Protectors of Little Africa

Protectors of Little Africa
Nessa Berry
Unlimited Publishing
ISBN: 1-58832-132-0
Fiction, Young Adult, Culture
Reviewed by Tanya Boudreau

It started with a round of Truth or Dare among best friends who live in a little town in South Africa. Shane, Joanne, and Barry are three bored high-school students. They decide to sneak into Voodoo Manor where the scary witchdoctor resides. Supposedly everyone who ventures into Voodoo Manor leaves “changed”…..or so the story goes.
Behind the shrubs at Voodoo Manor, they discover a wild African land where native grasses grow and elephants and hippos soak in waterholes. Thabo, a drummer, who makes his home in this Little Africa, comes to the aid of the friends- who are now the size of stick people! Incorporating parting advice from Thabo with their own resources, hissing cobras, hungry hyenas, and the wrath of a great eagle, cannot stop these three teenagers.
From the description of Gogo, the witchdoctor, to the performance at the tribal camp, the reader is immersed into the landscape and time of a rural, native Africa. The friends find themselves experiencing traditional food, dance, shelter, and art in Little Africa. However, they have important and pressing work to do when they leave Little Africa after three days. Protect Little Africa! Poachers are discovered in their hometown. This makes a good segue into their next adventure. Nessa Berry- are you planning book #2? This story would be a suitable addition to a library.