Awards

• Commended for Tayshas Reading 2010
• Short-listed for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Young Adult) 2011
• Short-listed for Rhode Island Teen Book Award 2011
• Winner of NAPPA Gold Awards (Ages 12 & Up) 2009

Overview

As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. As told to her by Mariatu, journalist Susan McClelland has written the heartbreaking true story of the brutal attack, its aftermath and Mariatu's eventual arrival in Toronto where she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

Full Product Details

9781554511594

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Reviews

Starred Selection 2009 Starred Selection

[Mariatu's] narrative is honest, raw, and powerful....The book sheds light on a plight of which many people are still unaware. -- Kelly McGamay, Glenbard South High School Library, Glen Ellyn, Illinois Library Journal (11/01/2008)

Author Information

Now 21 years old, Mariatu Kamara will embark this year on a North American speaking tour as a UNICEF Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflicts. A documentary about her life is in development. Susan McClelland is an award-winning journalist and recipient of the 2005 Amnesty International Media Award. She lives in Toronto.

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