Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
I apparently have a soft spot for Sierra Leone. I loved Ishmael's book, A long way gone, and I really liked this book also. Both are such brave people for sharing THEIR personal stories!
This is one of the books that Literature for Life (http://literatureforlife.org) uses in their young mom reading circles and an extra copy ended up on my life, so I had to read it since it was receiving good reviews from the young moms reading it.
And it turns out that I read this a few years ago, but it was a good book to re-read to remind myself about the global struggle of women living in poverty, surviving war, enduring rape, and more.
And it turns out that I read this a few years ago, but it was a good book to re-read to remind myself about the global struggle of women living in poverty, surviving war, enduring rape, and more.
If there is one thing a man should pray for is PEACE. Story of Mariatu shows how one's life can change within a minute. She lost her hands after been cut of by child soldiers in a sierra leone civil wars! Her journey from the village up to Canada is tearful!
5 stars for Mariatu telling her story
Here I am, comfortable on my couch in my air conditioned house and my fridge full of food. She has endured infinitely more trauma and pain than any child ever should experience yet she has overcome that and is actively working to help others.
Thank you for telling your story and inspiring me.
Here I am, comfortable on my couch in my air conditioned house and my fridge full of food. She has endured infinitely more trauma and pain than any child ever should experience yet she has overcome that and is actively working to help others.
Thank you for telling your story and inspiring me.
Picked this up after seeing the young author speak at the opening of a show at the Canadian War Museum, chronicling her story and the stories of 11 other women affected by war. I wish I'd read this first - she's an amazing woman of resilience, humor, strength and promise. In her speeches, she talks about how much Canadian children take for granted and how our sense of entitlement poisons our ability to be grateful. It's so true. If you've read Ishmael Beah's "A Long Way Gone," you need to read this as the other side of the story. A must-read period to have an appreciation for the effects of international conflict.
So sad. Mariatu was 12 years old when armed rebels attacked her village in Sierra Leone and cut off her hands. She survived and got medical help only to find out that she was pregnant. The story of her survival and eventual education is powerful and inspiring and she is trying to get the story out to help others in her country as well.
I highly recommend this book.
http://mariatufoundation.com/
I highly recommend this book.
http://mariatufoundation.com/
Honestly, pretty good!
I had to read this book for school. Usually, I don’t enjoy school books, but this book surprised me. It was fast paced and kept me hooked. The writing made it very easily to relate to the protagonist. Because it was an assignment, I had to look for symbols and literary devices, which actually made me appreciate this book even more. I thought it was genius writing. The palm oil symbolizing, in my opinion, life and death was really cool.
I wish we got a little more content about Mariatu’s life in Canada, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but I still enjoyed the book. I suppose the ending is quite fitting, not knowing how things are going to go.
Mariatu’s trauma was dealt with in a very delicate yet accurate way that I really enjoyed. It wasn’t too heavy that it was triggering, but it definitely made me emotional. I also loved that postpartum depression was included. It’s so common, yet so overlooked. The detail of the rebel attack was well written.
Mariatu is such a strong character, but I felt she could have been developed better. Her voice remained quite juvenile even as she grew up.
One thing that I really didn’t enjoy was the romanticization of abuse and sexism. Mariatu was raped and almost forced to marry, and yet she still only thought positively about the village and spoke about how they respected women in the village. Something about that just doesn’t sit right with me. Also, we’re told that Marie is an amazing parental figure, but from what we actually see in their interactions, she doesn’t seem all that great. I just felt that all Marie’s abuse and manipulation was apologized by the fact that they were poor and it was just how things were. Just because forced marriage and physical abuse presented as discipline is normal, doesn’t mean it should be.
The last thing I’ll touch on is the progression of time. Honestly, I got really lost. In my mind, we’re were moving at a couple weeks to a month per event, but some of the time jumps were years and there was no obvious way to tell. All of a sudden, it had been 6 years and I’d been picturing her as a child when she was almost an adult.
All in all, it was pretty good. I wouldn’t reread it, but it was enjoyable enough for me to finish it without forcing myself.
I had to read this book for school. Usually, I don’t enjoy school books, but this book surprised me. It was fast paced and kept me hooked. The writing made it very easily to relate to the protagonist. Because it was an assignment, I had to look for symbols and literary devices, which actually made me appreciate this book even more. I thought it was genius writing. The palm oil symbolizing, in my opinion, life and death was really cool.
I wish we got a little more content about Mariatu’s life in Canada, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but I still enjoyed the book. I suppose the ending is quite fitting, not knowing how things are going to go.
Mariatu’s trauma was dealt with in a very delicate yet accurate way that I really enjoyed. It wasn’t too heavy that it was triggering, but it definitely made me emotional. I also loved that postpartum depression was included. It’s so common, yet so overlooked. The detail of the rebel attack was well written.
Mariatu is such a strong character, but I felt she could have been developed better. Her voice remained quite juvenile even as she grew up.
One thing that I really didn’t enjoy was the romanticization of abuse and sexism. Mariatu was raped and almost forced to marry, and yet she still only thought positively about the village and spoke about how they respected women in the village. Something about that just doesn’t sit right with me. Also, we’re told that Marie is an amazing parental figure, but from what we actually see in their interactions, she doesn’t seem all that great. I just felt that all Marie’s abuse and manipulation was apologized by the fact that they were poor and it was just how things were. Just because forced marriage and physical abuse presented as discipline is normal, doesn’t mean it should be.
The last thing I’ll touch on is the progression of time. Honestly, I got really lost. In my mind, we’re were moving at a couple weeks to a month per event, but some of the time jumps were years and there was no obvious way to tell. All of a sudden, it had been 6 years and I’d been picturing her as a child when she was almost an adult.
All in all, it was pretty good. I wouldn’t reread it, but it was enjoyable enough for me to finish it without forcing myself.
After the account of Mariatu and the rebels, I didn't think I was going to be able to finish this book. I put it down and told my husband it was "too much." I'm glad I went on. I'm glad I know Mariatu's story, and the story of the people of Sierra Leone. I'm saddened and amazed and humbled.
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced