Review by Booklist Review
Hector Pieterson loved playing soccer with his friends. He did his chores, loved his family, and went to school every day. By all accounts, an ordinary life for an ordinary boy as it should have been. But Hector's life was tragically cut short by police brutality. He lived in Soweto, South Africa, under apartheid. Wright gives readers a glimpse into the two last days of Hector's life. In 1976, the white Afrikaner government mandated the teaching of half of all subjects in Afrikaans and half in English. Black students staged a peaceful resistance march that ended in violence. Combining graphic-novel and picture-book conventions, Wright recounts the day's events through the perspectives of Hector, his sister Antoinette, and the photojournalist Sam Nzima, who was documenting the protest. A gentle palette of tawny sepia and cobalt chalk pastel lends a softness that complements Hector's sweet disposition and contrasts with the bloody events of the day. Nzima's powerful photograph the one that caught the world's attention is distinct yet seamlessly integrated in this unique account. Back matter provides depth and detail about that day, July 16, 1976, which came to be known as Youth Day, commemorating the start of the anti-apartheid resistance. Pair with Michael Burgan's Breaker Boys (2011) as a commentary on the role of art and upstanders.--Amina Chaudhri Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wright tells the true story behind the famed photograph taken of Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old who was shot by police during a 1976 protest against apartheid in South Africa. Prior to the erupting discord and violence, it's an ordinary weekend for Hector ("On Saturday afternoons, Hector and his friends love watching movies at the nearby church"). Readers gain clues about how the community is impacted by apartheid through a "non-whites only" sign that Hector and his friends adhere to. Sequential panels transition into spreads as he is drawn into a student march; soon, police gunfire erupts. Wright switches to Hector's older sister Antoinette's point of view as she witnesses the shooting amid tear gas. And the final chapter is told from the perspective of photographer Sam Nzima, who snaps a photograph of the child's body being carried by a teenage boy. Wright's deliberately paced, highly visual narrative captures a traumatic moment with piercing clarity and doesn't shy from including the photograph upon which the story is based. Back matter further describes the complicated political circumstances that would result in the deaths of Hector and other innocent civilians. Ages 8--11. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2--5--This is the partly fictionalized story of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, one of the first children shot and killed by police on June 16, 1976, in Soweto--South Africa's largest black township--during a student protest march. His death triggered a months-long uprising and the start of a new era in the struggle against apartheid. The story stems from a photograph taken by journalist Sam Nzima, which shows Hector being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubu with Hector's half-sister Antoinette Sithole running alongside them. The story is told from three viewpoints: Hector's, Sithole's, and Nzima's. Hector is seen playing with his younger sister, visiting his grandma, and then caught in the march that protested students having to learn subjects in Afrikaans, seen as "the language of oppression." More of a chronological news report than a narrative with an emotional arc, the story's impact is limited. The pastel and collage illustrations depict township life as stripped down to the essentials. The author conducted careful research, including personal interviews with Sithole and Nzima. There is an extensive bibliography, glossary, biographical sketches, and detailed acknowledgments. However, the historical context presented is inadequate for the projected audience. Some of the historical details are inaccurate at worst and misleading at best. VERDICT The book's audience is unclear: while a more extended treatment of the subject might be appropriate for older readers, the format and presentation are clearly geared to younger ones. In the hands of a knowledgeable teacher, it could be used to supplement curriculum materials.--Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York
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Review by Horn Book Review
Straightforward text and comics-style sequential art combine in a (fictionalized) account of the Black studentled protest in Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, in opposition to the apartheid governments new law requiring schools to teach half of their lessons in Afrikaans. Three separate yet intertwined chapters follow three individuals through the protest: student Hector Zolile Pieterson; his older sister Antoinette Sithole; and newspaper photographer Sam Nzima. Hector is an ordinary twelve-year-old boy who does chores, loves Bruce Lee, and plays soccer with his friends. Hectors chapter stops, dramatically, with police gunfire and tear gas explosions. Antoinettes and Sams narratives follow, each building on the previous story and leading to the days tragic ending. The author closes the book with Sams black-and-white photograph of Hectors lifeless body being carried by a distraught teenager. An afterword serves to describe the significance of that photograph: it became a powerful symbol, opening the worlds eyes to the racism and violence of apartheid. A lovingly illustrated portrait introduces each chapter, further humanizing the three main characters (though the pastel and collage illustrations occasionally falter in the discordantly cheery cover art, somewhat awkward figure foreshortening, and little variation in Black skin tones). Back matter includes an authors note (Wright grew up White in South Africa during apartheid, and she consulted with Sithole, Nzima, and Hectors mother Dorothy Molefi, while creating the book), brief biographies of the dramatis personae, a glossary, acknowledgments, and a selected bibliography. patrick gall (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A white South African who grew up in apartheid, Wright captures the largely untold story of Hector Zolile Pieterson, who died in the Soweto student protest against mandatory lessons in Afrikaans in 1976 and whose photograph alerted the rest of the world to apartheid's impact on black children.Told graphic novel-style through dialogue and narrative in frames illustrated in pastel colors and earth tones, this story emerged from interviews Wright held with Pieterson's family members as well as from research on the photographer of the historic photo, Sam Mzima, and Mbuyisa Makhubu, a teenage good Samaritan who carried Hector's limp body from the scene where the police threw tear gas and shot and killed children. This powerful story offers three perspectives: Hector's, his sister, Antoinette's, and photographer Sam's, respectively. Sam hid his most important roll of film in his sock to keep it from the Afrikaner police, who ruined his other rolls of film to prevent public awareness of this massacre. While the details of Hector's life help readers realize that he was just a regular boy who didn't deserve to die under this unjust system of segregation, this portrayal of the protesting teens also emphasizes how much power children can have when they stand up for their rights. A tragic but inspiring story about an event in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten. (historical note, author's note, biographies, glossary, bibliography) (Graphic biography. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
