Summary of the Book: Part 6

Ishmael is mesmerized by Times Square and is deeply moved by his experience at the UN, speaking to the convocation and listening while the other children testify. He writes, "We left New York City on November 15, 1996. My sixteenth birthday was eight days away and throughout the flight back home I still felt as if I was dreaming, a dream that I didn't want to wake up from. I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone. Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world." Back in his home country, Ishmael returns to school in Freetown, and his future looks bright. But on May 25, 1997, the city is awakened by gunshots. Johnny Paul Koroma, leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), announces that he is the new president, and chaos is unleashed in the city. During this time, Ishmael's beloved uncle suddenly dies of illness. Ishmael realizes he cannot stay in Freetown, or he will be in danger of being swept back into the army, as some of his friends have already been. Ishmael calls Laura, the storyteller, and asks if he can stay with her if he can make it to New York. She says yes, and he makes his preparation to escape from Sierra Leone. Ishmael leaves Freetown in October 1997, telling only his friend Mohamed from the rehabilitation center, that he is going. To get to the United States, he must make it across the border to Guinea. The bus ride is long and dangerous, but Ishmael arrives in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, after many close calls with corrupt soldiers who wish to rob him of his money and prevent him from leaving the country. Across the border, he breathes a sigh of relief. He is a long way from home, from his childhood, from the horrors that have consumed him for the past four years. He is alone in a foreign city, looking to make his way to an even more foreign city in an unknown land. But all that is okay. What is important is this: he will never be a soldier again.

Summary of the Book: Part 5

Ishmael is relocated to a separate rehabilitation center, where he suffers withdrawal from the drugs and violence that have become his addictions. A nurse's compassion helps him let go of these demons. Over and over she tells him, "it's not your fault. It's not your fault." As a gift, the nurse, Esther, brings Ishmael a Walkman and a tape of Bob Marley, reigniting his passion for music and performance, which further reconnects the boy to his lost childhood. Ishmael makes great progress. He begins writing music again, and puts on shows for the rest of the boys at the center. The program locates Ishmael's uncle, and finally, after many months, the staff allows him to leave the center to join his uncle's family. The rehabilitation center nominates him for a special United Nations project to bring two Sierra Leonean children to the United States to speak about the war under the aegis of Children Associated with War (CAW) in order to raise awareness about the plight of child soldiers. It is snowing when Ishmael lands in New York. He's only known "the word ‘winter' from Shakespeare's texts," and the only snow he's seen has been in Christmas movies he watched back in Sierra Leone. He thinks to himself, "It must be Christmas here every day." At the United Nations First International Children's Parliament, Ishmael meets Laura Simms, a facilitator who is a professional storyteller. Ishmael is impressed that this white woman from New York City knows many of the stories told by his people. "When she became my mother years later," he says, "she and I would always talk about whether it was destined or coincidental that I came from a very storytelling-oriented culture to live with a mother in New York who is a storyteller."

Summary of the Book: Part 4

Ishmael's first battle takes place shortly thereafter. He watches Josiah, who at eleven can barely lift his gun, die from wounds inflicted by a rocket-propelled grenade. Anger takes over his body: "I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, and I killed a man. Suddenly, as if someone was shooting them inside my brain, all the massacres I had seen since the day I was touched by war began flashing in my head. Every time I stopped shooting to change magazines and saw my lifeless friends, I angrily pointed my gun into the swamp and killed more people." Over the next two years, Ishmael and the other boys who survive will spend their time watching Rambo movies, sniffing brown brown (cocaine mixed with gunpowder), and committing casual mass slaughter. As Ishmael writes, "My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed." One day, four UNICEF workers pull up in a truck. After they meet with Lieutenant Jabati, the lieutenant orders Ishmael and a few other boys to climb into the truck with the UNICEF workers. Good soldiers, they do as they're ordered, but they're also confused and angered. The boys see themselves as soldiers; they want nothing to do with these civilians. The truck takes them to a rehabilitation center near Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, where they are ushered into a dining room. There they meet other teenage soldiers who have been rescued from the militia. The problem is this: the other boys are from the rebel camp. Naively, the UNICEF workers thought that if they separated the boys from the violence of the war, all would be well. The truth is harsher. The boys have been so steeped in a culture of violence that they are incapable of behaving in a peaceful manner. A battle erupts in the rehabilitation center, Ishmael tosses a grenade he has smuggled in, and within minutes, six boys lie dead.

Summary of the Book: Part 3

The boys sadly bury their friend, but with the belief that a much hoped-for joy is just around the corner. They meet a man, Gasemu, whom Ishmael recognizes from home. Gasemu tells him that his family is just over the next hill. But when the group finally mounts the rise, they look down to see fires raging through the village. The air erupts with the sounds of gunshots and screams. The rebels have gotten there first.
Everywhere there are bodies, burnt or riddled with bullets. The soil of the town is red with blood. Ishmael runs from body to body, looking for something he doesn't want to see. Gasemu points out the house where his family was staying-it is a blackened husk. Devastated, Ishmael punches the still-smoldering walls in rage and despair. There is no chance that his family has survived. The boys seek safety in Yele, where the government troops are headquartered. One day, Lieutenant Jabati lines up all the boys and announces, "This is your time to revenge the death of your families and to make sure more children do not lose their families." Each boy-ranging in age from seven to seventeen (Ishmael is now thirteen)-is handed an AK-47 and their training as soldiers begins. They are told that the rebels "have lost everything that makes them human. They do not deserve to live. That is why we must kill every single one of them. Think of it as destroying a great evil. It is the highest service you can perform for your country." The boys practice stabbing banana trees while a corporal chants, "visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you."

Summary of the Book: Part 2

Ishmael and his friends are very confused and filled with horror. They try to drown out the chords of catastrophe by memorizing more hip-hop lyrics and working on their act while they seek news of their families. Though the boys are constantly on the verge of starvation and exhaustion, the hope that their families are safe keeps the group from giving up. However, each time they are taken in and cared for by villagers, violence finds them and they are forced to flee once more. In one narrow escape, Ishmael runs into the bush without looking back. He doesn't have time to find his brother, Junior. He will never see him again. Suddenly, Ishmael is alone. He roams the forest, desperately searching for food, stealing fruit from the birds, evading the wild pigs. After wandering in the forest for a month, he finally encounters some boys he recognizes from his old school. They are heading toward the village of Yele, rumored to be safe because it is occupied by government troops. Ishmael joins them, relieved to have company. One night, something seems off in the forest: a dead bird falls out of the sky; there are no stars, and the darkness feels as thick as a blanket. Suddenly, a ghostly trio crosses the boys' path, forcing them to hide. During the frightening ordeal, Ishmael's friend Saidu randomly faints. The boys carry him to the next village to get help. There, Ishmael finally receives word that his family is safe and in a nearby village. But his happiness is quickly shattered by Saidu's sudden, strange death.

Summary of the Book : Part 1

This Is How Too Many Wars Are Fought Now: by young children, holding AK-47s, all drugged up. It is one of the great evils of our time. But we know little about it, because most of the young-soldiers are killed in the war, never heard from again. In this story, Ishmael Beah, provides a rare account of what it is like to be 13 years old and living a life where, it seems, you have two options: "To Kill or Be Killed." His story begins in 1993, in Sierra Leone, on the Western Coast of Africa. Ishmael, his older brother Junior, and a friend set out from home to enter a talent show in a nearby village, Mattru Jong. They may not have TVs, but they've still managed to pick up a passion for American hip-hop. But when they arrive in Mattru Jong, the boys learn that rebel soldiers, part of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), have attacked their home village, and are now headed in their direction. Being young men, Ishmael and his friends are in jeopardy because both the rebels and the Sierra Leone Armed Forces (the government army) are known to force boys to join them. And if the boys resist? They kill them on the spot. So the boys flee into the forest, not knowing what has happened to their families back home and not sure where to go. As they run, the boys are confronted with terrible scenes of brutality. The dead and dying litter the countryside. The full force of war hits Ishmael when he sees a woman carrying her dead child upon her back.

How I Feel On Reading This Book

This is very scary and painful to read. I give you credit for surviving and getting past all of your difficulties. It is very touching and I am happy you survived to tell the story. I'm also very glad, that you are one of those rare people, who can put your experiences into words that other people can appreciate what they have and learn from them. This is definitely a book I wish would have been on our Summer Reading List because I think it would give our spoiled society a feeling of reality and hopefully it would wake them up to all the suffering, death, and tragedy happening beyond the fiction of movies. Ishmael Beah has touched my heart. I often wonder how him or anyone else remained healthy during this time. I recommend this book to everyone. It recalls painful images, but is a part of history that we cannot ignore. This book is truly an inspiration to all of us living in dream worlds and well of societies. Thank You and God Bless.

Blog Response Questions

Child Soldiers of Sierra Leone

1) How did you experience the book? It's not always helpful to talk about whether or not you liked the book, but rather how you felt as you were reading it? Were you pulled effortlessly into the book...or did you have difficulty getting into it? Why? - This book that I read was very powerful and moving. I felt like I am very lucky to live where I live and I am very blessed to have as much as I do. There are some very sad and excruciating scenes that made me feel hurt for the people having to go through that. I was pulled effortlessly into the book because I know some of the stuff that is going on over in Africa, like how they abduct children, brainwash them, and make them fight in the army. This author (Ishmael Beah), did a great job writing the book and telling his story of all the events that went down and in correct order.

2) Were you happy about your book choice? Why or why not? - Yes, I am happy about the book that I chose because it helped me realize how bad it is over there and how lucky I am for everything that I have. The worst moment of my life does not even compare to their best moment.

3) Which place discussed in the book do you find the most intriguing? Why or why not? - The place/village I find most intriguing is Kabati. I find it the most intriguing because that is the place where his grandmother lived and I really like her because I like the quote she said at the end of chapter 1. The quote was "We must strive to be like the moon." She said this means that to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others.

4) What central ideas might the author be exploring-the novel's themes? Consider ideas about the nature of love, the requirements of goodness, the meaning of justice, the burden of the past...basic human issues that are at stake in the book. - "War is Hell" - The first and most important theme is War is Hell. The horrors and tragedy that Ishmael relates to the reader are almost unbelievable. The atrocities committed against innocent civilians give new meaning to the idea of war as well.

"There is Always Hope" - In spite of all the terrible events in Ishmael’s life, he finds a way to overcome everything and find love again and meaning to his existence again. Also, with the work he begins at the UN, we can hope that other children will not be subjected in the future to the tragedy he had to endure.

"When Everything Else is Gone, There is Always Love" - Ishmael learns this the hard way. He has a kind of family unit with the soldiers that actually carries over into the love and friendship between him and Alhaji. Then, there is the love of Uncle Tommy and his family and their willingness to make Ishmael a son and a brother. Finally, there is the love of people like Esther and Laura who accept him unconditionally and welcome him into their homes when he most needed help and love.

5) What do you feel you learned from this project? Please consider the book, the technology involved with producing the project, or any other aspect regarding the project? - I feel like I have learned how to work and manage a blog (Technologically). From the book, I have learned, mainly, just to appreciate everything we have.

6) What was the most enjoyable part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way. - Personally, I think the most enjoyable part of this project, was mainly just learning about different cultures and how they work.

7) What was the most difficult part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way. - Personally, I think the most difficult part of this project was just either thinking what to write down for our blog "Diary Entries" or just manipulating your way around the blog, like knowing 'How To' work it and stuff.

Child Soldiers of Sierra Leone

Characters in the book

Ishmael Beah

Ishmael is a wonderful young man who becomes a victim of a devastating civil war in Sierra Leone. Like most other civilians, he is a victim of a terror campaign on the part of both sides of the war. Millions of civilians die in this conflict and in that way, Ishmael is lucky, because he lives. However, he comes out of the experience as a boy soldier badly damaged. He has lost his family to the rebel atrocities just before he has the chance to be reunited. He sees friends and comrades die the most horrible deaths before his eyes, he lives in horrible conditions day in and day out, and most of the time, he sees little hope that his existence will ever change. Fortunately, he is taken away to a rehabilitation center by UNICEF staffers who work with him relentlessly to help him find the true child he left behind. Of course, it is his own inner desire to be something more, to overcome the barriers placed in front of him that ultimately means the difference between returning to the war and finding a new home inNew York City. He then uses his inner strength to finish his education and go to work at the UN as an advocate for other children forced to face the horrors of war.

Esther-She is a nurse at Benin House where Ishmael is taken for rehabilitation. She befriends him and helps him to find himself again. She sees something worth saving in all the boys who come there, but she sees something even more in Ishmael. She gradually works on him to become her friend and trust again.


Alhaji-He is a young man whom Ishmael befriends when they are both part of the soldiers fighting the rebels. He is as strong and cold as Ishmael in battle, but just as in need of re-finding his childhood.


Uncle Tommy-He takes Ishmael in after he is found in Freetown. Ishmael cannot stay at Benin House forever and he needs family to love him. He lucks out with Uncle Tommy, because the man truly loves Ishmael and helps him leave behind the horrors or war.  He is always smiling and laughing, and he and his family offer more than just a roof over Ishmael’s head. They offer emotional sustenance.

The Lieutenant-He is the father figure when Ishmael goes into battle. His words motivate the young boys to be willing to give their lives against the rebels.


Junior Beah-Ishmael’s brother, his companionship and love for Ishmael are some of the memories that help rehabilitate Ishmael. They escaped the initial rebel attacks together and then lost each other in the confusion that followed days later. He goes in search of Ishmael when they are separated and dies never knowing that Ishmael had found his family only minutes before they were burned alive by the rebels.


Laura Simms -She is the woman Ishmael meets in New York City who helps children of war by being a storyteller, a cultural aspect of Sierra Leonean society. Ishmael is drawn to her because of this and she takes him under her wing while he is in America. Later, when he is able to escape Sierra Leone, she helps him get to America and becomes his mother.

Be Thankful For ALL That You Have

This book really does make me be thankful for pretty much everything that I have. It makes me realize that my life is very easy compared to all the hardships and family losses that the people in the war had. The war is still continuing and is still going to continue for lots of years, unless we put a stop to it and fine the leaders in charge of capturing children and making them fight in the war. The grandma references an old man in Kabati that said "We should strive to be like the moon"-this means that people need to always be on their best behaviors and be good to others, because we never know how their life is and what we say could affect them in any way possible.