FINDERS KEEPERS: Rosamund Haden
PLOT SUMMARY
Finders Keepers tells the story of Lufuno Mukwevho, a teenage girl who moves with her family from
Johannesburg to Cape Town after her parents find work at a bread factory. She struggles with
loneliness and grief over the death of her best friend, Dudu, whom she continues to think about
throughout the story. Starting at Victory High School is difficult for Lufuno because she is new,
Vhavenda, darker-skinned, and unable to speak isiXhosa like most of the other learners. She is
bullied by a girl named Sindi and teased by other students, which makes her feel angry and
isolated.
Lufuno later makes friends with Chantelle and Noki, who help her gain confidence and stand up for
herself. She also develops a romantic relationship with Mandla, a popular soccer player and the son
of a strict chief. Their relationship is symbolised by Lufuno’s beaded bracelet made by her
grandmother. Both families oppose their relationship: Lufuno’s parents do not allow dating, and
Mandla’s father wants him to focus on his duties as a future chief. Mandla is also angry with his
father, blaming him for his sister Nandi’s death from asthma.
The story reaches its climax during a factory strike where Lufuno’s parents work. Because they do
not join the strike and are Vhavenda, the family becomes a target. Baba Mukwevho is attacked and
injured, and the family’s house is later set on fire while Lufuno’s little sister, Tshilidzi, is trapped
inside. Mandla, with his father’s help, rescues Tshilidzi. This event brings reconciliation: Mandla’s
father admits his mistakes, the families forgive each other, and they accept Lufuno and Mandla’s
relationship. In the end, Lufuno heals from her grief and realises she no longer needs fantasy
stories, because she has found real love, friendship, and family support.
SETTING
The novel is set mainly in a township in present-day Cape Town, where Lufuno and her family live
after moving from Johannesburg. The urban setting highlights Lufuno’s feelings of isolation as she
adjusts to a new environment, language, and culture. At times, the story also shifts to the past
through Lufuno’s memories of her grandmother’s rural village in Venda. These memories contrast
strongly with city life and show her longing for her grandmother, her friend Dudu, and the peaceful
rural landscape she has left behind.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
There is high competition for jobs in South Africa, especially in cities.
Many urban workers fear that rural migrants and foreigners will take their jobs.
Trade unions are organisations that protect workers’ rights.
Unions negotiate with employers for better pay, hours, and working conditions.
When negotiations fail, workers may go on strike.
During a strike, all workers are expected to stop working.
Workers who continue working during a strike are often punished or threatened by others.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
LUFUNO MUKWEVHO
1|Page
,Important actions
Lufuno moves to Cape Town and goes to a new school.
Lufuno gets bullied, but she learns how to stand up for herself.
Lufuno defies her parents, even though they have forbidden her to see Mandla.
Lufuno meets Mandla at the playground secretly, where thugs try to scare them, and also
where Mandla’s father has to rescue them.
After a party, she runs into the road, and Mandla rescues her.
Relationships
She is Mandla’s girlfriend; Tshilidzi’s older sister; and the main character.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Caring and loving, especially towards her little sister, Tshilidzi.
Dreamy and imaginative, often making up film stories to entertain herself and others.
Intelligent and creative, using storytelling to cope with difficult emotions.
Impatient at times, shown when she leaves Tshilidzi to attend a party.
Brave and strong, even when facing bullying, loss, and fear.
Loyal and loving, keeping Dudu’s memory alive through stories and planting trees.
A supportive and caring girlfriend to Mandla.
Physical description
Lufuno is dark-skinned, and has cornrow braids.
The other girls have complicated weaves and wigs.
Changes
Lufuno learns how to stand up to the boys who bully her, and shouts back at them.
More importantly, Lufuno accepts that Dudu is dead and that her imagination is not as
important as looking after her family that is still alive and well.
MANDLA NKOSI
Important actions
Mandla keeps Lufuno’s bracelet so she has to be friends with him. He persuades her to like
him.
Mandla stands up to Dumi and his crew. He also rejects (says no to) Sindi, even though she
is the coolest girl at school. Mandla is not afraid to be different.
Mandla disagrees with his father about his duties in the rural areas as a chief’s son.
Mandla keeps seeing Lufuno even though his father doesn’t want him to.
Most importantly, Mandla is heroic in the fire, because he pulls Tshilidzi out of the burning
house.
Relationships
He is the chief’s son, and also a main character. He becomes Lufuno’s boyfriend even though she is
not popular.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Mandla is resentful, rebellious, and angry because he thinks his father should have done
more to save his sister Nandi from her death from asthma.
2|Page
, He is also brave and unafraid to be different, both by going out with Lufuno and by defying
his father’s plan for him to be chief.
Physical description
He is strong and handsome, as well as athletic, because he is talented at soccer.
Changes
Mandla learns to forgive his father for Nandi’s death, because he admits he was wrong to ignore her
asthma attack.
THE MUKWEVHO FAMILY - MMA, BABA, TSHILIDZI (AND LUFUNO)
Important actions
Mma and Baba Mukwevho get jobs at a bread factory and move their family from
Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Her parents forbid Lufuno from seeing Mandla, which Lufuno thinks is unfair. They also give
Lufuno chores to do.
The parents both go to work even though the strike is on.
Baba Mukwevho is attacked by the workers and his leg is injured.
At the end of the book, the parents accept that Lufuno and Mandla are in a relationship.
Relationships
Lufuno and Tshilidzi’s parents. Tshilidzi is Lufuno’s annoying little sister.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Mma and Baba are caring and hard-working people. Because they work hard at the bread
factory, their daughters have enough to eat and a place to live.
They are also proud of their Venda heritage. They want to keep some traditions alive, such
as not dating outside their community.
They are also spiritual (Christian) people: Mma loves listening to her gospel music.
Tshilidzi is a typical playful, loving, curious little girl.
She is naughty because she often hides from her family. This gets her into serious trouble
when she is trapped in the fire in their house, and Mandla has to risk his life to save her.
Physical description
The whole family is darker-skinned than the community around them because of their Venda
roots.
They are Tshivenda-speaking. Baba has a hurt leg from the attack by the striking workers.
Changes
By the ends of the story, Baba and Mma thank Mandla for saving Tshilidzi.
They come to accept that Lufuno can make her own decisions, so they allow Lufuno and
Mandla to be a couple.
Tshilidzi understands that she must be more responsible and not make her family worry
about where she is.
CHIEF NKOSI
Important actions
3|Page
PLOT SUMMARY
Finders Keepers tells the story of Lufuno Mukwevho, a teenage girl who moves with her family from
Johannesburg to Cape Town after her parents find work at a bread factory. She struggles with
loneliness and grief over the death of her best friend, Dudu, whom she continues to think about
throughout the story. Starting at Victory High School is difficult for Lufuno because she is new,
Vhavenda, darker-skinned, and unable to speak isiXhosa like most of the other learners. She is
bullied by a girl named Sindi and teased by other students, which makes her feel angry and
isolated.
Lufuno later makes friends with Chantelle and Noki, who help her gain confidence and stand up for
herself. She also develops a romantic relationship with Mandla, a popular soccer player and the son
of a strict chief. Their relationship is symbolised by Lufuno’s beaded bracelet made by her
grandmother. Both families oppose their relationship: Lufuno’s parents do not allow dating, and
Mandla’s father wants him to focus on his duties as a future chief. Mandla is also angry with his
father, blaming him for his sister Nandi’s death from asthma.
The story reaches its climax during a factory strike where Lufuno’s parents work. Because they do
not join the strike and are Vhavenda, the family becomes a target. Baba Mukwevho is attacked and
injured, and the family’s house is later set on fire while Lufuno’s little sister, Tshilidzi, is trapped
inside. Mandla, with his father’s help, rescues Tshilidzi. This event brings reconciliation: Mandla’s
father admits his mistakes, the families forgive each other, and they accept Lufuno and Mandla’s
relationship. In the end, Lufuno heals from her grief and realises she no longer needs fantasy
stories, because she has found real love, friendship, and family support.
SETTING
The novel is set mainly in a township in present-day Cape Town, where Lufuno and her family live
after moving from Johannesburg. The urban setting highlights Lufuno’s feelings of isolation as she
adjusts to a new environment, language, and culture. At times, the story also shifts to the past
through Lufuno’s memories of her grandmother’s rural village in Venda. These memories contrast
strongly with city life and show her longing for her grandmother, her friend Dudu, and the peaceful
rural landscape she has left behind.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
There is high competition for jobs in South Africa, especially in cities.
Many urban workers fear that rural migrants and foreigners will take their jobs.
Trade unions are organisations that protect workers’ rights.
Unions negotiate with employers for better pay, hours, and working conditions.
When negotiations fail, workers may go on strike.
During a strike, all workers are expected to stop working.
Workers who continue working during a strike are often punished or threatened by others.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
LUFUNO MUKWEVHO
1|Page
,Important actions
Lufuno moves to Cape Town and goes to a new school.
Lufuno gets bullied, but she learns how to stand up for herself.
Lufuno defies her parents, even though they have forbidden her to see Mandla.
Lufuno meets Mandla at the playground secretly, where thugs try to scare them, and also
where Mandla’s father has to rescue them.
After a party, she runs into the road, and Mandla rescues her.
Relationships
She is Mandla’s girlfriend; Tshilidzi’s older sister; and the main character.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Caring and loving, especially towards her little sister, Tshilidzi.
Dreamy and imaginative, often making up film stories to entertain herself and others.
Intelligent and creative, using storytelling to cope with difficult emotions.
Impatient at times, shown when she leaves Tshilidzi to attend a party.
Brave and strong, even when facing bullying, loss, and fear.
Loyal and loving, keeping Dudu’s memory alive through stories and planting trees.
A supportive and caring girlfriend to Mandla.
Physical description
Lufuno is dark-skinned, and has cornrow braids.
The other girls have complicated weaves and wigs.
Changes
Lufuno learns how to stand up to the boys who bully her, and shouts back at them.
More importantly, Lufuno accepts that Dudu is dead and that her imagination is not as
important as looking after her family that is still alive and well.
MANDLA NKOSI
Important actions
Mandla keeps Lufuno’s bracelet so she has to be friends with him. He persuades her to like
him.
Mandla stands up to Dumi and his crew. He also rejects (says no to) Sindi, even though she
is the coolest girl at school. Mandla is not afraid to be different.
Mandla disagrees with his father about his duties in the rural areas as a chief’s son.
Mandla keeps seeing Lufuno even though his father doesn’t want him to.
Most importantly, Mandla is heroic in the fire, because he pulls Tshilidzi out of the burning
house.
Relationships
He is the chief’s son, and also a main character. He becomes Lufuno’s boyfriend even though she is
not popular.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Mandla is resentful, rebellious, and angry because he thinks his father should have done
more to save his sister Nandi from her death from asthma.
2|Page
, He is also brave and unafraid to be different, both by going out with Lufuno and by defying
his father’s plan for him to be chief.
Physical description
He is strong and handsome, as well as athletic, because he is talented at soccer.
Changes
Mandla learns to forgive his father for Nandi’s death, because he admits he was wrong to ignore her
asthma attack.
THE MUKWEVHO FAMILY - MMA, BABA, TSHILIDZI (AND LUFUNO)
Important actions
Mma and Baba Mukwevho get jobs at a bread factory and move their family from
Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Her parents forbid Lufuno from seeing Mandla, which Lufuno thinks is unfair. They also give
Lufuno chores to do.
The parents both go to work even though the strike is on.
Baba Mukwevho is attacked by the workers and his leg is injured.
At the end of the book, the parents accept that Lufuno and Mandla are in a relationship.
Relationships
Lufuno and Tshilidzi’s parents. Tshilidzi is Lufuno’s annoying little sister.
Personality traits/Character qualities
Mma and Baba are caring and hard-working people. Because they work hard at the bread
factory, their daughters have enough to eat and a place to live.
They are also proud of their Venda heritage. They want to keep some traditions alive, such
as not dating outside their community.
They are also spiritual (Christian) people: Mma loves listening to her gospel music.
Tshilidzi is a typical playful, loving, curious little girl.
She is naughty because she often hides from her family. This gets her into serious trouble
when she is trapped in the fire in their house, and Mandla has to risk his life to save her.
Physical description
The whole family is darker-skinned than the community around them because of their Venda
roots.
They are Tshivenda-speaking. Baba has a hurt leg from the attack by the striking workers.
Changes
By the ends of the story, Baba and Mma thank Mandla for saving Tshilidzi.
They come to accept that Lufuno can make her own decisions, so they allow Lufuno and
Mandla to be a couple.
Tshilidzi understands that she must be more responsible and not make her family worry
about where she is.
CHIEF NKOSI
Important actions
3|Page
