One Shadow on the Wall
448 pages · Released Jun 6, 2017 · Simon and Schuster
Content report card
One Shadow on the Wall parent’s guide: what’s inside
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
A note for parents
This middle-grade novel set in contemporary Senegal explores themes of family obligation, integrity, and choosing the right path despite hardship. The story deals with serious topics—death of parents, poverty, gang pressure—but frames them through a young protagonist learning to keep his promise and maintain his values. The magical realism elements (hearing his father's voice) add wonder without being frightening, and the narrative ultimately reinforces kindness and resilience over taking the easy way out.
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From the publisher
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 “stirring” (School Library Journal) middle grade debut novel laced with magical realism. Eleven-year-old Mor was used to hearing his father’s voice, even... 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 “stirring” (School Library Journal) middle grade 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’s death. It was comforting. It was also a reminder that Mor had made a promise to his father before he passed: keep your sisters safe. Keep the family together. But almost as soon as they are orphaned, that promise seems impossible to keep. With an aunt from the big city ready to separate him and his sisters as soon as she arrives, and a gang of boys from a nearby village wanting everything he has—including his spirit—Mor is tested in ways he never imagined. With only the hot summer months to prove himself, 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, who despite their maliciousness are at least loyal to their own? One Shadow on the Wall is about love and loss, family and friendship, and creating your own future—even when it’s hard to do.
Shelved under
- Juvenile Fiction
- Fantasy
- Young Adult
- Fiction
- Bullying
- Muslims
- Brothers and sisters
- Fathers and sons
- Self-reliance
- Children's fiction
- Orphans, fiction
- Brothers and sisters, fiction
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ISBN 9781481462976 · Simon and Schuster