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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
For the African Life-Writing course. Simply, gorgeously written, utterly heart-breaking, harrowing, devastating. Made me cry often.
A bit of googling shows there was controversy when it came out over the accuracy of the account. This is, I think, par for the memoir course? But treating it just as a book -- it was gripping, moving, mournful and hard. I read it in a sitting.
A bit of googling shows there was controversy when it came out over the accuracy of the account. This is, I think, par for the memoir course? But treating it just as a book -- it was gripping, moving, mournful and hard. I read it in a sitting.
This was a haunting, but fantastic book. Beah writes so well about his life, that you want to believe that it's fiction.
The author is exactly my age, so it was hard not to constantly be sizing up my life in compared to his- remembering what I was doing the year he began running, or when he was forced to become a killer. I was constantly wondering how much my will to live would be at those ages.
This is a fast read and an important view at what is happening in the lives of children around the world. Even if you know nothing about Africa, I highly recommend it.
The author is exactly my age, so it was hard not to constantly be sizing up my life in compared to his- remembering what I was doing the year he began running, or when he was forced to become a killer. I was constantly wondering how much my will to live would be at those ages.
This is a fast read and an important view at what is happening in the lives of children around the world. Even if you know nothing about Africa, I highly recommend it.
Bruh this story. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that this REALLY happened. like it read like a fictional ya dystopian novel but this was someone's ACTUAL CHILDHOOD. The amount of pain, truama, horror, they experiences I literally cannot fathom. And the fact that I MET this man and he was so happy and full of life and making jokes about why he was so good at paintball like ??? HOW. absolutely insane. How is it that the people who have been through the worst shit have the best outlook on life. It's incredible. He ended the book so beautifully too like the story about the monkey, being willing to sacrifice someone he loves so know one else will have to experience that horror is MINDblowing, to be that compassionate and just a freaking amazing person like whaaaat.
This book was horrifying and heartbreaking, but the reason it only gets 3 stars is because of one short passage that made me question everything in this book. Like many memoirs in recent times, there was some controversy about the authenticity of the book (call it James Frey syndrome). And what made me question everything I read was a passage about 75 pages in where Beah is going into very specific detail about him fleeing his village and the horrors he saw and he stops abruptly to mention that the reason he can recall everything in such great detail is because he has a photographic memory and has been able to recall great details since he was a small child. I felt that the need to explain himself hurt more than helped him and from there on out, it took me completely out of the narrative. I just kept thinking, "Wow, this is a terrible story...but is it real?" I hate that I had to question the entire thing because it was beautifully written and exposed the strife and suffering of hundreds of children during the war in Sierra Leone.
YES, Mrs. Deraney you did well in choosing this memoir and gave me appreciation for English class. I would rate this higher than a five if I could.
The story of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone during the 1990s. Not for the faint-hearted, some parts were pretty graphic. Sad how adults on both sides, gov't and rebels,used (and continue to use) innocents to their own devices.
Unbelievable that this happened and still happens! Great read but horrible to read as well.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced