Last week, I read Orange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide. This historical fiction novel is about an African boy, Yesofu, and an Indian girl, Asha, whose friendship is tested when the president announces that Indians will have to leave the country within ninety days in 1972 Uganda. Although Yesofu and Asha have never cared about their differences before, they start to feel pressure from their friends, family, and community to end their friendship after President Idi Amin's announcement. Over the course of the ninety days, they try to hold on and stay friends, but tensions continue to grow between Africans and Indians in their town of Entebbe as the deadline approaches. With increasing dangers, Yesofu and Asha must decide if they should let each other go.
This story was both breathtaking and heartbreaking. The end was poignant and made me cry a little, but I enjoyed how the suspense of the novel increased as the ninety days passed. I thought Yesofu and Asha were so brave in trying to maintain their friendship even though they came from two different worlds. One of Yesofu's friends, Akello, was a huge bully and I appreciated how Yesofu stood up to him about Asha. I was also so nervous when Asha began to realize that her father was helping other Indians leave the country because I didn't want anything bad to happen to their family. This novel is based on true events that happened in Uganda and I definitely saw similarities to other historical events that caused large groups of people to immigrate. Racism and nativism were two of the main themes throughout the story. President Amin believed that Indians were taking all the good jobs and opportunities from Africans in the country, so he gave them an ultimatum if they weren't Ugandan citizens. I would recommend Orange for the Sunsets to anyone who wants to read a story about the strength of friendship and family and learn more about the history of Uganda.
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