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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
It's hard to find the words to describe this book. Amazing and tragic and unforgettable don't even come close. This is the memoir of one little boy's nightmarish life as a child soldier, but it is really a call to action to do something so this never happens again.
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
If you're interested in the use of boy soldiers in civil war in Africa, it will be interesting. The author is very inspiring. It is a sad story but provided me with insight into this awful situation. (Set in Sierra Leone).
Sad book on a harsh reality. it was simply fantastic. I was in tears when i finished this. all the things he experienced at such a young age was heartbreaking. It made me realize how fortunate i am compared to the people in Sierra Leone and other areas in Africa ravaged by war and violence.
Sad and shocking story about how one boy became a child soldier. And how he was rehabilitated too. Beah's writing is very simple, articulate and evocative. It's amazing that anyone could be rehabilitated from such a brutal and psychologically destructive existence - maybe there's hope for others. Not cheerful fare by any stretch, but very much worth reading.
This one is difficult to rate. The story is powerful, raw, and an important one to read.
Yet I struggled to get into the book at the beginning. Long descriptions filled the pages, but made me feel... Nothing. I read the atrocities of war through the numb eyes of a past child soldier, and felt numb myself in the beginning of the book. This changed a bit as the story progressed, and I did become invested, but the writing style made this read more difficult for me to engage with.
Yet I struggled to get into the book at the beginning. Long descriptions filled the pages, but made me feel... Nothing. I read the atrocities of war through the numb eyes of a past child soldier, and felt numb myself in the beginning of the book. This changed a bit as the story progressed, and I did become invested, but the writing style made this read more difficult for me to engage with.
My second boy regarding Africa's lost boys. Very sad. But I think it's important for people to understand the human side of what is happening in Africa.
This was such a moving book. It is honest and heartwrenching. Ugh. It must have been awful living through all the fear and guilt.
it's so awful to think that someone essentially my age went through so much already in his life. i went to college with ish, and he seemed like a nice, quiet, incredibly smart, friendly guy. i never would have guessed...although, in retrospect, he did seem above all the stupid college drama. now i see why.
This was an extremely eye opening memoir. It says a lot about the fragility and resiliency of youth. It was quite difficult to read in parts, surely. What kept me going was knowing that Ismael lived to tell the story. After reading this, it is so much easier to understand how these young children are made into soldiers. I hugged my own kids extra tight and said a prayer for all the youth in the world who were not able to be hugged by their own families.