt him for the rest
More...
Jul 19, 2011
Pam
rated it:
This was a shocking book. I got it to read because I like to try to understand more about Africa. This is a story that gives a glimpse of the corruption of Robert Mugabe when he was in power in Zimbabwe. My son, who was serving a mission in Africa while he was in power, couldn't understand why the US wasn't paying any attention to all the killings that were happening there at the time when so much attention was being paid to the Middle East. He determined it was because there was no oil gett
More...
Dec 30, 2010
Seymour
rated it:
I know it is a cliche but I found it very hard to put this book down once I had started it. It is very well written, visceral prose and the story churns the emotions as it draws to the climax with a masterful sense of pace. I can't say I enjoyed it as much as being gripped by it, as it speaks all too accurately of the time and place of my own early childhood. It is hard to be objective with something so close to the bone but I would recommend this as more than a thriller, it is an intense portra
More...
Feb 20, 2012
Nate
rated it:
This is one of those books you don't expect yourself to like but end up loving. The story was compelling from start to finish, and the historical accuracy is remarkable. Along with this, the book highlights the important global issue that is Robert Mugabe's deadly dictatorship of Zimbabwe. The gripping story is further helped by the inclusion of fantastic characters, all of which face their own form of cruel problems throughout the story, this in turn leads to a well-written and excellently exec
More...
Aug 02, 2011
Caren
rated it:
Wow! This is an amazing book, but I must warn you---it will haunt you. I had to check that it was a novel and not a memoir, as it seemed as though it could have really happened. It reminded me of the adult nonfiction book, "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" by Alexandra Fuller.
Robert Jacklin, a British boy, has moved to the new Zimbabwe in the early 1980s when his father gets a job at the British embassy. His mother is terribly unhappy and wishes to return to England, but his More...
Robert Jacklin, a British boy, has moved to the new Zimbabwe in the early 1980s when his father gets a job at the British embassy. His mother is terribly unhappy and wishes to return to England, but his More...
