Leigh's review: 
 Mists of the Serengeti is one of those books where words cannot adequately describe it. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and as sweeping as the African savannah for which it is named. It was thoughtful, it was erotic, but at its heart it was a love story of such amazing wonderment, told in a language that was music to read. I found myself stopping to cry at the way the lines spun off the pages to become more than just words, and it stayed with me long after I was finished. 
 After her sister Mo was killed in a bombing in Tanzania, Rodel journeys to Africa to pick up the pieces Mo left unfinished. There, Rodel leaves the comfort zone of her bookish life and discovers the wanderlust that gripped Mo. She stumbles upon a scrap of paper with names, dates and towns, and quickly realizes what Mo had been doing. She had been rescuing albino children and bringing them to a school where they would be safe. Through Rodel's eyes we see the utter magic of Africa, juxtaposed with the horror of the albino trade in Africa. 
 In her quest to fulfill Mo's work, Rodel encounters coffee farmer Jack Warden, and convinces him to assist her in her journey. Jack has become a shell of a man after the death of his daughter in the same bombing that claimed Mo's life. It is not love at first sight as they are both mired in sadness. But in a land where everything is connected, they work through their shared grief to find a love that is all encompassing and which ultimately can save them both and bring them back to life. 
 "This is what it looks like when you wander somewhere between the sand and stardust, and meet a piece of yourself in someone else." 
 If you only read one book this year, this is the one to pick up. It was earthy and sad and glorious and inspiring. The subject matter was intelligent and startling, the words, lyrical. I found myself crying, I found myself stopping to look up the places she described so I could be a part of the story, and I found myself immersed in a world of rainbows peeking out after the storm. It was as magical a love story as has ever been told and makes you believe that everything happens for a reason.