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923 reviews for:
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
4.25 AVERAGE
923 reviews for:
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
4.25 AVERAGE
As a girl who valued her routine too much this book definitely gave me goosebumps, yet made me feel like a spoiled city girl, it's was raw and honest full of honest feelings, whether it was anger, confusion, desperation, or understanding, it wasn't just "literary" Feelings.. Not just words put together to make a book selling go higher, it's simply one of the books that u can confidently say, it changed me. Made me see life differently.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence
Moderate: Rape
Definitely not bedtime reading but a very important read to humanize the Rwandan genocide and what happens after you've survived something like this.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I knew going into this book that it was going to be informative and that the subject was going to be harrowing. But I didn't know how engaging the writing was going to be, and I didn't know how much of the book was going to be set after Clemantine received asylum in the US. It adds a certain comfort and safety for the reader to immediately know the family is going to survive. This shifts the focus from placing yourself in the middle of terrible conflict to wider reflections on colonialism, how we treat refugees, and human nature. I don't think this was meant to be an uplifting or optimistic book but it manages to be critical and emotional without being depressing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
This book discusses the genocide in Rwanda and it doesn't hide much but it also doesn't dwell on the gruesomeness of the violence. Things that happen to the author or her sister are described in past tense. The author discusses sexual violence throughout the book but never a specific incident.
I added on a #BOTM in July because I’m always looking for a good memoir to add to my booklist for my seniors, The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil looked like a great one to add.
The book jumps between 1994 and 2017 following primarily Clemantine through her experience of the Rwandan massacre at the age of 6 and her journey of being a refugee. I enjoyed the switch between the years, though I didn’t realize they were marked at the top of the chapter until halfway through. I also enjoyed this story being from a six year old’s perspective, it focused more on the human experience and less on what was going on around her. Clementine felt lost, even in America and that was definitely conveyed. I really enjoyed how she talks about connecting to novels like Night and Toni Morrison’s many. This connection, and almost seeing herself in these characters, was a sort of healing.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy about the book was I felt as though I was being told everything rather than being shown. I enjoy imagery and subtle hints that allow me to put the pieces together, I was told a lot how Clemantine felt instead of being shown.
I truly cannot imagine the traumas and how scared Clemantine and her sister were. Reading memoirs opens my mind to how safe I’ve been, how privileged I am. Never had I had to wonder where my next meal was coming from. These stories are eye opening, informative, and gut wrenching. I will definitely be adding this book to my “You Should Read” list for my AP, college credit seniors.
Rating: 4 stars
Favorite quote: “Survival, true survival of the body and soul, requires creativity, freedom of thought, collaboration...We need to say: I honor the things that you respect and I value the things you cheeris. I am not better than you. You are not better than me. Nobody is better than anybody else. Nobody is who you think they are at first glance. We need to see beyond the projections we cast onto each other. Each of us is so much grander, more nuanced, and more extraordinary, than anybody thinking, including ourselves.”
The book jumps between 1994 and 2017 following primarily Clemantine through her experience of the Rwandan massacre at the age of 6 and her journey of being a refugee. I enjoyed the switch between the years, though I didn’t realize they were marked at the top of the chapter until halfway through. I also enjoyed this story being from a six year old’s perspective, it focused more on the human experience and less on what was going on around her. Clementine felt lost, even in America and that was definitely conveyed. I really enjoyed how she talks about connecting to novels like Night and Toni Morrison’s many. This connection, and almost seeing herself in these characters, was a sort of healing.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy about the book was I felt as though I was being told everything rather than being shown. I enjoy imagery and subtle hints that allow me to put the pieces together, I was told a lot how Clemantine felt instead of being shown.
I truly cannot imagine the traumas and how scared Clemantine and her sister were. Reading memoirs opens my mind to how safe I’ve been, how privileged I am. Never had I had to wonder where my next meal was coming from. These stories are eye opening, informative, and gut wrenching. I will definitely be adding this book to my “You Should Read” list for my AP, college credit seniors.
Rating: 4 stars
Favorite quote: “Survival, true survival of the body and soul, requires creativity, freedom of thought, collaboration...We need to say: I honor the things that you respect and I value the things you cheeris. I am not better than you. You are not better than me. Nobody is better than anybody else. Nobody is who you think they are at first glance. We need to see beyond the projections we cast onto each other. Each of us is so much grander, more nuanced, and more extraordinary, than anybody thinking, including ourselves.”
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
This was such a beautiful, sad sad story. Her pain is so palpable
Powerful and profound. I will carry the ideas of this book with me for a long time. I am grateful for this story.
I wasn't sure I wanted to read this because I knew it would be emotionally difficult, that ignorance was bliss. But I also knew it was so important. In the book, she points out that genocide is far too clinical a word for what is a deeply personal tragedy for each individual involved. It was so good to read her story and examine how I see the world and especially how I see others. I especially like her idea of sharing with others rather than trying to give. I think life stories like these should be an essential part of history lessons so that we never forget history happens to individuals.