The Girl Child's Resilience and Agency in NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names.

Zimbabwean children's literature has witnessed considerable expansion since the attainment of independence in 1980. It has addressed numerous themes, although it has tended to avoid overtly political issues. This article examines new developments in this literary genre. It focuses on one creative work that employs the perspectives of girl children to describe challenging experiences. The article analyses NoViolet Bulawayo'sWe Need New Names(2013) to understand the resilience of the girl child in Zimbabwe. It examines this literary work as part of Zimbabwean children's literature. It contends that the author provides an effective account of how Zimbabwean children demonstrate resilience and deploy agency to negotiate a very difficult context. However, the article also argues that Bulawayo's approach to the theme has some weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]