Preview
  • When the Ground Is Hard

  • By: Malla Nunn
  • Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

When the Ground Is Hard

By: Malla Nunn
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.70

Buy for $20.70

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

An Edgar Award nominee stuns in this heartrending tale set in a Swaziland boarding school where two girls of different castes bond over a shared copy of Jane Eyre.

Adele Joubert loves being one of the popular girls at Keziah Christian Academy. She knows the upcoming semester at school is going to be great with her best friend Delia at her side. Then Delia dumps her for a new girl with more money, and Adele is forced to share a room with Lottie, the school pariah, who doesn't pray and defies teachers' orders.

But as they share a copy of Jane Eyre, Lottie's gruff exterior and honesty grow on Adele, and Lottie learns to be a little sweeter. Together, they take on bullies and protect each other from the vindictive and prejudiced teachers. Then a boy goes missing on campus and Adele and Lottie must rely on each other to solve the mystery and maybe learn the true meaning of friendship.

©2019 Malla Nunn (P)2019 Listening Library
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

Winner of the LA Times Book Festival Prize for Young Adult Literature - 2019

A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year - 2019

Josette Frank Award Winner - 2020

A YALSA Best Fiction Pick - 2020

A Westchester Fiction Award Winner - 2020

"Excellent writing and an evocative setting make this novel a standout." (Booklist, starred review)

“Turpin reads with a musical African accent. She makes fine distinctions among the characters’ voices and embodies Adele’s swiftly shifting emotions. American missionaries have clipped accents, and male characters sound credible. The richly evoked setting may be strange to American readers, and the vivid racism may be shocking, but teens will be drawn into the girls’ growing friendship and search for self.” (Booklist, starred review on audiobook)

"Accidents, lies, thefts...secrets...dead bodies, and illicit rendezvous make for riveting reading in this taut novel." (School Library Journal)

What listeners say about When the Ground Is Hard

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wondrous voice .

Malla Nunn brings one vividly to the heart of South Africa in the years before the end of Apartheid, in this novel, as well as her detective series. She deserves to be read.
Bahni Turpin is pitch perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book

I love this story so much I have listen to over and over it’s also a good book for a background book when your doing something or if you just need something to listen to,I had to read it for OBOB and I loved it and I still read it a year later, it has a great plot and awesome characters though I would not recommend it for younger readers because it has some dark parts but I would say anyone over 10 would enjoy reading it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful