Review 4: General Nonfiction

Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Home: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008. Print.

Annotation: Separated from family and friends this is the plight of boy soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Justification for Nomination:   

                

“A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" vividly portrays the life of a young teenage boy from Sierra Leone named Ishmael Beah. Beah gives a gentle portrayal of his life before the war had reached his small village and forever changed his life.

His description of the small details of his life; his love for rap music, his family, and the soccer games he played with his friends serve to highlight the extreme changes he undergoes to become a child soldier. Beah balances tales of the terrible times of war with memories of happier times with his family. He has a gift for words and language that make the book instantly engaging. Intriguing descriptions are scattered throughout its pages. “everything felt awkwardly brutal”; “she had a unique and graceful walk. It was almost as if she sailed on the ground”.

The story of Ishmael's survival throughout this hell is truly an inspiration and I believe it is a must for all young readers. It is a mesmerising read, well-written with passion, insight, cleverness, and innocence. It hard to imagine what Ishmael Beah went through, but from the start of the memoir to the end, you become an eye witness his journey and bear witness to his survival.

Genre Category: General Nonfiction, Memoir