Tears of an Angel | Young Adult Fiction

Sello Mahapeletsa

Seventeen-year-old Dikeledi has everything going for her – she is pretty and clever and comes from a loving family. But when her father is retrenched from his job at the gold mine, things start to fall apart at home. Adding to her troubles, as the year’s Miss Leseding High finalist, Dike has been targeted by the arrogant tsotsi, Sting, who will stop at nothing until she agrees to be his girlfriend. Will Dike give in to Sting? After all, he has the money that could save her family from poverty.

But Dike is soon to experience another cruel blow – and to realise that circumstances have left her alone, and with few choices. All Dike has left are her dreams for the future – and to fulfil them, she must find hope in herself, as well as the courage that lies deep within.

Dike’s story is about vulnerability and strength, joy and sorrow – in a world peppered with imperfect characters, it shows how hope can uplift even the saddest hearts, and how with personal strength comes the power to forgive.