"Be strong, my Abela."These are the last words of Abela's mother in their HIV/Aids stricken African village, where it seems that to live or to die, to be sick or to be healthy, is just a matter of chance. It takes all Abela's strength to survive her Uncle Thomas's scheming to get to Europe, but what will be her fate as an illegal immigrant?"I don't want a sister or brother," thinks Rosa in England, when her mother tells her that she wants to adopt a child. Could these two girls ever become sisters? Is there room in Rosa's family for an African orphan haunted by lions? Is there room in their hearts?Abela is a powerful and moving story influenced by a visit to Africa, from the Carnegie Medal-winning author Berlie Doherty writing at her very best.
