A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone is a novel about a young twelve year old boy named Ishmael Beah who is forced to serve in the Civil War in Sierra Leone. Because his village was attacked, there was mass confusion and violence among the people in his town. He was fighting for survival day by day, looking for food, water and shelter, basically anything that could keep him alive. Being enlisted as a soldier changed Ishmael for the worst, this was only the beginning of the series of unfortunate events that Ishmael encounters.

At just ten years old Ishmael was living a great life and enjoying the life he was given. He and his friends loved to sing and rap. The thought of his village being attacked by refugees never once crossed Ishmael's mind. This novel has a lot of real life connections. When I was reading about Ishmael and how he was only ten years old in the beginning of the book I thought of every other ten year old child, and just imagined a child in America going through what Ishmael had to go through. From just his village being attacked to him unwillingly being forced to join in the Civil War, he was already turning into a different kid. 

The war changed him, war can change any one. Connecting this to American Sniper the main character who served in Iraq was affected when he went home to his family, always thinking people are up to no good. The Civil war for Ishmael turned him into a mean, killing machine. Will Ishmael be able to overcome this? Will he be able to go back to his normal life and continue with the way he was living? Will this war benefit him or destroy him?

A Long Way Gone has had me intrigued from the beginning. The book never fails to have unexpected events occur. Unlike most books, this one is a true story and I find it almost impossible that someone at such a young age could live their life like this. This novel opened up my eyes and I'm excited to see how much more it will continue to teach me.