Out of Shadows: Amazon.co.uk: Jason Wallace: Books

Review

WINNER of the Costa Children’s Book Award, 2010 —Costa Book Award
WINNER of the Branford Boase Award, 2011 --Branford Boase Award
WINNER of the UKLA Children's Book Award, 2011 —UKLA
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, 2011 -- The CILIP Carnegie Children's Book Award
Shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize, 2010 --Booktrust

'Sometimes a book takes you somewhere and keeps you there. Honest, brave and devastating - Out of Shadows is more than just memorable. It's impossible to look away.' -- Markus Zusak - The author of The Book Thief

'An extraordinary coming-of-age novel . . . a startlingly original debut . . . Charting the change from childhood to adulthood against growing political discord gives the novel a sense of urgency, and the book's intensity, drama and pace leaves a lasting impact.'
-- The Bookseller

Excellent. The latest lacerating addition to the boarding-school-as-living-hell genre...read on if you have the courage. The author attended a similar establishment at the age of 12,and gives every indication of knowing exactly what he is writing about. --Independent on Sunday, Nick Tucker

(Out of Shadows is) a provocative story, powerfully written. Some may find the themes difficult, the climax shocking, but Wallace has produced a first novel where all the heat and intensity of an African nation in flux burns on every page. He's a definitely a writer to watch in the future. --The Scotsman, Keith Gray

A novel to recommend to older readers, particularly those studying Golding for GCSE.
--The School Librarian

"Terrific debut novel." --The Independent on Sunday

"A memorable, moving and disturbing coming-of-age story." -- Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4kids

"Beautifully written." --Ruth Swindon, Independent on Sunday - Hit List

"Out of Shadows is one of the best debut novels I've ever read . . . At times chilling and dark, yet strangely hopeful, Out of Shadows is one of those books that I know I'll revisit in the future . . . I can't recommend it highly enough." -- Jenny Davies, wondrousreads.com

"Jason Wallace is a writer to follow - there will hopefully be many books to look out for in the future. In spite of my reservations this is a book to be read, to bury a past that has no place in the new Zimbabwe that remains to be built." -- The Zimbabwean

"This is one of those rare, outstanding books that when you come to the end you know with certainty you will return to it again. It is also a book that is so hard-hitting and thought provoking you feel compelled to tell everyone you know to read it!" --Browns Books for Students

One of Lovereading4kids' 'Best Children's Books of 2010' --Lovereading4kids.co.uk

'A thrilling teenage tale of belonging. The charismatic Ivan is a marvellously drawn character; subtle, clever, tough, cruel, devious . . . Jason Wallace (is a) fine debut author.' -- Ham & High

'This is a fantastic book! You can tell Jason Wallace knows what he's writing about.' --Bookwitch

'A powerful emotionally charged book.' --Nayu's Reading Corner

`It is a long time since I've read a perfect novel such as this; the type of book that captures you from the opening passages and takes you on a journey that haunts you for days afterwards.' --Emm, blogcritics.org

`This hard-hitting story could well become a children's classic.' --Daily Express

`One of the best debuts I have ever read. Fantastically written, powerful and important and at times horribly shocking, yet strangely hopeful. With scene that left me in stunned silence.' --Western Morning News

'This novel excels, bringing readers up to the grim, uncertain present with mastery.' --Kirkus Magazine, starred review

'An original, at times violent, thought provoking and ultimately shocking story for older readers.' --Good Book Guide

`Elegiac and edgy...your mind will remain full of this book long after you've closed it.'
--Armadillo Magazine

`Jason Wallace paints a shocking picture of betrayed friendships, cruel bullying, and racism in a post-colonial society that leaves readers speechless.'
--The White Ravens 2011

'A stunning debut novel without a false note. Accomplished and powerful, it changes the way you think.' --Costa Book Award

'Classic crossover fiction...(Wallace's) unblinking portrait of true evil raises it above the norm... It's something that schools should study and readers read. Bravo!' --Amanda Craig, The Times

'(Jason Wallace's) bleak, ferocious debut is a powerful, devastating read for older teens.' --Patrick Ness, The Guardian

Shortlisted for the North Lanarkshire Catalyst Book Award, 2011
--North Lanarkshire Catalyst Book Award

Shortlisted for the WE READ Award --co-ordinated by Tamara MacFarlane and University College School

'A powerful story.'
--Carousel

Book Description

A compelling, thought-provoking novel about race, bullying and the need to belong set in Africa.

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Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful

A Compelling Novel set in Zimbabwe just after independence 11 Feb 2010

By Newanda

Format:Paperback

This novel is set in Zimbabwe in the early years of the Mugabe government after a long, bitter bush war and struggle for black independence. The story takes place at a prestigious boys private boarding school with traditions steeped in the past (the house names at the school are all former colonial heroes). In an era of peace, freedom and hope for the new Zimbabwe the school is struggling to adapt to the changed environment and the admission of black teachers and students. However, a significant number of its pupils are the sons of white farmers who were at the frontline of the 'lost' bush war and the beginning of the possible confiscation of white farms. For them the new Zimbabwe serves only to breed resentment, reinforce their deep racial prejudices and fears for their livelihood.

Add in the traditional boarding school elements of bullying, deference, loneliness and the struggle to make friends and alliances and there are all the ingredients to craft an interesting novel.

Thrown into this mix and starting at the school as a junior, is a young English schoolboy, Robert Jacklin, son of idealistic but dysfunctional parents starting a new life and career in Zimbabwe. Wrenched from his schooling in rural England and oblivious to the racial tensions of his new country, he is jettisoned into this alien and hostile environment. Desperate to return 'home', he struggles to fit in, and the story deals with his dilemma to find his courage to defend his new black friend against the racist bullying but at the same time build alliances with some of the stronger (and nastier) elements to protect himself from violent abuse such as from the conniving and manipulative Ivan.

Some of those alliances lead to his involvement in a dangerous and violent plot to try to 'turn the clock back' to before independence and his internal battle to extricate himself from this plot and dig deep to find the courage to do what he knows is right, taking on the hateful Ivan, with no support from his parents or teachers.

This is a very compelling debut novel. The author, Jason Wallace, manages to evoke the African setting, scenery, language and hope and anxiety of the period with great skill and in a way that makes the book fast paced and captivating. The characters are rich and complex and are well developed in the context of the era they are set in. For example that complexity even draws sympathy from the reader for Ivan in certain contexts, such as the ease with which he plays football with his father's black farm workers' children. There are other endearing characters such as Weekend, the telephone operator, who gets to know Jacklin, on account of the many desperate telephone calls back home to his parents, and who in a sense represents the average aspirant black Zimbabwean who held great hopes for his future in the new Zimbabwe in those years but who in the end probably personified the real losers in the long corrupt Mugabe regime.

The final chapter of the book, after an enthralling crescendo in the plot, is poignant and thought provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in that part of the world or that era.

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50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

Out of Shadows 12 Feb 2010

By Jenny, Wondrous Reads TOP 500 REVIEWER

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 (or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation). Robert Mugabe is now Prime Minister, and Zimbabwe is no longer ruled by white people. I hardly knew anything about this historical event before reading this book, and so once again I was given a history lesson. It's very interesting, and is the first time I've come across this setting in a YA book.

Robert Jacklin is a very likeable character for most of the book, and I'm so glad it's written in the first person. He started off as an unassuming 13-year-old, and grew into a strong, decent man right before my eyes. He has more tough decisions to make and bad choices to live with than anyone that age should, but each shapes his life and who he becomes. His friends are a less desirable bunch, and though I see why Robert was so eager to be part of their group, things would have been vastly different if he'd stayed well away.

At times chilling and dark, yet strangely hopeful, Out of Shadows is one of those books that I know I'll revisit in the future. I've been thinking about it ever since I finished it, and am finding it hard to get it out of my head. I can't recommend it highly enough, and I hope it eventually gets the recognition and praise it deserves.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

Suspensful, violent, evocative 11 Mar 2010

By an avid reader

I was bowled over by this book. I have to confess to a family connection to the author, but that doesn't affect what I thought of the book one bit, except that I wouldn't normally pick up a book supposedly aimed at young adults. For a start I was fascinated to see how Jason Wallace's own teenage years had been transformed by a vivid imagination into fiction. At least, I hope it's fiction, as I was really shocked by the violence of the boys towards one another. It was brave, too, to tackle such difficult moral themes in a first novel, and against a background about which so little has been written, in fiction at least.

I wouldn't consider it a book for young adults particularly - I think it was a great adult read, and had me turning the pages far into the night to see what happened next. And it really made me think and reflect long after I'd put down the book. I do hope someone snaps up the screen rights: as I was reading it, I could quite clearly see what it would look like on film. Like other reviewers, I can't wait to see what this author produces next.