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jennifermreads's review
4.0
Received advanced reader copy from publisher via Baker & Taylor book supplier
Ricky Anywar is kidnapped in 1989 and made to fight in the Ugandan Civil War. He tries to survive among the abuse, brutality, and inevitable anguish of war but he never stops dreaming of escape.
The portion of this book that is about Ricky is based on a real-life account. Inserted in between various chapters about Ricky are chapters about Samuel, a fictional character who represents the many children that Ricky now helps rehabilitate through his charity. I wonder if the brutality, though present, was dialed back a bit because it is a “young adult” book. Sometimes, it had that “holding back” feel when various scenes played out.
This is a story to read and share. I had a friend ask why on earth I would read something so depressing. She said she wanted to spend her reading time among happy stories with happy endings. I can understand that sentiment. But I often read to learn. And this book was a true lesson. I learned about a war I had previously known nothing about. I had my eyes opened further about the atrocities child soldiers encounter. And I felt helpless when I got to the end, wondering what I could do to help encourage change. I hope the finished copy has some resources to lead readers wishing to do something after reading. At the very least, information should be provided about Ricky’s charity.
Place this into the hands of a teen in your life. Start a discussion. Spread the knowledge. Encourage activism. Hope for peace.
Ricky Anywar is kidnapped in 1989 and made to fight in the Ugandan Civil War. He tries to survive among the abuse, brutality, and inevitable anguish of war but he never stops dreaming of escape.
The portion of this book that is about Ricky is based on a real-life account. Inserted in between various chapters about Ricky are chapters about Samuel, a fictional character who represents the many children that Ricky now helps rehabilitate through his charity. I wonder if the brutality, though present, was dialed back a bit because it is a “young adult” book. Sometimes, it had that “holding back” feel when various scenes played out.
This is a story to read and share. I had a friend ask why on earth I would read something so depressing. She said she wanted to spend her reading time among happy stories with happy endings. I can understand that sentiment. But I often read to learn. And this book was a true lesson. I learned about a war I had previously known nothing about. I had my eyes opened further about the atrocities child soldiers encounter. And I felt helpless when I got to the end, wondering what I could do to help encourage change. I hope the finished copy has some resources to lead readers wishing to do something after reading. At the very least, information should be provided about Ricky’s charity.
Place this into the hands of a teen in your life. Start a discussion. Spread the knowledge. Encourage activism. Hope for peace.
mindfullibrarian's review
5.0
Add this to high school required reading lists IMMEDIATELY. Eye opening and heartbreaking, Soldier Boy is not a book we want to exist, given that it's a semi-factual account of horrifying events (Ricky's account is true, while the other narrator Samuel is a compilation of the thousands of boy soldiers Ricky has helped). However, given that these child soldiers are real and suffering, and Ricky Richard Anywar is a real person doing real work to help rehabilitate these child soldiers, this book needs to be read. It's not an easy read, given the graphic depictions of killing, rape and mutilation, but it is a fast read in the sense that you want to keep turning the pages. It's written at a perfect level for high school, as well as for adult readers like me who are new to reading about this ongoing tragedy. While the descriptions may be graphic, the events happened and need to be understood by more people worldwide. If we expose US students to book after book about the horrors of the Holocaust, it is our duty to share this story as well.
Please read this. You will squirm and cry and want to believe this is fiction. You may need to spread it out over several days because it's so heavy, but please read it.
You can find more information on Ricky, Friends of Orphans, and the background of the war here: http://frouganda.org/index.html
Note: There is a story in the book "The Moth Presents: Stories From the Unknown" called "Unusual Normality" by Ishmael Beah that describes his experience as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone and struggling to fit in with other teens in his adopted home of NYC. This was a fascinating story, and would be a great one to share with students when reading this book - you can listen to it here: https://themoth.org/stories/unusual-normality
Thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.
Please read this. You will squirm and cry and want to believe this is fiction. You may need to spread it out over several days because it's so heavy, but please read it.
You can find more information on Ricky, Friends of Orphans, and the background of the war here: http://frouganda.org/index.html
Note: There is a story in the book "The Moth Presents: Stories From the Unknown" called "Unusual Normality" by Ishmael Beah that describes his experience as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone and struggling to fit in with other teens in his adopted home of NYC. This was a fascinating story, and would be a great one to share with students when reading this book - you can listen to it here: https://themoth.org/stories/unusual-normality
Thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.
emilyusuallyreading's review
4.0
What I Liked
Ricky's story is brutal and incredibly painful and jarring to read. I found myself setting the book down in moments because I could not stomach the pain of his story. However, it's so important for people to read about the impact of the LRA on children and communities in Northern Uganda, especially in a relatable way.
What I Didn't Like
Working for CRF as the Kenya Director has given me insight into East African culture, particularly the Luo culture. In the first few chapters, it's obvious that Hutton is trying to make Ricky relatable to American young adults... however, I can only imagine Ricky Richard chuckling at her attempt to describe life and family structures in his village, as they simply would not happen. Sutton's descriptions of Ricky back-talking his mother, his little sister interrupting an elder meeting, a bully shoving a child in front of village elders, and so on simply wouldn't happen in this culture and fell flat as lack of understanding to me. The East African culture is simply different from the American culture - and even though it is, it's still very, very possible for Ricky to be relatable to teens without having to draw the exact same scenarios that families would have here.
Ricky's story is brutal and incredibly painful and jarring to read. I found myself setting the book down in moments because I could not stomach the pain of his story. However, it's so important for people to read about the impact of the LRA on children and communities in Northern Uganda, especially in a relatable way.
What I Didn't Like
Working for CRF as the Kenya Director has given me insight into East African culture, particularly the Luo culture. In the first few chapters, it's obvious that Hutton is trying to make Ricky relatable to American young adults... however, I can only imagine Ricky Richard chuckling at her attempt to describe life and family structures in his village, as they simply would not happen. Sutton's descriptions of Ricky back-talking his mother, his little sister interrupting an elder meeting, a bully shoving a child in front of village elders, and so on simply wouldn't happen in this culture and fell flat as lack of understanding to me. The East African culture is simply different from the American culture - and even though it is, it's still very, very possible for Ricky to be relatable to teens without having to draw the exact same scenarios that families would have here.
dlberglund's review
4.0
A fictionalized true story about the conflict in northern Uganda and the generation of young people who have been used by the LRA. Ricky's story is heartbreaking, and violent, and hopeful. It is solidly in the new sub genre of child-soldier tales and is a satisfying read.
What I would really, truly love to see is a YA book from Uganda (or more from any African country, really) about teenagers living their lives. Maybe the sequel to this one, or the sequel that comes after that- how do you live in that place? How do you go back to school and meet people you can come to trust? It is important for the world to know about the tragedies of war, particularly the ones that don't make the American news, but what about humanizing people's daily lives that AREN'T only about violence?
Also, I wish that Ricky got a co-author credit in this. He gets credit in the end of the book, but not as a byline.
What I would really, truly love to see is a YA book from Uganda (or more from any African country, really) about teenagers living their lives. Maybe the sequel to this one, or the sequel that comes after that- how do you live in that place? How do you go back to school and meet people you can come to trust? It is important for the world to know about the tragedies of war, particularly the ones that don't make the American news, but what about humanizing people's daily lives that AREN'T only about violence?
Also, I wish that Ricky got a co-author credit in this. He gets credit in the end of the book, but not as a byline.
inneraman's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a beautiful book to read. It is a dark story about a child solider but as you read you are filled with hope. It also gives lots of insight to the obstacles and trauma child soldiers face. It’s not a light read, I had to put the book down many times because of the graphic details. Despite that, I would still recommend this book, it is beautifully written and has one of the best storylines.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, War, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Physical abuse
frostnn's review
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mimela78's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
kwbat12's review
4.0
I enjoyed the reader, I enjoyed the story. It would be an intense but great book for a MG kid.