Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Emily Iddings

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is told through the eyes of twenty-five year old Ishmael Beah. At the age of twelve, he had no other choice than to flee his home after the Rebel soldiers killed his parents and siblings in Sierra Leone. Caught on the wrong side of civil war, Ishmael and his two brothers wander from village to village in hopes of safety, only to be sent away again for fear of the rebels. Soon separated from his brothers and inducted into the army, Ishmael changes almost overnight from a joyous teenager who loves to dance to a bloodthirsty and drug-addicted killer who finds comfort in his AK- 47.

In hopes to save the thousands of boy soldiers involved in the war, UNICEF brings boys from both sides of the war to rehabilitation centers. Ishmael would fight with other boys and the supervisors, but the supervisors only say Its not your fault, its not your fault. With the help of a sympathetic and understanding nurse, Esther, Ishmael comes to terms with his past and is then sent to a United Nations conference in New York City to speak out about child soldiers throughout Sierra Leone. Not long after, Ishmael moves to America and graduates high school to become a writer.

A Long Way Gone blatantly lies out the facts of the civil war in Sierra Leone during the 1990s. The story of Ishmael Beahs transformation from a lively and energetic boy to a ferocious Rebel killer in a matter of weeks is nothing out of the ordinary throughout the country due to the war, and the cold facts raise awareness of the problems facing the world today. The book is brilliantly written, and fills your heart with sorrow for all of the hardships Ishmael went through as well as joy when he succeeds in the end.