A skillfully written personal narrative that doesn’t lose sight of the wider world.
Rathmell presents a thought-provoking account of his time spent abroad in South Africa.
In 2014, the author traveled to Muizenberg, a community near Cape Town to volunteer as a gym teacher at a local school. A teenager from Pennsylvania Amish country, he was eager to leave home for a far-flung corner of the world. In South Africa, he found adventure, diving with great white sharks, bungee jumping from a bridge, and encountering lions on safari. As he returned for a series of return trips, he navigated interpersonal relationships, interacting not only with the locals but also with other wanderers from all over the world. Difficult roommates Chet and Fergus made his living situation comically dysfunctional, and he struggled to get along with other members of his volunteer group. Still, he forged friendships and made meaningful connections as he bonded with his students and met members of various stratified South African social groups. The work is at its best when it explores these connections, particularly in how it addresses the complexity of South African life. The country was in the process of healing from its apartheid past, but the ghosts of that past still loomed large, Rathmell notes. As he explores these dynamics, he uses vivid descriptions to illustrate the tension between the country’s natural beauty and society’s broader tendency to ruin such wonders, calling the area “a landscape so impossibly beautiful that any sign of human civilization—our trappings of steel, brick, and cement—no matter how well designed or aesthetically pleasing, would have been an eyesore.” Although diversions from the narrative into lengthy philosophical and political discussions slow the pace, at times, its approach remains engaging. Rathmell tackles both personal anecdotes and tough, timely topics—including South African and U.S. politics, tensions between different racial and socioeconomic groups, and the ethical implications of “voluntourism,” among others—with insight and moments of humor.
A skillfully written personal narrative that doesn’t lose sight of the wider world.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781917523264
Page Count: 398
Publisher: Whitefox
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A loving and approachable coming-of-age story about generational change.
Strict traditions face encroaching modernity in this memoir of a Muslim girl.
The author was a jeweler’s daughter in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, in the community of Galle Fort—at first blush, a traditional Muslim neighborhood. But in the 1950s, things were changing; already, the women of the island went out more than they had in years past and veiled themselves less. Before she reached the age of 12, Azad was allowed to spend time with her Christian friend Penny, ride a bicycle, and wear a bathing suit in public, and her doting, conservative father (whom she calls “Wappah”) was rarely unable to deny his daughter’s wants. However, her father still was committed to “the fierce protection of female honor” and still expected the women of his family to make a “good marriage,” so the author was “brought inside” when she came of age. But she was still interested in furthering her education and charmed by her English friends and Western comic books, so she hoped to attend university in the near future. But after her cousin ran off with a young man and Wappah reacted to the situation in an unexpectedly violent manner, subtle changes to custom and culture became more difficult to achieve. Azad’s debut memoir focuses on her memories of childhood and how she struggled against the more stringent aspects of her Muslim upbringing. However, her story is also the story of Galle Fort as the old-school residents struggled with young people becoming more Westernized. The setting is beautifully drawn, and its history comes alive. Just as important is the author’s father’s journey as a man who’s open to change but unsure of it. The book introduces many facets of Muslim culture with great respect, and Azad stingingly portrays Western prejudices, as when the author’s classmates face ridicule for using henna. She also relates her older family members’ opinions on such subjects as marriage while showing just how radical seemingly small changes can be in a traditional environment.
A loving and approachable coming-of-age story about generational change.Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 249
Publisher: Perera Hussein Publishing House
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Observant, affecting writing about an Australian childhood.
Moncrief’s debut memoir recalls the joys and sorrows of growing up in an Australian country town.
“It was the late 1960s,” remarks the author, “but we were still living in what was effectively 1950s rural Australia.” Along with his older brother, Darren, Moncrief was raised in Tilburn, 30 miles outside of Melbourne. The memoir focuses predominantly on vivid memories from the author’s childhood in a quiet town where “everyone minded their own business and kept mostly to themselves.” Moncrief recalls journeys to a racetrack with his father, who trained horses, befriending a lizard that lived under the back step of the family home, and nursing an injured sparrow back to health. These sensitive recollections are interspersed with tales of cruelty and abuse. As a young boy, the author admits, he received so many bloody noses from his brother that one of his nostrils became “permanently blocked.” The memoir also charts the author’s coping with his parents’ divorce and grappling with adolescence. Each chapter is built around a particular person or event that left an impression on the author’s young mind. One, for example, discusses the author’s first sight of a pregnant woman and his father’s remarking, “pregnant women are beautiful.” This heavily anecdotal approach has the potential to grow tiring, but Moncrief avoids that by capturing a young boy’s naiveté in a satisfyingly amusing manner: “I couldn’t imagine what was wrong with her—that big, swollen stomach bursting forth from her body!” The author has the power to tug at the reader’s emotions—after his lizard was killed by a bully, he writes sorrowfully: “[I] pushed his little body into the crack from where I’d taken him the night before. ‘I’m so sorry, little mate,’ I said. ‘I love you so much.’ ” Moncrief puts a recognizably Australian stamp on the memoir by using Aussie vernacular, from dunny (toilet) to chooks (chickens). Tenderly evoking the minutiae of childhood while celebrating liberation from its horrors, this thoughtfully written, well-balanced book will encourage readers to reflect on their own upbringings.
Observant, affecting writing about an Australian childhood.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72839-716-0
Page Count: 234
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: April 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
