Leopold Blue

Growing up in Leopold, a tiny town in rural 1990s South Africa, fifteen-year-old Meg is frustrated by the tedium of her day-to-day life. But with the arrival of cool new girl Xanthe, the return of her childhood friend Simon from his gap year travels, and her mother's controversial attempts to educate the local farm workers about AIDS, it looks as though the monotony of Meg's existence will be unsettled for good.

Set in a tumultuous time in South African history, in the lead-up to the first democratic elections in 1994, this is a thought-provoking coming-of-age story. Debut author Rosie Rowell has created some complex and engaging characters, and Meg's adolescent trials and tribulations are set against an intriguing portrait of a rapidly changing nation.