A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences.

This also reveals a history and culture many young people are not familiar with and does so in a compelling way. Cecil John Rhodes was granted a charter by Queen Victoria, allowing him to run the country on behalf of Britain. I would definitely recommend this to young girls as the protagonists, Emily and Lizzie, are very easy to relate to, despite the 150 or so year gap between now and then. We at Penguin Random House Australia acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Custodians and the first storytellers of the lands on which we live and work. His story was written up for him by John Brown and there is no knowing whether the accounts of Blincoe or the retelling were strictly accurate, but it gave me many clues about the harshness of the living and working conditions of children during the Industrial Revolution, and of the cruelty of many mill-owners and overseers.Part of my initial enchantment with this book was the time period - a totally unfamiliar landscape for me. Offers a refreshing objective account of the much misrepresented relationship between black Zimbabweans and their white colonial masters. Outside the workhouse, Emily and Lizzie meet Mrs Cleggins, who puts them in a waggon for a few days with workhouse children to travel up north.

Through the eyes of both girls we are able to see the changing landscape of Zimbabwe, from the time of British colonialism to after Independence. This book has opened my eyes, made me feel a great sense of pride of who I am and ancestors before me. From the cotton machines to the mill owners, there is danger lurking in every corner and it is only a matter of time before Lizzie is engulfed in the danger and has a life-threatening accident. I really, really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone who has read Street Child as you will probably have been wondering what happened to Jim Jarvis' sisters. Apparently my brother had picked up a parking ticket while driving my car and had failed to pay the fine.

I love this book as it is set in the Victorian times, I love books about history even though it isn't based on a real story. They load us into a van and drive us uptown, to 126th Street, home of the Twenty-Sixth, a larger and more heavily staffed precinct. Tariro is also in love with a much-talked about boy Nhamo but she is torn from him when Nhamo is beaten and blinded for defending Tariro from a white man's physical abuse. It’s not going to help my credibility, or enhance my safety, to tell anyone that I’ve been arrested for failing to pay a traffic ticket. But their lives are hit by tragedy when the Native Land Husbandry Act in enforced by the brutal Deputy District Commissioner, Ian Watson.

Tariro is doing what young girls in Africa do, taking care of her siblings and helping with the crops until the white men come and begin the fight for land and power.The clarity, warmth and precision of Between a Wolf and a Dog brings to mind the formal beauty of an exquisitely cut gemstone.