Why is life so difficult for Margaret? Practically everything seems to be going wrong: she is thrown out of the swimming team, kicked out of the choir and her break-time bible studies are attracting – no-one. To complicate matters, it’s her very absent dad, not her mum, who is the Christian. Which makes her feeble attempts to ‘evangelise’ her mum doubly difficult.
But someone else at her school is having even more of a hard time than she is: Karabo, a cleaner’s child whose mother has given many years of loyal service to the school. However, some people resent her daughter’s place at the school which is funded by charity. Constantly on the alert, Karabo tries her best to stay out of trouble. She hasn’t reckoned with Jacky though, the powerful and influential class bully who tries to ruin her life – and all because she has made an enemy of Margaret, Karabo’s friend, and will go to any lengths to discredit her name. She creates havoc in the friend’s lives, until God intervenes in very surprising ways.
Take this challenging journey with Margaret and Karabo as they battle against prejudice, malice and jealousy. Will they triumph over Jacky and Co.? Or will the obstacles Jacky continually places in their paths ultimately defeat them?
Young adults will particularly enjoy this novel as they witness the characters’ struggles and their resilience as Jacky weaves her manipulative, deceitful web around their lives. With many inspiring and relevant bible verses placed at strategic places in the story, and with gripping plot twists, Surrounded is an inspiring, entertaining book for readers seeking to survive and thrive in this complex world.