Under Water

December 21, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Khosi Zulu and little sister Zi have to start over after the death of their grandmother Gogo in their South African township of Imbali. Gogo becomes one of Khosi's ancestral guides during her newfound life as a sangoma, a traditional Zulu healer. Khosi breaks her promise to Gogo by dropping out of school and putting her nursing future on hold. Khosi's three-year relationship with boyfriend Little Man is tested when he finds himself in the middle of a violent taxi war. Khosi's healing practice is in jeopardy after a murdered body is dumped on her doorstep and accusations of witchcraft arise. She is wooed by a police officer named Sifiso, who is investigating the murder. Khosi must pass the ultimate test of getting an important lesson from a witch with whom she has an unexpected connection. Powers has crafted an inspirational YA story filled with mystery, suspense, and drama. Khosi's transformation from sheltered township girl to sangoma is an extraordinary testament to strength, courage, and faith. Readers will find her self-respect refreshing and courtship with Sifiso supportive and nurturing at a natural pace. VERDICT All readers will easily root for Khosi, who makes a way out of loss with love and faith; a strong choice for teen libraries.-Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library

December 1, 2018
Khosi, a 17-year-old Zulu woman, seeks to fully inhabit both spiritual traditions in which she was raised while struggling to support her younger sister, Zi.Baptized Catholic and later chosen for induction into the spiritual traditions of her ancestors, Khosi's fight for survival begins the day she welcomes guests to mourn her grandmother. Her Auntie is suspicious that Khosi bewitched Gogo, who had looked after Khosi and Zi since their mother passed away from HIV three years earlier. As Khosi is left with no support from her family, her beau, Little Man, sets a plan in motion to assist her--however his good intentions go awry, placing them all in physical danger. Soon after the funeral, Khosi also breaks the deathbed promises she made to her grandmother. Under the watchful eye of her ancestors, she stumbles along, setting up her own business as a spiritual healer. While the voices of the ancestors are ever present to guide her, her nursing ambitions and insightful understanding of familial relations enable her to give holistic advice to her customers. Learning of the trouble brewing in her area, Khosi delivers warnings to those involved and ends up the target of multiple groups seeking to cause her harm. This intriguing story is set against a backdrop of social upheaval due to economic discontent in contemporary, multicultural South Africa.This slowly building novel avoids stereotype, offering a captivating narrative with nuanced perceptions of death, love, and cathartic self-discovery. (Fiction. 14-adult)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 Powers begins her sequel to This Thing Called the Future? (2011) three years after its predecessor left off. Khosi is now 17 and dealing with the recent death of her grandmother. Left to care for her younger sister, she quits school to try to earn a living as a sangoma, a traditional healer who can speak with the dead. Racial tensions run high in Khosi's small South African town, and she soon finds herself in the center of conflict. Readers will enjoy experiencing life with Khosi, as her ability to speak with the ancestors is fascinating. Despite the important plot twist thrown unceremoniously into the last third of the book, Powers' story is engaging. The depiction of life in Imbali is raw and honest, the struggles of the characters elicit sympathy, and Khosi's questions about what she's meant to do in life will ring familiar with young adult readers. The theme of being under water recurs throughout the novel, and the ending leaves readers with hope of a fulfilling future for Khosi and her sister.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)