Abela

Be strong, my Abela. These are the last words of Abela’s mother in their HIV/Aids stricken African village, where it seems that to live or to die, to be sick or to be healthy, is just a matter of chance. It takes all Abela’s strength to survive her Uncle Thomas’ scheming to get to Europe, but what will be her fate as an illegal immigrant? I don’t want a sister or brother, thinks Rosa in England, when her mother tells her that she wants to adopt a child. Could these two girls ever become sisters? Is there room in Rosa’s family for an African orphan haunted by lions? And, is there room in their hearts? Abela is a powerful and moving story based influenced by a visit to Africa, from the Carnegie award winning author Berlie Doherty writing at her very best.