​REVIEWS

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“Set in the vivid environment of a squatter camp outside of Durban in South Africa, We Kiss Them With Rain is one of the most well-crafted and in-depth South African books that covers love and loss, the real and the façade, and guides the reader on a journey of which is which.” —The Uncorked Librarian

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“Ntshingila spins a contemporary tale that moves across a generation, carving real lives from the broad African diasporic experience. Ntshingila takes what you think you know about Africa’s AIDs epidemic and gives it a face, a body, and a voice. We Kiss Them With Rain is a difficult but joyful meditation on one girl’s perseverance and ultimate triumph.” —Cole Lavalais, author Summer of the Cicadas

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“Taking place mostly in Durban, South Africa, the tale doesn’t shy away from the reality of AIDS, poverty, or rampant sexual abuse, but instead of making those subjects its sole focus, Ntshingila folds them in with the other realities of life: love, joy, and hope. Ntshingila’s lyrically wrought North American debut is a slim yet satisfying novel sure to trigger a wide range of emotions.” —Kirkus (Starred review)

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“Those who appreciate realistic fiction will enjoy this novel in which young female characters learn to love themselves, no matter the circumstances” —School Library Journal

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“Full of heart and hope despite the emotionally challenging subject matter [...] A haunting, all-too-true story with plenty of compelling depth.” —Booklist Reviews

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“It is a story about joy and hope and courage, and what it means to lift up others and be lifted oneself, and how one young girl found her voice in a world seemingly determined to take it away.” Shelf Awareness (starred review)

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“Reading the story of Mvelo, a 14-year-old girl whose life is impacted by many twists of fate, hardship, love, and an incredible community of supporters—and whose tragic journey resolves in the most wonderful of ways—brings back a history of a still raging epidemic that has seemed to disappear from the media’s attention in this country.” —Lucy Kogler, Lit Hub columnist

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“Ntshingila takes what could be mere tearjerking manipulation and turns Mvelo’s path into something at once dramatic and prosaic. In other words, a 14-year-old pregnant by rape, orphaned by AIDS, and uncertain of her future sounds and feels like a full human instead of a line in a news story. Highly recommend.” —Bethanne Patrick, Lit Hub

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“Ntshingila’s prose is as graceful as it is forceful, conveying her deep-seated faith in truth to overcome the world’s ugliness.” —Laurie G., bookseller at Politics and Prose

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“Futhi Ntshingila weaves a beautiful narrative full of three-dimensional characters. She brings them, as well as the South African culture and landscape, to life vividly and entertains us as well as informs. It is a much-needed look at the AIDS crisis and a continent and country that has been hit so hard. In doing so, however, it still provides us with much hope for the future.” —A&U Magazine

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“[G]ives a reader a first-hand experience of several generations of South African women and their harrowing existences” —“A Spotlight on International Children’s Books,” Women’s National Book Association

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“A harrowing, non-linear narrative weaves together the lives of several generations of women struggling to survive in a South Africa ravaged by AIDS, apartheid, and sexual abuse. Ntshingila imbues the women with strong will, resolute voices, and pragmatic hope for a better future.” —United States Board on Books for Young People

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“Author Futhi Ntshingila reminds us of our common humanity, and that as long as there is human suffering in the world, our work is not yet done.” —Skipping Stones Magazine