When Morning Comes

It's 1976 in South Africa. Written from the points-of-view of four young people living in Johannesburg and its black township, Soweto—Zanele, a black female student organizer, Meena, of South Asian background working at her father's shop, Jack, an Oxford-bound white student, and Thabo, a teen gang-member or tsotsi —this book explores the roots of the Soweto Uprising and the edifice of Apartheid in a South Africa about to explode. In the black township of Soweto, Zanele, who also works as a nightclub singer, is plotting against the apartheid government. The police can't know. Her mother and sister can't know. No one can know. On the affluent white side of town, Jack Craven plans to spend the last days of his break before university burning miles on his beat up Mustang, and crashing other people's parties. Their chance meeting changes everything. Already a chain of events are in motion; a failed plot, a murdered teacher, a powerful police agent with a vendetta, and a secret network of students across the township. The students will rise. And there will be violence when morning comes. Introducing readers to a remarkable young literary talent, When Morning Comes offers an impeccably researched and vivid snapshot of South African society on the eve of the uprising that changed it forever. Zanele is skipping school and secretly plotting against the apartheid government. The police can't know. Her mother and sister can't know. Her best friend Thabo, schoolboy turned gang member, can tell she's up to something. But he has troubles of his own--a deal gone wrong and some powerful enemies. Across the bridge, in the wealthy white suburbs, Jack plans to spend his last days in Johannesburg burning miles on his beat-up Mustang--until he meets a girl with an unforgettable face from the simmering black township--Soweto. Working in her father's shop, Meena finds a packet of banned pamphlets. They lead to a mysterious black girl with a secret, a dangerous gangster with an expensive taste in clothes, and an engaging white boy who drives a battered red car. A series of chance meetings changes everything. A chain of events is set in motion--a failed plot, a murdered teacher, and a secret movement of students that has spread across the township. And the students will rise This fictionalized account of a student uprising that began in Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, unfolds through the first-person narratives of four young adults from different backgrounds whose lives intersect. An African student, Zanele, secretly organizes the protest against the Afrikaans Medium Decree Act, which required the use of English and Afrikaans (zthe language of the oppressorsy) in schools. Her apolitical friend Thabo heads a local gang, extorting money from an Indian store owner, whose daughter Meena, is sympathetic to the students. Meanwhile, Jack, a white Afrikaner, meets, befriends, and comes to love Zanele. Unlikely alliances develop and shift among the four protagonists, each of whom feels pressure from loved ones to conform to expectations. It's 1976 in South Africa. In the black township of Soweto, Zanele works as a nightclub singer and is plotting against the apartheid government. Her best friend Thabo, schoolboy turned gang member has troubles of his own-a deal gone wrong and some powerful enemies. Across the bridge, in the wealthy white suburbs, Jack plans to spend his last days in Johannesburg burning miles on his beat-up Mustang-until he meets Zanele. Working in her father's shop, Meena finds a packet of banned pamphlets. A series of chance meetings changes everything. A chain of events is set in motion-a failed plot, a murdered teacher, and a secret movement of students that has spread across the township