(Riverhead Books) Five children in an unnamed postcolonial African port city, having fled their previous lives riddled with unspoken struggles, come together, one by one, to form a little family of their own, one that cares for, protects, and provides for its members. They are clever, surviving day to day by acts of petty thievery, and living, clandestinely in the shell of a downed plane; wary and guarded, they create a code to alert the others by whistling certain phrases. The two eldest — Elimane, who tea … (read more)
