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.