Cami told me about this book, and let me borrow her copy.
It’s a tragic story about a boy who tries to avoid the effects of civil war in Sierra Leone. He loses his family and many of his friends, and eventually his innocence as he is compelled by circumstances to join the military and become a war-hardened soldier. Lost for several years in an ocean of drugs and violence, he is finally rescued through the efforts of a rehabilitation program that seeks to restore his sanity and his former sense of values. In order to avoid further involvement with the military and the constant civil unrest, he escapes to the United States to start a new life. It’s a powerful story.