ZULU DOG

Journalist Ferreira's somewhat awkward yet timely first novel centers on 11-year-old Vusi Ngugu, who lives with his extended Zulu family in post-apartheid South Africa. His kin's subsistence lifestyle contrasts dramatically with the privileged existence of the nearby white farmers. One day, Vusi, accompanied by Gillette, the dog he has adopted, ventures onto the land owned by one of the white farmers, "to prove to himself that he is not scared." There he meets 12-year-old Shirley, the farmer's daughter, and the two bond immediately, despite the fact that neither speaks the other's language. The strongest passages center on Vusi and his family, especially Vusi's discovery of Gillette as a pup and their blossoming relationship. Except for a progressive-thinking farmer, Robert Rudolph, many of the sections focusing on white characters become stilted (e.g., "When Shirley gets home that day, she is torn between excitement at the encounter [with Vusi], the fun they had communicating across the language barrier, and trepidation at what her parents would say about a black stranger trespassing on the farm"). Rather forced dialogue from Shirley's father and some of his cronies underscores their bigotry. But the narrative also reveals the economic, social and cultural ramifications of the democratic government under Mandela. Even with the rather heavy-handed message, likable Vusi's coming-of-age tale delivers some affecting scenes and, for readers unfamiliar with South African politics, some eye-opening realities. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)