Burn My Heart by Beverley Naidoo

Imagine one day a group of well-to-do people arrive to your home and claim it as their own. In fact they decide to keep you around so you can take care of the house for them, and in exchange they will help educate you and promise to raise you, your family, and community to a better more civilized way of living. How would you feel? They take your home from you, and then make you work for them. And what if you had no way of protecting yourself from these different people? What if they could threaten you with violence and you had no way of stopping it?

To make it more complex, what if your neighbors decided to fight them with any means at their disposal? What if they decided to force you into fighting as well? What if both sides began hurting and killing each other? What would you do?

This is the question at the core of Burn My Heart, a story of British colonialism in Kenya during the 1950’s and at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion. There are two boys: Mathew, the British white son of a wealthy land owner, and Mugo, an African teen who helps as a kitchen aid in Mathew’s estate. There is history between them. They have grown up besides each other and have come to share an odd friendship. Mathew is in charge, even though he is younger and less experienced, because he is white and the son of the white master. While they care for one another they will never be able to cross this rigid caste system between the white colonists and the tribal people of Kenya.

To make matters worse Mathew’s grandfather “bought” the land his father’s farm is on. But the land in fact belonged to Mugo’s grandfather and his tribe. Mugo’s heritage and land were taken away from him before he was even born. Other people in the same position as Mugo, who work for white masters that have taken their ancestral land become understandably upset; enough to rebel.

As the Mau Mau Rebellion envelopes more and more of the land daily life begins to change as it is infected with a culture of fear. Mathew and his family fear rebels coming to kill them and begin to distrust the tribal people who help run the farm. On the other side Mugo fears the Mau Mau will force them to fight or that the white master will accuse him and his family of treachery at any moment. But the boys are young and can make a choice, do they allow their hearts to be burned and give into hate or do they try to live life in peace? Or could their lopsided friendship become a sacrifice to all the worst things that humans can inflict upon each other. There is no easy answer, and it is chilling that a culture of fear and mistrust are still present today.

I enjoyed this book a lot, however it was rather brief. It is a good introduction to the effects of colonialism and the history of Kenyan independence.  It is recommended for fans of historical fiction who want a real slice of life of another culture and time. Appropriate for ages 12 and up.