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When the Ground Is Hard

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When the Ground Is Hard

By: Malla Nunn
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
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About this listen

Edgar Award nominee stuns in this heartrending tale set in a Swaziland boarding school where two girls of different castes bond over a shared copy of Jane Eyre.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century


Adele Joubert loves being one of the popular girls at Keziah Christian Academy. She knows the upcoming semester at school is going to be great with her best friend Delia at her side. Then Delia dumps her for a new girl with more money, and Adele is forced to share a room with Lottie, the school pariah, who doesn't pray and defies teachers' orders.

But as they share a copy of Jane Eyre, Lottie's gruff exterior and honesty grow on Adele, and Lottie learns to be a little sweeter. Together, they take on bullies and protect each other from the vindictive and prejudiced teachers. Then a boy goes missing on campus and Adele and Lottie must rely on each other to solve the mystery and maybe learn the true meaning of friendship.
Difficult Situations Family & Relationships Fiction Friendship Literature & Fiction Multicultural Mysteries & Detectives Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Mystery Heartfelt
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A story of friendship, family, bullies and gaining strength from discrimination. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Reader did a fantastic job. I recommend this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Strength and endurance

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.