We Need New Names

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2013**

Ten-year-old Darling has a choice- it's down, or out

'To play the country-game, we have to choose a country. Everybody wants to be the USA and Britain and Canada and Australia and Switzerland and them. Nobody wants to be rags of countries like Congo, like Somalia, like Iraq, like Sudan, like Haiti and not even this one we live in - who wants to be a terrible place of hunger and things falling apart?'

Darling and her friends live in a shanty called Paradise, which of course is no such thing. It isn't all bad, though. There's mischief and adventure, games of Find bin Laden, stealing guavas, singing Lady Gaga at the tops of their voices.

They dream of the paradises of America, Dubai, Europe, where Madonna and Barack Obama and David Beckham live. For Darling, that dream will come true. But, like the thousands of people all over the world trying to forge new lives far from home, Darling finds this new paradise brings its own set of challenges - for her and also for those she's left behind.

'Extraordinary' Daily Telegraph

'A debut that blends wit and pain... Heartrending...wonderfully original' Independent

'Sometimes shocking, often heartbreaking but also pulsing with colour and energy' The Times

* NoViolet's new book Glory has been Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 and is out now*

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This coming-of-age novel follows a young girl in Zimbabwe as she and her displaced family and friends must adapt to and cope with a harsh, violent world. Readers meet ten-year-old Darling in her dusty, poverty-stricken shantytown and accompany her as she grows to college age in the United States while living with her aunt. Poignant and heart-wrenching prose tells the tale of Darling's journey and extends a universal message of longing for a homeland that is forever out of reach. The narration by Robin Miles, who adjusts Darling's accent throughout her life and circumstances, is inspired and masterly. Although written from the perspective of a child and a teenager, the content and language make this title more appropriate for older teens and adults. VERDICT Highly recommended for listeners who are interested in contemporary fiction. ["Darling's is the freshest voice yet to spring from the fertile imaginations of the wonderful young writers (Adichie, Ndyaia, Mengestu) who are exploring the African diaspora in America. A worthy addition to the canon," read the starred review of the Little, Brown hc, LJ 5/15/13.-Ed.]-J. Sara Paulk, Wythe-Grayson Regional Lib., Independence, VA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

This coming-of-age novel follows 10-year-old Darling as she as she and her displaced family and friends adapt to and cope with a harsh, violent world when they move from Zimbabwe to a relative's home in the United States. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.