Sally Partridge's Blog, page 6

Signing off on a difficult year

The year is all but over and I have much to celebrate and be thankful for.

I won two literary awards – the MER Prize for Best Youth Novel and the SALA for Youth Fiction. I signed the contract for my sixth novel, coming out in April next year, and I signed with a literary agent who is so enthusiastic about the project we’re working on that I can’t help but feel positive about the future.

It sounds like a lot of good things happened, but for the most part, it was a very difficult year.

My father’s sudden illness burst the little bubble I had been living in and plunged my world into a nightmare. I had no car. He had no medical aid. I spent every cent I had on getting my father the care he needed and when it ran out, stood at his side for hours as we fought for a bed in a government hospital. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to experience.

His death came suddenly and without explanation. I still don’t know how he died.

I had no choice but to accept this, like I had no choice but to accept all the other punches – getting a call from the mortuary to say they had lost my father’s body; asking my in-laws to pay for a funeral service that could help; the fact that five months later, my father’s estate is still at the mercy of the courts, leaving my mother completely reliant on my salary.

I realise that this “looking back” blog suddenly got uncomfortably personal. I’ve been deleting drafts all day, but I can’t bring myself to just list all the good things that happened in the last twelve months. It wouldn’t be a fair reflection.

My father was always proud of me for being an author. When my first novel was published in 2008, he stood outside the launch venue and had a beer next door. Why? Because he had just come off work and didn’t want to come in with dirty jeans.

He bought the newspaper every day, and always skipped to the books section first in case I was mentioned.

In the pub, he would tell anyone who would listen about the events I was appearing at, even if they were just for kids.

While I was looking for paperwork amongst his things, I found a stack of newspaper articles about me he had kept. I also found the framed cover of my first book. He was going to give it to me on my birthday.

He read every post on this blog….

I’ve been trying to let go of my anger. I guess I’m still processing. All I know is that I’m walking into next year changed. I’m going to continue doing what made my father proud. But I also want to show the characteristic that I’ve come to value most in the last few months – kindness.

The only thing that has made any of this easier has been the kindness people have shown to me and my parents. Doctors, nurses, neighbours, my partner’s parents, my father’s friends. My friend Martinique, who took every desperate call.

The world is full of selfish people. I don’t want to be one of them.

Next year I’m going to continue to promote the work of others and host another free writing workshop for aspiring authors. On the personal front, I’m going to do my best not to surrender to worry and despair. There are friends I haven’t seen in ages because I needed time to deal with everything.

I can’t say I’m sorry to see the back of this year. Yes, I achieved a lot, but I lost more. I’m still trying to make sense of how much.

Here’s to a kind future. I think we could all do with one.

Local books to buy your loved ones this Christmas

For me, the festive season means two things – time to buy presents for my nearest and dearest, and having quality time to catch up on reading. To help you do both, I’ve put together a list of books by some of South Africa’s best female authors that were published this year.

Please do yourself a favour and visit The Book Lounge in Cape Town or Love Books in Jozi and ask for their personal recommendations. There were so many good books published this year that deserve to be taken home. (I cheated and mentioned a few more at the bottom.)

Fiction

Shadow Flicker by Melissa Volker

A high-stakes environmental romance set in St. Francis Bay. If ever there was a beach holiday read, this is it.

The Unfamous Five by Nedine Moonsamy

South Africa is changing and five Lenasia teens witness a terrible crime that changes everything.

Being Shelley by Qarnita Loxton

Another page-turner for the holidays. Shelley Jacobsen bites off more than she can chew when she hires an attractive, young barista to work at her coffee shop.

Lacuna by Fiona Snyckers

In Lacuna, one of South Africa’s best novelists offers her take on JM Coetzee’s Disgrace. 

 

A little twisty

The Pact by Amy Heydenrych

A prank turns to murder at a fast-paced start-up. This brand-new novel is available on Audible right now, with the paperback hitting local shelves in January.

A Walk at Midnight by Alex van Tonder

A writer’s husband dies in the same way that she describes a murder in her book.  Is she the evil genius behind his death or is someone else twisting the narrative?

Death on the Limpopo by Sally Andrew

A murder mystery series set in the Karoo – with recipes. Where do I sign up? Death on the Limpopo is book three in the highly-successful Tannie Maria series.

The Book of Malachi by T.C. (aka Tracy) Farren

A dark and twisty speculative novel set in a top-secret lab at sea.

 

Short stories!

Hair: Weaving & Unpicking Stories of Identity edited by Joanne Hichens and Karina M. Szczurek

Nothing beats a short story while the sun shimmers through the trees above your picnic blanket. This fabulous collection features some of my favourite local female writers including Mary Watson, Diane Awerbuck, Shubnum Khan, Alex Smith, Sue Nyathi and Melissa A. Volker.

If you Keep Digging by Keletso Mopai

A beautiful, heartfelt collection of short stories by a brave new literary voice. Read an excerpt here.

Fool’s Gold edited by Arja Salafranca

A celebration of previously published short stories including works by Lauri Kubuitsile, Makhosazana Xaba, Jayne Bauling and Colleen Higgs.

New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African descent, edited by Margaret Busby

A must-have anthology featuring the work of more than 200 women writers including locals Nadia Davids, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner and Yewande Omotoso.

Young adult & MG

Sing Down the Stars by Nerine Dorman

This was the 2019 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature English gold winner.  A thrilling space opera for teens is something local bookshelves have been desperately needing.

The Wickerlight by Mary Watson

An utterly gorgeous magical romp through a small Irish village at war. This book glimmers with intrigue, mystery and magic. Read my review, here.

Water Birds on the Lakeshore edited by Zukiswa Wanner

A vivid collection of short stories for teen readers. The collection is the fruit of the

AfroYoungAdult project.

The Choice Between Us by Edyth Bulbring

A wonderful coming of age novel that pivots between the present and the past. Read my review here.

Night of the Red Moon by Bontle Senne

Book four in this highly-entertaining adventure series for kids. The Shadow Chasers have to race against the clock to defeat the monsters intent on destroying their world. Read my review of books one-to-three here.

Wait, here’s more.

Here are a few more recommendations because you can never have enough books!

Siren by Kuli Roberts

Here’s a book I’m very excited about. Siren is a no-holds-barred tale of a young woman navigating the scandalous entertainment industry.

Okay, Okay, Okay by Finuala Dowling

Knowing Dowling, expect exquisite, engaging prose with a light touch of humour.

Upturned Earth by Karen Jennings

Set in Namaqualand in 1886, this ambitious book puts the origins of the mining industry in South Africa in sharp focus.

The Woman of the Stone Sea by Meg Vandermerwe

A West Coast fisherman discovers a mermaid on a deserted beach, but how much of what he experiences is real and how much is imaginary?

Breaking Milk by Dawn Garisch

A story about tradition, motherhood and connection in a divided world.

Borderline by Marita van der Vyver

Also available in Afrikaans, the latest novel by one of South Africa’s best-selling female authors looks at one woman’s determination to atone for the past.

Yellow and Confused by Ming-Cheau Lin

A beautiful, timeous memoir about how immigration affects one’s identity.

Because I Couldn’t Kill You: A Memoir by Kelly-Eve Koopman

A personal take on some universal themes that affect all South Africans. It’s getting some rave reviews on Goodreads.  I can’t wait to read it!

Happy shopping!

PS: I have probably missed a lot of great books. Please send me your favourite works of fiction by female writers published in 2019 so I can add them.

 

10 local books to buy your loved ones this Christmas

For me, the festive season means two things – time to buy presents for my nearest and dearest, and having quality time to catch up on reading. To help you do both, I’ve put together a list of ten books by some of South Africa’s best female authors that were published this year.

I stuck to ten titles, but do yourself a favour and visit The Book Lounge in Cape Town or Love Books in Jozi and ask for their personal recommendations. There were so many good books published this year that deserve to be taken home. (I cheated and mentioned a few more at the bottom.)

Fiction

Shadow Flicker by Melissa Volker

A high-stakes environmental romance set in St. Francis Bay. If ever there was a beach holiday read, this is it.

The Unfamous Five by Nedine Moonsamy

South Africa is changing and five Lenasia teens witness a terrible crime that changes everything.

Being Shelley by Qarnita Loxton

Another page-turner for the holidays. Shelley Jacobsen bites off more than she can chew when she hires an attractive, young barista to work at her coffee shop.

 

A little twisty

The Pact by Amy Heydenrych

A prank turns to murder at a fast-paced start-up. This brand-new novel is available on Audible right now, with the paperback hitting local shelves in January.

A Walk at Midnight by Alex van Tonder

A writer’s husband dies in the same way that she describes a murder in her book.  Is she the evil genius behind his death or is someone else twisting the narrative?

Death on the Limpopo by Sally Andrew

A murder mystery series set in the Karoo – with recipes. Where do I sign up? Death on the Limpopo is book three in the highly-successful Tannie Maria series.

 

Short stories!

Hair: Weaving & Unpicking Stories of Identity edited by Joanne Hichens and Karina M. Szczurek

Nothing beats a short story while the sun shimmers through the trees above your picnic blanket. This fabulous collection features some of my favourite local female writers including Mary Watson, Diane Awerbuck, Shubnum Khan, Alex Smith, Sue Nyathi and Melissa A. Volker.

Young adult

Sing Down The Stars by Nerine Dorman

This was the 2019 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature English gold winner.  A thrilling space opera for teens is something local bookshelves have been desperately needing.

The Wickerlight by Mary Watson

An utterly gorgeous magical romp through a small Irish village at war. This book glimmers with intrigue, mystery and magic. Read my review, here.

Wait, I changed my mind!

Here are a few more recommendations because I am all about breaking the rules: Okay, Okay, Okay by Finuala Dowling, The Book of Malachi by T.C. (aka Tracy) Farren, The Woman of the Stone Sea by Meg Vandermerwe, Upturned Earth by Karen Jennings, Breaking Milk by Dawn Garisch, Lacuna by Fiona Snyckers, and Borderline by Marita van der Vyver.

Happy shopping!

Mine nominated for a SALA (UPDATED)

My little love story has come a long way. Since being published in February last year, Mine has appeared on the Exclusive Books Homebru list and won the MER Prize for Youth Fiction. Most recently, it has been nominated for a South African Literary Award (SALA) in the youth literature category.

Being nominated for a SALA is a huge honour. It’s basically being recognised by your country. The SALAs are administered by the wRite associates in partnership with the South African Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). The government.

This is from The Sunday Times:

The main aim of the South African Literary Awards is to pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as groundbreaking producers and creators of literature, while it celebrates literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems, philosophies and art as inscribed and preserved in all eleven official languages of South Africa. The awards have become the most prestigious and respected literary accolades in South African literature.

I’m honestly speechless and deeply, deeply honoured. The other shortlisted title in the youth literature category is Vlerke vir Almal by Marion Erskine. Back in 2007, Marion and I were two of the five winners of the SABC/You Magazine I am a writer competition. Both our first novels were published that year. (I wish I could find a picture of how young we were then!)

You can see the full list of nominations here. 

The winning books will be announced in November. Cross your fingers for me!

 

Update: I won!

The SALAs took place last Thursday 7 November 2019. I’m thrilled to announce that Mine won the SALA for best youth novel. I couldn’t make the awards ceremony in Johannesburg, but I was glued to my phone and updating Twitter every few seconds. When I saw my name, I had to refresh the feed just to be sure.

It’s such a huge achievement and I’m so proud of my little book for all it’s achieved.

Thank you to the wRite associates who founded and act as custodian of

the SALAs in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture as well as everyone at NB Publishers who have supported me for more than a decade.

My beautiful glass trophy is on its way home from Johannesburg. I can’t wait to have my Sally Fields Oscar moment when it arrives. (I’ll post a video.)

Mine nominated for a SALA

My little love story has come a long way. Since being published in February last year, Mine has appeared on the Exclusive Books Homebru list and won the MER Prize for Youth Fiction. Most recently, it has been nominated for a South African Literary Award (SALA) in the youth literature category.

Being nominated for a SALA is a huge honour. It’s basically being recognised by your country. The SALAs are administered by the wRite associates in partnership with the South African Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). The government.

This is from The Sunday Times:

The main aim of the South African Literary Awards is to pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as groundbreaking producers and creators of literature, while it celebrates literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems, philosophies and art as inscribed and preserved in all eleven official languages of South Africa. The awards have become the most prestigious and respected literary accolades in South African literature.

I’m honestly speechless and deeply, deeply honoured. The other shortlisted title in the youth literature category is Vlerke vir Almal by Marion Erskine. Back in 2007, Marion and I were two of the five winners of the SABC/You Magazine I am a writer competition. Both our first novels were published that year. (I wish I could find a picture of how young we were then!)

You can see the full list of nominations here. 

The winning books will be announced in November. Cross your fingers for me!

LEGO book review: The Deathless Girls

I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula when I was in grade ten. It was a difficult novel to read, one of those books where you start reading a paragraph and end up daydreaming about something else for ten minutes. It took me a long time to finish. But it was a point of pride. I was on a mission to read all the great works of classic literature I could get my hands on (which were also incidentally free to take out from the library.) To me, Dracula was the classic that defined gothic literature. 

Hachette Children’s Group recently launched the Bellatrix series – feminist retellings of classic works of fiction for a whole new audience. Superstar author Kiran Millwood Hargrave was tasked to take on Dracula. 

In this dazzling and imaginative retelling, there are no back and forth letters between Jonathan and Mina warning of a coming menace. Millwood Hargrave’s subjects are the beautiful and terrible brides of Dracula. The novel is their origin story.

When I first heard about the book, my little gothic heart started doing cartwheels. It’s finally arrived in South Africa, in Spooktober no less, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. It’s the Halloween read I was waiting for. 

The Deathless Girls is set before the brides meet their fate. The reader is plunged into a violent past seen through the perspective of Lil, a Traveller girl who finds herself captive of a brutal regime, alongside her twin sister Kizzy. 

Having just turned seventeen, the twins have their whole lives ahead of them. Their Traveller camp is about to move on when they are attacked by soldiers and captured. The girls are separated from the rest of their people and thrown into the service of a neighbouring lord. 

The world they find themselves in is cruel and brutal, but the source of evil goes even higher, to a man known as the Dragon, the most dangerous and feared of all men.

The girls do not accept their new lot in life gently. They fight and claw and dream of escape. But a worse fate is still to come when Kizzy is sent to dance in the Dragon’s court.

The Deathless Girls takes two obscure female characters from the original novel and transforms them into the heroes of their own destiny. Lil and Kizzy are Travellers, viewed with disdain and seen as unclean and untrustworthy. They have their agency and dignity stripped away. Later they fall victim to the ultimate monster, Dracula himself. 

Lil and Kizzy face this world full of cruelty and injustice with their heads held high, and when they come face to face with their destiny, they accept it on their own terms. It’s a powerful story that resonates in the present day landscape of strong men and heart-breaking headlines. It teaches you to stay strong and hold on to what you believe in. 

It took me almost a year to finish reading Dracula. That poor, battered copy gathered a lot of dust. This book took four hours, not because it’s an easier read – it’s smart, layered, all-encompassing, compelling. The truth is I couldn’t stop reading for even a second. Lil and Kizzy’s tale captivated me completely. 

Thanks to The Deathless Girls, the brides are no longer nameless characters thank slink in the shadows. They are real young women with a past, who have loved and lost and have seen more than most. They are girls with a destiny. 

It’s about time the brides of Dracula had their own story, and what a story it is. 

Read my review of Kit de Waal’s Moby Dick retelling here. 

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LEGO book review: The Kingdom

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg will knock you sideways like Harley Quinn wielding her giant mallet. 

The book is set in what’s hinted as a near future version of our world. Most of the animal species are extinct and the world seems a bit of a mess thanks to war, pollution and overall corruption (like I said, the near future). To get everyone’s mind off how horrible everything is, a large corporation created The Kingdom, a magical place where families can come and see lab-grown versions of every species ever known, new species like unicorns and winged horses, go on theme-park rides, and most importantly, hang out with real-life princesses, who just happen to also come from test tubes. 

Ana is one of these ‘Fantasists’ – the epitome of human perfection and fantasy, a fairytale princess who is always smiling, always willing to please and altogether just lovely. Except, she’s not happy. None of the fantasists are, even though they’ve been programmed to never disobey the rules of The Kingdom. 

The book kicks off with a trial transcript revealing that Ana has been accused of murdering a Kingdom maintenance worker. Told from Ana’s perspective, the reader is pulled headfirst into this world of fantasy come to life. We go back to before the murder occurred, to the moment Ana starts realising something bad is happening inside The Kingdom. She has to go against her own programming to discover the truth and save her sisters. But her new developing personality and ‘feelings’ meet a lot of resistance. Fantasists are not allowed to say no, question or lie.

I’ll be honest, the reactions from the male ‘humans’ when Ana starts speaking up for herself were chilling, and grimly relatable. The fantasists were designed to be objects of fantasy, and the pushback is brutal. 

The Kingdom is basically what you’d get if you tossed Disney Princesses, Westworld and Black Mirror into a test tube and shook it around for a bit.

It’s a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t pull any punches, and it’s wonderfully immersive. You feel like you’re walking around Disneyland as Belle from Beauty and the Beast trying to figure out what’s behind the sinister changes happening in the park. 

But despite its high entertainment value, this book carries some heavy themes, and the political undertones did not go unnoticed. Imagine The Handmaid’s Tale spliced with The Stepford Wives. It’s dark, but there is a silver lining. 

I haven’t read a book so quickly in ages. 

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LEGO book review: Becoming Dinah

This year, Hachette Children’s Group launched Bellatrix – a series of feminist retellings of classic literature for young adults. If you’re anything like me, your first reaction would be ‘Where can I get them?’

The first authors to sign on to the series were heavyweights Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Kit de Waal. I didn’t realise that Millwood Hargrave’s The Deathless Girls was part of the Bellatrix series until I saw it mentioned in the official press release. The Dracula retelling captured my attention as soon as I caught a whisper of it on Twitter. The book was only just released in South Africa, so until my much-anticipated copy arrives, I decided to dive into de Waal’s take on Moby Dick – Becoming Dinah.

Firstly, there are no whales or ships, but the soul of the original novel has been captured brilliantly, with obsession being a central theme that touches almost every character.

Seventeen-year old Dinah was raised by her parents on a commune for most of her life. The spiritual haven is situated on a farm owned by an old man named Ahab. Like the wizened old captain in the Melville classic, Ahab is crippled by thoughts of revenge. When Ahab’s wife leaves, Dinah and her mother become his only real anchor to the world.

After years of being home-schooled by her free-spirited mother, Dinah decides she wants to give up home lessons in favour of traditional high school. Having had no real encounters with anyone outside the commune, the result is inevitably disastrous.

When something unspeakable happens, Dinah decides to run away from home and reinvent herself as Ishmael. Unfortunately, she waits too long to leave and ends up agreeing to help the grisly Ahab chase down his stolen ‘Whale White’ camper van. The pair set off together, and while it may not be the escape Dinah wants, the journey sends her down the path of self-discovery she needs.

Becoming Dinah is de Waal’s first foray into young adult fiction. I felt the bright yellow jacket camouflaged the gravitas of this book, so don’t underestimate it based on the cover. It’s a smartly executed exploration of identity, culture and the stormy waters young people have to navigate in order to find themselves in today’s world.

It’s a fast read, told from Dinah’s, and later Ishmael’s, perspective. Dinah is a compelling, complex character. The back and forth between past and present really drives the book forward and makes for compelling reading. The reason behind Dinah’s decision to run away is revealed bit by bit, which made me want to fly through the pages. It’s impossible not to relate to Dinah, which demonstrates just how good de Waal is. We’ve all run away from something, or at least wanted to.

Like Moby Dick, it’s a classic in the making. Do read it and donate your copy to your nearest school library. This is one of those books that could make all the difference in a young person’s life. 

See more of my LEGO stories here.

LEGO book review: The Choice Between Us

Edyth Bulbring’s The Choice Between Us (Tafelberg, 2019) is a clever little book.  (You may remember it as one of my top YA picks for winter.)

The novel explores the lives of two young women – one in 1963 and the other in present-day Johannesburg.

Margaret grew up during the height of Apartheid, a time when families were being terrorised by the secret police and people were brutalised daily.

Jenna, on the other hand, is a member of Generation Z in the new South Africa, but not everything is perfect in the Rainbow Nation. While she is looking for clues about her family in her Aunt’s home, Jenna discovers a letter that contains the word “murderer”. Slowly an old family secret is revealed as well as the full extent of the horrors her family experienced in the past.

“Choice” is a central theme, specifically the choices we make and how the repercussions can span generations. It’s skillfully done.

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The novel also juxtaposes modern politics against the brutal laws of the past, giving the reader a clear picture of how drastically South Africa has changed, and what challenges still remain.

I think South African readers will really resonate with this story. It’s a beautifully written, really touching exploration of what it means to live in South Africa and what we have gone through as a nation. With any luck, it will become prescribed reading in schools.

I really have to take my hat off to Edyth. I know her mostly as a humorist. Her earlier works and most recently, her Snitch series, are so funny and lighthearted. Then she cracked her knuckles and released the dystopian post-apocalyptic novel The Mark. Now she’s showing off her serious side, and raised the bar super high.

This book is a fine addition to the high calibre of South African young adult fiction titles available. Local readers are a really lucky bunch.

See more of my LEGO stories here.

 

LEGO book review: The Wickerlight

I’ve been dying to read Mary Watson’s The Wickerlight ever since I saw the cover reveal on Twitter. The novel follows on from The Wren Hunt, which I reviewed last year. If it was anything as dreamy and atmospheric as the first book, I knew I had to read it. 

When I realised that the novel would focus on David, the ‘ bad guy’ from the first book, I was dubious. But then I had to remind myself that this was Mary Watson, Caine Prize winner and one of the Africa39 list of young African writers that define trends in African literature. 

There was never any reason to worry. The Wickerlight is breathtakingly beautiful. 

The novel takes readers back to the Irish village of Kilshamble. The augurs are still waging their ancient war against the judges. All the characters from the first novel are still in play, only this time the reader gets to experience a different side of this world through the eyes of Zara, a seventeen-year-old girl trying to unravel the mystery surrounding her sister’s death. 

Zara finds a kindred spirit in David, who is facing his own demons. Together they tumble into the inky blackness to face what’s coming.  

Yes, Wren’s story is done for now, but only because it’s Zara and David’s turn. I didn’t want to love David, but wow, I tumbled into his world headfirst and I couldn’t help but fall for him. You have to applaud the author for taking a dark horse from one book and making him the hero of another.

I adored the high stakes romance – it reminded me of the soul mates in L.J. Smith’s Night World series that essentially defined my teenage years. The Wickerlight also put me in mind of another blast from the past, Mary’s award-winning collection of short stories, Moss. Many of the stories in the collection explore the intimate dramas that take place behind closed doors. Inviting the reader into Zara and David’s private lives to see their struggles firsthand added another layer of richness to an already bubbling plot, and brought the characters to life.

I was completely swallowed whole. This book twists its vines around you, sinking into your skin and works like a magic spell that swirls around your head even after you’ve stopped reading.

Love, check. Dreamy lyrical prose, check. Believable characters, check. Ancient forest magic, check. Warring families, check. High stakes, double-check. 

The Wickerlight is a beautifully written magical murder mystery with a breathlessly romantic subplot. It’s action-packed and twisty, and will leave you wanting more. And more, And more. Bring on book three. 

Win a copy of The Wickerlight

Win your own copy of The Wickerlight. Simply mail me your details and the answer to this question: What was the name of Mary’s short story that won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2006?

Courtesy of Jonathan Ball Publishers, the South African distributors of The Wickeright. Competition ends 16 August. South African entries only. 

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