Magical

I loved this historical fiction which is structured with a dual timeline. The first is the largely true historical part which documents the life of Mary Leakey, who joined her husband Louis on archaeological digs in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in the 1930's and contributed more to his discoveries that was generally acknowledged. The parallel fictional story is set in the 1980's when a young 17 year old girl, recovering from the death of her mum, joins her archaeologist dad in Tanzania where Mary Leakey is still working. The 2 women form a close friendship around their concern for an old cheetah who they are trying to rescue. The descriptions of the African bush are lovely and the way the 2 stories work together makes for an entertaining and heart warming read.