Kate S Richards

Trainsurfer - Adventures of Jabu & Friends Kate S Richards

The day his mother dies, Jabu's instinct is to run. He runs away from the Johannesburg hospital and soon finds himself amongst a gang of train surfers on top of a hurtling train. After witnessing the dark side of train surfing, he continues to flee from his hopeless life, all the while searching for a place to call home. He stows away with an unexpected creature companion as he travels from Soweto to Durban, hoping to find his aunt. Through a series of fortuitous events, Jabu makes interracial friendships (in a time when that was unusual), learns to surf the waves and connects deeply with the street children called Father's boys. Being an orphan in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s is perilous. The police are a constant threat. It takes courage, loyalty and friendship to overcome the societal dangers. On the other side of apartheid society is Billie, a gutsy tomboy. It's not that she wants to be a boy, but she yearns to be with the boys in the surf, living daringly. One surfer, in particular, has her attention, but their lives are all about to change as they become a part of a bigger South African story that goes beyond surfing, 80's music and escapism. Originally conceptualised as a screenplay, Trainsurfer is bursting with cinematic-style action on the streets and in the ocean. Threaded through with Christian motifs, the story is one of injustice, betrayal, forgiveness, self-sacrifice and ultimately, hope. A salty, gritty, exciting, heartbreaking and hopeful page-turner. Aimed at readers from 9 - 16