The Girl Who Saw Lions
The Girl Who Saw Lions
The Girl Who Saw Lions
Berlie Doherty
"BE STRONG MY ABELA."  Orphaned by AIDS in Africa, Abela has a long journey ahead.When Abela’s mother dies of Aids in their African village, she is left to face the lions of the world. Lions like her Uncle Thomas who has plans to sell her in Europe. Lions like his bitter white wife, whom he abandons with Abela. Abela is forced to stay indoors in a sunless London apartment, cooking and cleaning, and hopelessly dreaming of her African homeland. Meanwhile, in a London suburb, Rosa is distraught when her mother tells her she wants to adopt a child. Rosa doesn’t want a sister or brother. Things were so good, why did they have to change? Berlie Doherty tells parallel stories, each separate and compelling in their own right, but stories that eventually tangle together bringing a message of hope and what it means to be a family.

Book Details

Genre: 

  • Fiction
  • Juvenile Fiction

Age Level: 

  • 12 and up
Profile Picture

What Berlie Doherty means when she says Lions is the people lions of the world. It ties in nicely to the fact that outside their village hut, while Abela's mom is fighting for her life, lions are pacing the dirt road. But those real lions aren't as scary as the lions of the world that are in her life. Her uncle traffics her into child slavery as soon as Abela's mother dies, taking her away from her beloved grandmother who is the only true family she has left.

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