I read this book for two reasons: 1) Ishmael Beah was coming to speak at my university, so I wanted to have a reason to see him and 2) I got the book for free so I figured why not. In the end, the reasons I loved this book far surpassed the reasons I read it in the first place. This book was truly moving and heart wrenching. At times, I thought to myself, "This cannot be real," but the I remembered that, not only was it all very real, but it was also all seen through the eyes of a young boy. 
 There were certain parts of this book the broke my heart more than others, but for the sake of those who haven't read this book, I won't mention the specific passages. However, what I can say is this: being a war memoir, there is death; some deaths are very disturbing, others are unsurprising. Don't go into this book thinking it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows... This is one of the saddest books I've ever read, but also one of the most rewarding. Enjoy this book with the knowledge that it did happen and these kinds of stories are still happening today. But that there is hope of getting out of one's circumstances.