Chain Of Fire (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [School & Library Binding]

Beverley Naidoo (Author), Eric Velasquez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1992

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Betrayed by their chief, who has sold off their homes, impoverished Naledi and her friend Taolo, inhabitants of a divided South Africa, form a fierce student opposition to the oppression of their people.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The inhabitants of a black South African town resist the white government's plan for their relocation; PW said, "this gripping novel . . . blazes with rage. It tackles tough issues head-on and presents them with superb dramatic tension." Ages 11-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- Naledi and Tiro, the children in Naidoo's Journey to Jo'Burg (Harper, 1986), return in a longer tale that stands on its own but is enhanced by the reading of its predecessor. The story begins with the sudden announcement that the people of Naledi's village are to be removed to "the homeland" in four weeks' time. With every reason to believe few will survive the removal, the villagers choose to resist, their determination fired by the righteous indignation of their young. Naledi, her friend Taolo, and three others are elected student representatives in the resistance, and together they organize a peaceful student march as a demonstration of unity and strength. But the police anticipate their plan, and the march ends in violence. Events accelerate. Homes are bulldozed, families are separated, and Taolo's father is murdered. The removal is accomplished and, for the moment, it seems the white government has won. But Naledi and her neighbors are no longer the same villagers who once clung passively to subsistence. They are becoming a unified people, with a recognizable enemy and no end of heroes alive and dead around whom to rally--and the beginnings of a political mechanism through which to do so. As Naledi and the others have matured, politically, since the first book, so Naidoo has matured markedly as a writer. She demonstrates an insight into her characters and their condition--particularly the role of the young in initiating and sustaining rebellion that was far less evident in Journey. . . Chain of Fire flows effortlessly, with power and grace, as it succeeds in making a foreign culture immediate and real. Truly it is the grimmer tale, but one that, in light of its own truth as well as of recent events, readers might look at with a trace more hope. --Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 242 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785700757
• ISBN-13: 978-0785700753
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,628,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 7th Graders Review, March 10, 1998

By 

Norma Glock (Columbus, MT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chain of Fire (Paperback)

My book was okay. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read. There wasn't alot of action or any suspense. The book was a good book because the people fought back against a government that didn't care about anybody or anything. The people wouldn't let the government ruin their hope. Like when the govenment smashed their church to the ground the people just started to rebuild it right after they got done smashing it to the ground. They never gave up hope about defeating the government even when they took people and beat them unitl they heard what they wanted to hear.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling Lack of Social Justice, December 20, 2007

By 

Dr. W. C. kasten "Co-Author, LIVING LITERATURE" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I first discovered the work of Beverly Naidoo while I was traveling in South Africa and was pleased to find her books increasingly available here. She writes starkly and appropriately for the adolescent about the days of South Africa Apartheid. CHAIN OF FIRE deals with the displacement of people in Cape Town when developers wanted the desirable land for "better" uses than it was being used doe poorer people's homes.

I have had some email conversations with Ms. Naidoo and have her profiled in my co-authored Childrens' Literature text LIVING LITERATURE (Kasten, Kristo, & McClure, 2005, Prentice-Hall) so I can add a personal note that Ms. Naidoo is a White South African married to a Black South African and because of that, she was exiled from her home country during the Apartheid years (inter-marriage was illegal). She maintains a home in the U.K. but continues to visit South African often and continues to tell its stories of struggle and change brilliantly.
Wendy C. Kasten, Ph.D.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Need Good Books? Read This..., February 8, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chain of Fire (Paperback)

Chain of Fire, written by Beverly Naidoo, is a book of the past, present and hopefully not the future. The villagers of Bophelong are forced to move to a place unknown to them, and they are forced to move even if they don't want to move. Naledi is just a 13 year old girl that is afraid yet strong. Taolo, a young boy with a father that has been to jail, comes along as a freedom fighter and tries to help the villagers there. Taolo and Naledi fight this struggle with a fight that is like a chain of fire, building and strengthening. The illustrations, by Eric Velasquez, are placed a little off, yet they completely enhance the book. The reader will experience the emotions of sadness, fear, strength and will have a sense of what true power and cruelty really are.