This powerful novel on violence, betrayal, dehumanisation and redemption follows the life of a child soldier in an unnamed West-African country. Written by an American author of Nigerian parents, this novel tells the story of civil war from the perspective of Agu, a young boy who lives with his family in a small village. One day, rebel forces attack their village and Agu is adopted into their ranks. Agu fights and kills out of fear that his commander will kill him if he refuses to do so but eventually manages to escape. He finds a new home at a missionary hospital and faces the fact that the war has changed him.

Novel · United States · 2005