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Written by Ishmael Beah

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Setting: Sierra Leone, Africa
Time Period: 1990's

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Ishmael Beah becomes an unwilling boy soldier during a civil war in Sierra Leone. At the age of twelve, Ishmael's village is attacked and he is separated from his family, leaving him to survive on his own. By thirteen, Ishmael is recruited by the government army and faces the hardships of the war. He discovers his capabilities of violence and seeks revenge on the rebels. At sixteen, Ishmael is able to escape the war with the help of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and is put into a rehabilitation center. He eventually finds forgiveness within himself and is saved by the support and compassion of the nurses and his extended family. Ishmael is asked to come to New York and tell his story. He finds that others like him have struggled and survived similar situations and that he is not alone. Ishmael returns to Sierra Leone and faces another war.

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Ishmael's motivation is to go to safety, survive the war and find his family.

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Ishmael Beah
Junior Beah
Mohamed
Talloi
Alhaji
Mambu
Musa
Gibrilla
Kaloka
Khalilou
Kanei
Gasemu
The Lieutenant
Ester
Uncle Tommy
Leslie
Laura Simms

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"What I have learned from my experiences is that revenge is not good. I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in the process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end..." (pg. 199)

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"What I have learned from my experiences is that revenge is not good. I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in the process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end..." (pg. 199)

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This quote is from when Ishmael explains his story to the United Nations. Ishmael concludes that he joined the army to avenge the deaths of his family and in doing so he had to kill another person who's family will want revenge. This quote shows how revenge has been a big part of his experience through war and by killing others they will want revenge and the cycle will never stop.

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"Ishmael's breathtaking true story gives a first hand account of him as a young boy and his attempt to survive during a civil war in his home country, Sierra Leone. His uses of visual descriptive language has you turning page after page wanting to know what happens next. In the end, Ishmael is forced to make several difficult decision that will affect not only his life but the future of Sierra Leone. "