Winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award in 1988.
From the publisher (source:
The Internet Book List):
Tengo and Frikkie are childhood friends--one is black, one is white; Tengo, a "boy" on Oom Koos's farm on the South African veld, and Frikkie, the farmer's nephew, who one day will inherit the family's land. Though they live in different and conflicting worlds, their friendship is forged when they are too young to know that there are lines that must not be crossed.
But as the tension mounts in South Africa, the boys find their relationship in crisis when they realize the differences in their beliefs. Tengo abandons farm life for school and struggles against apartheid. Frikkie, who longs to forgo his studies to work the land, enters the army, waiting for the day when he can return to the farm
As Tengo commits his life to change, Frikkie tries to preserve life as it has always been. Can the two hold on to the friendship that before the turmoil shattered their dreams?
(from the publisher)