BEVERLEY NAIDOO was born in South Africa. She grew up under apartheid laws but as a student began to question racism and the idea that white people were superior. At 21 she was arrested for taking part in the resistance movement._In 1965 Beverley came to England. She married another South African exile. Apartheid laws forbade marriage between white and black people and barred them living together with their children in South Africa._ Her first book, Journey to Jo'burg, won The Other Award in Britain. It opened a window onto children's struggles under apartheid. In South Africa it was banned until 1991, the year after Nelson Mandela was released from jail. A few years later, when the parents of all South African children had the right to vote for the first time, Nelson Mandela was elected president. _For Chain of Fire she had to rely on reports and photos smuggled out of South Africa. But after 26 years she was at last able to return freely to research in the country. No Turning Back and Out of Bounds followed. In all her stories, young characters from different backgrounds face tense conflicts and choices. Beverley chose London as the setting for her first novel set outside South Africa but the issues are as dramatic - The Other Side of Truth won her the Carnegie Medal.
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