One Shadow on the Wall Author:Leah Henderson An orphaned boy in contemporary Senegal must decide between doing what is right and what is easy as he struggles to keep a promise he made to his dying father in this captivating debut novel laced with magical realism. — Eleven-year-old Mor was used to hearing his father s voice, even if no one else could since his father died. It was comforting.... more » It was also a reminder that he had made a promise to his father before he passed: keep his sisters safe. Keep the family together. He was the head of household now, even if he didn t want to be. But almost as soon as they are orphaned, that promise seems impossible to keep. Senegal in its heat and unforgiving nature does not make this an easy task. Their aunt, a cold and serious woman, knows the most logical thing to do: send Mor to "daara" an Islamic school for boys and send his sisters to separate homes as housekeepers. Mor, plagued by his father s promise, urges his aunt to give him a few months to prove he can be a provider. Granted only the sweltering summer months, Mor begins his journey. He becomes an apprentice to a local fisherman, but every time he gets close to making a comfortable future, the Danka Boys a gang of boys from nearby villages who have escaped from the less than ideal conditions of the "daara" threaten everything he s worked for, that is, unless, he joins them. The Boys are terrifying, dangerous, and as cruel as a hot desert day.
Mor must face a choice. Does he listen to his father and keep his heart true, but risk breaking his promise through failure? Or is it easier to just join the Danka Boys, whom in all their maliciousness are, at their core, loyal to their own?
Set in Senegal, "One Shadow on the Wall "is about love and loss, family and friendship, and creating your own future even if it s hard to do."« less