Burn My Heart
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Mathew and Mugo, two boys—one white, one black—share an uneasy friendship in Kenya in the s. They're friends even though Mathew's dad owns the land and everything on it. They're friends despite the difference in their skin color. And they're friends in the face of the growing Mau Mau rebellion, which threatens British settlers with violence as black Kenyans struggle to win back their land and freedom.
But suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change everything. Internationally acclaimed, award-winning author Beverley Naidoo explores the fragile bonds of friendship in this stunning novel about prejudice, fear, and the circumstances that bring people together—and tear them apart. Thanks for signing up! We've emailed you instructions for claiming your free e-book. Tell us more about what you like to read so we can send you the best offers and opportunities.
By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bookperk and other HarperCollins services. I loved how N I learned a great deal from reading this book and I was not expecting to learn so much in such an engaging way. I loved how Naidoo tells the story from Mathew, the young, white, British boys perspective and Mugo, the young, black, African boys perspective.
The two sides of the story make the conflict feel more real and more understandable to the reader. This historical fiction piece touches on friendship and how quickly that friendships can end because of clashing cultures. Nov 29, Kierstin Merritt rated it liked it Shelves: Burn My Heart is set in Kenya during the s. Around this time the United States and many other countries were going through social injustices and riots. The book focuses on the lives of two boys, Mathew and Mugo, who are white and African but are friends in the beginning.
All of this changed when the grandfather went to go help in the war and Englishmen came and took the land with papers, saying they boug Burn My Heart is set in Kenya during the s. All of this changed when the grandfather went to go help in the war and Englishmen came and took the land with papers, saying they bought it. Over time in the story there is a lot of racism and broken trust between the two main families all because of a social movement group called the Mau Mau. Sep 11, Paula Soper rated it it was amazing Shelves: Sunday I met a man from Kenya. I just wanted to stalk him and ask about this State of Emergency.
I enjoyed the book and would teach it not only in my classes, but also in middle school. It's a great world history text. Violence - Yes, but on middle-grade level Language - Is Mau Mau considered offensive or inappropriate?
I didn't know anything about the Mau Mau Rebellion until reading Naidoo's book. Very informative, very tragic.
Land and freedom
Jul 17, Richie Partington rated it it was amazing. When Baba was a little boy, Grandfather had gone away to Nairobi. He found work with the British army, and when a big war started between the British and Germany wazungu [white people], Grandfather went to help carry the wounded soldiers.
The mzungu man, the head of this family, had a piece of paper called 'proof. Grandfather's younger brothers had protested that there must be a mistake. They showed the mzungu man the place where their ancestors were buried near the grove of sacred mugumo trees.
This was their land, their sacred place. Their family had lived here under their mountain Kirinyaga for generation after generation. But the mzungu man insisted that the 'proof' of his ownership was on his piece of paper. He would let them stay on the land if they helped him build a house, clear away brush, and work on what he called 'his farm. There was no choice but to work for the new wazungu. This was how Baba first began to herd cattle for the Grayson family when he was not much higher than his mother's hip. Baba is an adult and father in charge of the stables.
He has spent his life here, next to the mzungu man's son Jack Grayson, who has grown up to become the bwana [master]. Just as his father had been with Jack Grayson, young Mugo has been a big brother figure to the slightly younger Matthew Grayson. Tensions are rapidly mounting in Kenya.
The British colonialism does not permit any sharing of power with the native Kenyans. The decades of frustration experienced by the Kenyans have led to the political movement called the Mau Mau, a secret society "whose members took oaths and swore to fight unto death to get back their land. And you know very well who is going to get the bitter end of this deal. I sure wish I had eye-opening books of this quality when I was in ninth grade, trying to make sense of the diversity of African geography and cultures, and the history that connects this tale to crises and issues in various corners of that continent today.
And I'd love to listen in as readers debate which of these characters deserve what praise and blame for what takes place, given that all of the young characters have been born into an existing, unconscionable system. Dec 03, Ali Hartlein rated it it was amazing Shelves: Naidoo raises very real issues within the gripping of the imagination; she includes many native words along with an index in the back to translate them allowing the reader to be fully indulged within the context and plot of the story line.
At one point and time this land had belonged to his ancestors until his grandfather had ventured forth in an adventure, heading for Nairobi and ended up helping with the war. It is then discovered that a secret army of resisters who are determined to reclaim what is rightfully theirs has cut the hole in the fence. This type of novel could be used in a type of project where students are to draw or create three objects that symbolize importance to them in their lives.
Each student can go around the classroom and look at the artwork of one another and see how they are alike and notice how they are different. Burn My Heart moves, enlightens and reminds us about a time in British colonial history, a time of African struggle, which helps us to understand how things are now with a little more insight.
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Jun 21, Brooke rated it it was amazing Shelves: Audience I would recommend this book to a teacher who is teaching the time of apartheid. A student who is interested in learning about prejudice would also like this book. Apr Curriculum Connection, Vol. The author accurately depicts what life was like in Kenya during the s.
The author grew up in Africa during the time of apartheid. The book gives a balanced perspective from both the white and black character. Beverly Naidoo is a multi award winning author. She has also written picture books and non-fiction.
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This book is appropriate for an upper elementary reading level. I think students and teachers would be interested in this book and its connections to the time of apartheid. Students in middle school would be able to understand this book intellectually and emotionally. This book offers a balanced perspective of a friendship between two boys during a difficult time in history.
Value to the Collection: This book would be a great addition of historical fiction. Mar 12, Erin Reilly-Sanders rated it it was ok Shelves: I thought that the story was pretty good and the time period very interesting but somehow I didn't become very attached to either of the two main characters. Burn My Heart is, however, a great book to talk about Kenya, colonialism, and other issues in, particularly because it d I thought that the story was pretty good and the time period very interesting but somehow I didn't become very attached to either of the two main characters.
Burn My Heart is, however, a great book to talk about Kenya, colonialism, and other issues in, particularly because it does portray them in a rather objective fashion. None of the characters are portrayed as completely good or completely bad- there is a wide range and the actions of characters also change realistically over the course of the book. I just wish that I had been more absorbed into the story- perhaps because there were no major female characters?
That turn of events would have been much more appropriate in a fantasy than a historical fiction work so I'm glad the author didn't venture in the unrealistic idealistic direction but unfortunately the whole thing overall left me a little dry. I really do think it has to do with the split perspective between Mathew and Mugo. Because I couldn't take a side, I couldn't get personally involved, which is what books do so well- make connections between readers and ideas of humanity and thus felt rather left out of the experience of the story.
Journal Entry written for a class on Global Children's Lit Feb 22, Grace Sargeant rated it really liked it. Apr 28, Ashley Kerns rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This book takes place in Kenya. It switches back in fourth in a unique style. One boy is black and one boy is white. They are separated by their status and race.
Mathew is white and Mugo is black. The Mau Mau Rebellion takes place.
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They are threatening the white settlers. The natives are forced to help in the Mau Mau Rebellion. The book goes into great detail about some of the culture and what had happened during the Mau Mau Rebellion. Because blacks were usually the servants to the white families. The two families get along well until their property is set on fire and I think this is a significant part of the book. It shows a positive representation of both cultures being able to be friends but still have servants, but also a negative representation of the cultures coming together due to the differences in race and social economic status.
This book would be good for a high school classroom because it invites reflection, critical analysis, and response. It is good to talk about the Mau Mau Rebellion as a part of history lessons and or even just to inform students about the Kenya culture. If you were reading this as a class there are many points where you could stop and have student engage in some class predictions. This book will probably have students thinking about their friendships and relationships and think about what has changed since then and what would happen if they were in these situations.
Apr 08, Meghan Newton rated it liked it. While Matthew is a white boy and his father owns the land that Mugo is the kitchen toto at, the two boys are friends despite the color of their skin. Throughout the book they struggle to get their freedom and their land back. Matthew wanted to make sure that they made it hidden away so that no one could see them. They agreed on the narrow strip of land between the back stables and the security fence. Soon after they heard in the distant Mathews mother calling out for them so Lance quickly threw some sand on the fire to put it out.
When he arrived at the gate the guards would not let him and turned him away. Baba was beaten and Mugo had to listen to his screams. They interrogated Mugo next and to every question they asked and he said no they shoved his in a bucket of freezing water holding him down longer each time. What Mugo saw next was something he will never forget. Baba being drugged with his head face down to the ground, by two red hats. Mugo and the rest of his family were soon taken out of Kirinyaga and had to leave behind everything that meant most to them.
Mugo had a burn in his heart. Nov 30, Lauren Richards added it Shelves: Burn My Heart is a novel about two boys and the friendship that evolves and the unfortunate circumstances that are caught up in the race and wealth issues of Kenya in the s. The white boy is Matthew, and Mugo is a young black boy.
Matthew is a very rude and bratty kid that no one really likes because of the way he treated people. Mugo is the servant of Matthew because Mugo saved Matthew form a poisonous spider and was grated work in the kitchen. During the time of whites and blacks not being Burn My Heart is a novel about two boys and the friendship that evolves and the unfortunate circumstances that are caught up in the race and wealth issues of Kenya in the s.
Burn My Heart - Beverley Naidoo - Hardcover
During the time of whites and blacks not being able to be associated with the two boys take a chance and become friends. With fear in the back of both their minds, the somehow find trust with in each other. Turns out the two boys fathers grew up together and that is why they also share the same understanding friendships that the younger boys have.
In a state of emergency land owners were advised to put up fences on the property. Then the Mau Mau secret society forced labor upon blacks. With unfortunate scenes with the two boys fathers and the young boys are trying to live in the world where black and white can not be friends. This was a sad book because slavery in general is a very touchy subject and heartbreaking to talk or read about. I did not like the two language that were in the book. I had to keep flipping back and forth between the glossary and the pages I am reading so that is kind of a pain to do when trying to get into a book.
However the book does a great job of displaying the two different clutures between the black and white family. Overall it is a book I can say I read but will not be a book that I will read again. This book can be used to discuss different cultures in a classroom. Dec 08, Guoyang rated it really liked it. This is a historical book, it happened in to around s.
I do not know the exact date but it is in the time of the Mau Mau uprising. It happened in Kenya. This is the plot of the story: Mathew and Mugo are two boys living in a Kenyan farm. They were very good friends. Mugo is a boy working at the kitchen. Mathew learned lots of things from Mugo, and they played together so often that the others have to remi This is a historical book, it happened in to around s.
Mathew learned lots of things from Mugo, and they played together so often that the others have to remind Mathew that Mugo needs to work. One day, Mugo visited cousins, and discovered they somehow changed. Maybe they joined the Mau Mau! Since they had taken the oath, they must agree to help the Mau Mau, who wants their land and freedom back. Later Mathew made a new friend. When he and Mugo went hunting; he even pointed his gun at him. Will he dismiss them? What will happen to Mathew and Mugo, and their friendship? The good thing about this book is that it tells us something most children nowadays never knew, and you can see from the story how strong their friendships were.
I hope more people get to read books by this author. Loyalty to your friends and family, loyalty to your people, loyalty to your land, what does all of this mean for two young boys growing up in Kenya during the early 's? Although the characters are imagined, much of the historical facts mingled within the story are not. Enlightening as it is engaging, Burn My Heart informs readers of the Mau Mau rebellion and the state of emergency declared in Kenya in the early 's. Told between the alternating persp http: Told between the alternating perspectives of Mathew and Mugo, the story beautifully integrates readers into the harsh realities of the ominous effects that fear mixed with hatred can create.
Readers will likely identify with both boys as their story of struggle unfolds. It also builds strong character development as the pair face internal conflicts and moral dilemmas. Intended for middle grade to high school age audience, Burn My Heart is still a fantastic read for adults as it's complexities and intriguing outline bypass any age restrictions. Admittedly, there is no neatly wrapped ending, but there will be closure for those readers who can be satisfied with the author's form of stylistic poetic outcome.
Revealing and never overly dramatized, Burn My Heart is a perfect novel for readers looking for historical fiction that is an insightful and heartfelt view on injustice, friendship, and political as well as personal battles. Readers who enjoy Burn My Heart may appreciate checking out author Beverley Naidoo's other novels that which are set in Africa and like Burn My Heart explore the social, political, and racial difficulties of the country.
Dec 03, Laura Walker rated it really liked it Shelves: This story is about Matthew and Mugo two boys who are good friends. Mathew is white and Mugo is Black. There is a fire that occurs that destroys the cor This story is about Matthew and Mugo two boys who are good friends. There is a fire that occurs that destroys the corn and the stables, and Mathews father becomes suspicious. He takes Mugo and his father into questioning. Mugo is released after some questioning but his father his father is taken to a detainment area.
I think this style allows the reader to see the different life experiences of each of the children, and how they are treated. It gives you an opportunity to see how two boys who are very different, but also similar in some ways, being the same age but having totally different life challenges. VERY well-written, absorbing, and thought-provoking. Due to the subject matter the Kenyan struggle for independence in the 's , I wouldn't say it's a fun read, though. Naidoo is excellent at portraying the thoughts and motivations of both a wealthy white landowner's son and the young Kikuyu kitchen servant who works for them.
However, I found Mathew the "rich kid" far less sympathetic character than Mugo, who is truly trapped in a situation over which he has NO control. The book seems to VERY well-written, absorbing, and thought-provoking. The book seems to me to end abruptly, so I hope Naidoo will write a sequel that will allow us to find out what happens to Mugo. I imagine that one reason I felt such strong emotions as I read this book is due to my trip last year to South Africa.
Though more than miles away from Kenya, the history of being colonized by white Europeans who literally stole land from the black natives and then forced them to work as servants and treated them as less than human is in many respects the same. Driving past huge estates on fertile lands and seeing that while the white landowners live in luxury, their black employees-- who generally do all the work-- live in either shacks on the edges of the ranch, or in crowded settlements with no amenities, made me feel sick and angry. I found myself asking repeatedly, "How can one human being treat another with so little respect?
How do these landowners feel good about the way they live? Apr 28, Madison Niksich added it Shelves: In times of the Mau Mau secret society, which forces labor among blacks in is almost impossible for the two boys to stay friends. Mistrust between the two families results in the boys eventually having to part ways. Although a sad book Naidoo, B Although a sad book, the story of Mather and Mugo teaches valuable lessons and the immense impact of friendship.
This novel is culturally diverse. The reader gets to experience the Swahili language as the author includes short saying in the different language, accompanied with a glossary. This story has great historical significance as it discusses the impacts of the Mau Mau rebellion.
The plot is exciting and suspenseful at times which allows readers to stay intrigues in this story. The mood of the story is very sombering when the two characters friendship is broken up. This book would be a great story to include in a classroom library. Students could use this book in their research about historical rebellions or cultural conflict that affected many parts of the World.
This would be an excellent book to use in a book report or historical unit in the classroom. Dec 08, Erika Bowden rated it liked it Shelves: This is the story about two friends who live on the same Kenyan land, one being white, and the other being black. They live in a time where white means rich and black means poor.
This causes the boys to have an uneasy friendship and there are many obstacles that their friendship faces. The Mau Mau are a secret society which threatened British settlers with violence as black Kenyans were trying their hardest to win their land back as well as their freedom.