A young girl's spell-binding, treacherous journey from her village in Mozambique to the country of Zimbabwe is the subject of this riveting narrative from Nancy Farmer. Nhamo, a Shona girl of almost 12, flees her village to escape a forced marriage. Her mother died when she was three, but her father and his family are in Zimbabwe and it is there, her maternal grandmother tells Nhamo, that she must go. Her travels are perilous yet transforming. Swept off course into the waters of the great Lake Cabora Bassa, weak and hungry, Nhamo gains strength and skills for survival from the spirits of her Shona ancestors. Later, help comes from a group of people who open Nhamo's eyes to the possibilities that life can hold for her, while members of her father's family answer the questions in her heart. The author, who has lived in both Zimbabwe and Mozambique, has provided readers with a glossary, brief essays on the history of the peoples of Zimbabwe and Mozambique and the belief system of the Shona, and an extensive bibliography to help ground the experience of this tale set in 1981 that shows the juxtaposition and blending of traditional ways and modern life. (Age 11-14)

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A GIRL NAMED DISASTER is the humorous and heartwrenching story of young girl who discovers her own courage and strength when she makes the dangerous journey from Mozambique to Zimbabwe. Nhamo is a Shona girl living in a traditional village in Mozambique in 1981. When her family tries to force her into a marriage with a cruel man, she flees. What was supposed to have been a short boat trip across the border into Zimbabwe, where she hoped to find her father, turns into an adventure filled with challenges and danger that lasts a year.