Sofia · Book 1

Secrets in the Fire

by Henning Mankell

Published
1 January 1995
Pages
170
ISBN-13
9781865081816
Type
novel

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Cover of Secrets in the Fire

About this book

Secrets in the Fire opens Henning Mankell's YA trilogy in 1995, dramatizing the real landmine accident that killed young Sofia Alface's sister and cost Sofia her own legs during Mozambique's civil war -- at 170 pages, the shortest of the three books.

Its place in Sofia

Secrets in the Fire is book 1 in the Sofia series. It is followed by Playing with Fire. See the full Sofia reading order.

The Sofia trilogy is based on the true story of Sofia Alface, a young woman Henning Mankell met and befriended during his decades directing a theatre in Maputo, Mozambique. Secrets in the Fire (1995) opens with the real event that shaped Sofia's life: as a girl, she and her younger sister step on a landmine left over from Mozambique's civil war, killing her sister and costing Sofia both her legs. Written for younger readers but unflinching about poverty, disability and loss, the book follows Sofia's recovery and…

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