Dying in New York

'A long time ago, before I had breasts, sense or a husband, I knew one day I would die in New York. I must have been no more than twelve and the jacaranda trees were about to burst into their lilac-coloured song. I'd never been to New York. Actually I'd never been out of our northern Johannesburg suburb, except for my monthly visits to Doctor Sydney Malema.' - From Dying in New York 
Dying in New York is the haunting tale of Lerato, a girl from a comfortable middle-class family living in Johannesburg. The story begins when Lerato is twelve but all too soon it becomes starkly apparent that all is not well with her. Lerato's father, a respected member of the community, abuses her regularly and with cruel impunity.
In this sea of betrayal, Lerato longs to fly away to the one place in the world that offers her refuge: New York. For Lerato, it becomes a wonderful and mystical city, full of magic and laughter. The story transitions seamlessly between a psychiatrist's office overlooking the Hudson River, where Lerato traces the painful arc of her life, to the underworld of prostitution and vice at the southern tip of Africa, as seen through the eyes of a young girl.
It is Lerato's story and she tells it with wit and keen observation from the first page until the novel's unexpected climax