When I first decided to read this book, I had no knowledge really of what was going on in Sierra Leone. However, I had just recently watched the movie Blood Diamond and was curious to learn more. I am absolutely facinated by other cultures, whether their history is violent and tumultous (like many African and Middle Eastern countries) or successful. This book really helped my understanding of what it is like to live under a dictatorship, and reminded me a lot of the situation in Rwanda.
Ishmael was only twelve years old when rebels invaded nearby cities and he was forced to flee for his saftey. He became separated from his family, but met friends along the way. The group of pre-teens was forced to steal from abandoned homes, and do all they could to go unnoticed. If the rebels caught them they could be killed or forced to fight against their own people. One by one the boys Ishmael was with were shot or captured by enemy forces. All this time he was trying to protect himself and search for his family. Rumors spread that his city was burned and that the inhabitants either died or were forced to fight. Ishmael is eventually captured himself and forced to join the rebels. At camp one night, Ishmael sees his father, and is angry and pretends not to know him. He is forced into a world of heavy drug use (as it was a way to get the children to kill and not show emotions/judgment) and murder. But through all that the reader still feels a strong connection to Ishmael (although he has become disconnected from himself) and still believes that his life will turn around.
This memoir is powerful and emotional. The reader watches as Ishmael goes from an innocent boy caught up in a civil war, to a soldier forced to fight and kill his people, to a young man that uses his experiences to give understanding to others. I was not pleased in how the book ended but was completely engrossed in the book from the first page. I could not put it down to do anything besides eat. I have recommended it to many, and the feeback I have gotten from them is excellent. The book may be too violent for some young adults, (you do hear graphic accounts of the war, dead bodies, limbs being cut off, druge use etc.) but with a mature audience (perhaps simply high school kids) and a responsible teacher, I do not see a problem with teaching this book in classrooms. It will open your eyes to the atrocities of war (which many of us have been lucky enough to NOT have seen firsthand) and the potential for goodness and change within us all. This has turned into one of my favorite books of all-time!
This memoir is powerful and emotional. The reader watches as Ishmael goes from an innocent boy caught up in a civil war, to a soldier forced to fight and kill his people, to a young man that uses his experiences to give understanding to others. I was not pleased in how the book ended but was completely engrossed in the book from the first page. I could not put it down to do anything besides eat. I have recommended it to many, and the feeback I have gotten from them is excellent. The book may be too violent for some young adults, (you do hear graphic accounts of the war, dead bodies, limbs being cut off, druge use etc.) but with a mature audience (perhaps simply high school kids) and a responsible teacher, I do not see a problem with teaching this book in classrooms. It will open your eyes to the atrocities of war (which many of us have been lucky enough to NOT have seen firsthand) and the potential for goodness and change within us all. This has turned into one of my favorite books of all-time!
Best book of 2008 nominee*
7 comments:
Hi Amanda! Thanks for your posting, and getting us started on our Unit 2 project.
I like this post very much. You summarize and write very well. I have just a couple of suggestions for revising and making it even stronger for readers.
1. Make sure you go back and proofread this review.
2. Delete your subheadings--it feels too academic, and not flowing enough (realize that if you do this, you may want to change the first sentences of your paragraphs).
3. Move your summary to an earlier part of your review--don't save it for the end (I think people want to know what the book is about, before they get your recommendation on it).
4. Cut the last paragraph of your summary--I think you say too much. Let the readers go ahead and read about how your protagonist turns his life around.
5. Don't forget to add a booktalk or video to your review.
6. And if you can, please put in some links to various subject matter referenced in your review. A picture of the cover of the book would be nice, too?
This really is a great draft, a great start. Thanks again for getting us going.
Tom
I didnt realize we needed to put a booktalk on every book. i havent seen any online booktalks while doing my search on each book. i will have to create them later tho because i just got my braces tightened and no one will understand my mumbling.
how many links are then required on each posting?
im also not used to writing "non-academically"
I thought your introduction to
"A Long Way Gone" was a good way to
generate student interest in the novel by stating that you had just
recently watched the movie, "Blood Diamond." I think that students today enjoy having a visual connection to our world and what is
happening in other cultures.
Mary Grey
Amanda,
I saw this book in Starbucks earlier this year and I would always look at it and think it looked depressing. Your post makes me want to go out and read A Long Way Gone, so I think you accomplished what you were supposed to in this blog.
Hi Amanda,
Your excellent description makes me want to read this book. I hate violence and action, but tied to the fate of a boy who grows into it, this is a very important, sad, and current theme. It invites for an essay subject.
I noticed a few comma errors and a spelling mistake in your last paragraph. Check the word "feedback."
It is really hard for me to imagine my 11 year- old nephew having to deal with these issues. I think it is tragic when children are forced to grow up in such a horrible way. Childhood is short enough as it is without dealing with these kind of adult issues.
Like Stacey, I saw this book in Starbucks earlier this year and thought the same thing! Stay out of my head Stacey :) Your text-to-text or text-to-world with the movies about the diamond trade (I think there was another one besides Blood Diamond but I can't remember the name of it) and civil war in Sierra Leone helped warm me to reading this novel in the future.
Thanks Amanda!
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