Golden Boy

by Tara Sullivan
Hennepin County Library hardcover 347 pages plus a glossary of Kiswahili terms
genre: YA fiction

Habo is an albino living on a farm outside a small village in Tanzania. When his family can no longer afford to live there, they travel to Mwanza to live with his mother's sister and family. En route, they encounter a handsome "hunter" who illegally kills elephants for their tusks, teeth, and toenails. Alasiri is even more sinister than his poaching, though. Soon Habo is running for his life, since some people in Mwanza believe that the body parts of albinos have powerful properties. I both loved and hated this book. It is wonderfully written! The author includes notes at the end about her research for this story. The characters are very well drawn and I enjoyed "getting to know them" except for Alasiri. This is a wonderful book.