A Long Way Gone

     A long way gone is an intense story.  I first saw it when i was waiting to leave the room while standing by the book shelves.  I was looking over and I saw this picture of a boy and then I realized he was carrying a gun on his back with a rocket held behind his head.  This came as a complete surprise to me because when I had seen it before I thought it was just a little boy walking, I had never noticed the weapons.  In my curiosity over why such a young boy would be carrying such deadly items, I decided to read a little bit of it.  The story is told by a boy who used to live in Africa during the civil war which is currently raging.  He lives in New York Now and the story is told as a reflection by the boy on the events which he had to endure.  He begins with a telling of how he and his brother were trouble makers due to the fact that his parents were divorced and his step mothers were no nice to him,  He has an older brother, Junior, and a younger brother, Ibrahaem.  They all live in the same village, but one day the boy, I don't think he's mentioned his name, Junior and Juniors friend walk to a town which is about a day or two's journey on foot.  When they arrive they spend the night at a friend's house, but the next day news arrive that their town has been attacked by rebels and many have fled.  Immediately they run down to the docks where the refugees will be arriving.  Their parents are nowhere to be seen, and neither is their younger brother.  They walk back to an intermediate town where to scared and the wounded are passing through.  The sights that they see and the way the boy describes it horrified me.  And the worst part is: this is real.  These types of events are actually happening within Africa and to hear a 12 year old boy describe it is even worse.  I knew there was a war in Africa, but I was too far away to care.  This book was enlightening on the hoorors and evokes an intense sympathy for those who must endure it.