Fabulous reads – Middle-grade novel bursts with life lessons

Small Mercies, Bridget Krone, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781 9463 95177

THIS middle-grade read about the importance of telling the truth is set on our hearty South African soil, in KwaZulu-Natal’s capital, Pietermaritzburg.

Mercy lives with her adoring, and slightly barmy, adoptive family, Aunt Mary and Aunt Flora. Their little family of three isn’t well off financially and it causes Mercy to further withdraw as her classmates try and befriend her. Added to this, one of Mercy’s aunts begins to show signs of Alzheimers, a greedy man arrives and hopes to purchase their land for a large development and a nosy social worker pops into their lives.

ALSO READ: Fabulous reads – Journey with the dead

Luckily, Mercy and her aunts have an incredible support system and, while things may seem dour, things usually turn out well in the end.

While the main story arch highlights the importance of telling the truth, it also covers race, bullying, poverty, mental health, friendship and community.

From a slow intro, a whiplash speed character development, and a second half that almost feels rushed, I can’t call myself a big fan of how the book is written. I can only hope that if the author writes another book, that one of the secondary (and quite important) plot points is finished off.

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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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