Hum If You Don't Know The Words by Bianca Marais

When you think of South Africa, how many of you think of a land where black people are repressed by whites and subject to slave-like conditions?

Set in Apartheid South Africa, this book does a beautiful job reminding the reader that these atrocities happened in the near past as it follows two main characters Beauty, a black woman searching for her daughter and Robin, a privileged white girl of 11.  The stark contrast between their experiences sheds an amazing light on the racial divide in a land where most people think is simply inhabited by blacks.

Bianca does a wonderful job weaving the stories together and sprinkling in other social issues on her way.  I highly recommend this book, it stole my sleep on so many levels.

I am grateful to the author, publisher and NetGalley.com for the chance to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.