a long way gone ch 21

Wow all I can say is that i believe Ishmael Beah has the worst luck. When you finally think that everything is going to be OK and he has found a family, then a war starts where he is living and his uncle dies. Also he almost becomes a soldier when he is going after food and the army are capturing and killing people. All i could think of is that it would depress him even more if he was put back in the army and all the trauma he would face. The only thing i didn't understand at the end of the book was why he did not take Muhammad with him to the United States to live with him. It must have been really hard for him to have to go through all those checkpoints and see how he acted when he was in the war, which was like a jerk. As an overall thought I saw this as an inspiring book to show that even when things get bad you still have things left to live for even if you don't know what that thing may be.

a long way gone ch 19-20

What a change. Ishmael is now a child again. It is really important when his uncle and his family show him love and cook him a nice dinner when he comes to live with them. Wow I never expected this but Ishmael has a girlfriend!(even though it's not very long) I think its good for Ishmael and his "brother" to hang out together because they share common interests.It wasn't really surprising to me when Ishmael is chosen to go speak because he is a good leader and definitely knows what he is talking about. It is really cool when he finally gets to America because he gets to see how we live and obviously it is very different. They differences include food,snow,and just the overall atmosphere. It was really funny when he said he was burning up in his hotel because he didn't know about radiators.In the end I am really happy for Ishmael.

a long way gone 17 and 18

This is when i really see ishmael changing for the good.  He can finally trust someone. He is now over his drug use and you can see many improvements such as his sleeping ability. He does not have to take meds for sleeping. He now has his music again which brings back a great time of his past, which excites him inside. The best thing that happened to him though was when leslie found his uncle in the city. His uncle wants to take care of him and that excites ishmael because now he has family. Also he has someone to tell him about his past. It is also good that one of his uncle's kid likes soccer so they have something in common.

choice book blog

I don't really care what book I read. The only requirement is that it has something to do with sports. Preferably basketball. If not i could care less unless its twilight,which i don't want to ever read.

a long way gone 15 and 16

This chapter shows all the effect of the drugs on the soldiers. It is bad when a handful are taken to a rehab center and they do not like it even though they are given shelter,food,and new clothes. It shows that all they wanna do now is kill. Ishmael is not even the same kid, he is punching walls and  hurting people that are trying to help him. These boys are going through complete withdraw from drugs. This is why i think they are acting so violent. It is sad that ishmael can not even bring back memories of his childhood because he has been brainwashed with war.I think it brings back a little bit when they go to the city because it is not war. I wonder why the person stopped buying their school books.

a long way gone ch 13-14

After I read these chapters all I can say is WOW. This was extremely disturbing to me. It was disturbing to me that in chapter 13 he knows he is getting ready to go into war and he grabs his gun for consolment. This is just sad that he feels that the gun is the only thing that gives him the sense of security. Ch 14 is when it really catches my attention when they give the soldiers all these drugs to calm their minds.That is really when Ismael is really like all the other people even like the rebels. He shows these characteristics when he talks about all the people he kills and all he thinks about is the stuff he took from the people. Also that he talks about smoking marijuana with the other soldiers and watching movies.  

A long way gone ch 11-12

so far ch 12 has been the most disturbing scene in the whole book. It is just horrible how Ishmael gs hope that he is going to see his parents. But once he gets there the rebels come, and of course the gunfire starts and they completely destroy the village where his family is staying. The boys of course lose hope and start blaming each other for it.They end up throwing punches and injure each other which is pointless because they are not going to get anywhere with fighting each other. In ch 12 i was scared for Ishmael was taken to the next camp. It was actually a good thing for him because he got food,water, and shelter. This is true until the village is in a war with the rebels and the chief tells everyone to join the war or leave the village and most likely die. So I can see why Ishmael would join because he has nothing else to live for because he has no more family anymore, and why not get revenge on the people that took that away from him.

a long way gone ch 10

This has been the most discouraging chapter so far in this book. It is sad how his friend dies. the saddest part of it is that the reason why he died was because he said that every time he was in the danger of dying he was ready which is terrible to think that a kid is OK with dying. This has to be really tough for Ishmael especially when they are wondering who was going to be next to die which is really bad to be thinking this when you are only 13 and 16 years old to be put in this danger. I liked how the people of the village that they were staying in took great care of them and helped bury their diciest friend. I still do not see how these boys are doing what they are doing. It is truly inspirational because it shows even through the worst times it is better to keep living and never give up.

a long way gone 8-9

In this first chapter Ishmael's grandfather comes in a lot. he tells about a lot of memories from his childhood such as when his grandfather is teaching him about medicine plants. This really shows that he had a really great relationship with him and it meant a lot. It seems like the mood turns a little better when he runs into some of his old schoolmates. They get to bring back old memories and sing songs together. It is amazing how many times in ch 9 that they got caught and were almost killed every single time. The man in the hut was such a nice person for taking the boys in when they were injured and not well. it is really scary when they are chased down by the men of the village just across from the hut because they heard that they were living there. it is funny how rap music comes back to save them.

a long way gone ch 6-7

Losing a brother for the rest of my life would kill me. Ishmael had a hard time losing some of his friends ad his brother. I  give Ishmael great props for being able to stay alive without having any kind of resources or parents to console him through this rough time in his life. It is amazing that people don't trust kids my age because they feel that we will kill entire villages. It is just amazing how people can go from completely trusting you to having to watch your every move to make sure you do not do something wrong. I know that I would not ever be able to live on my own I these conditions where anything can happen in a split second. in conclusion this book continues to surprise me in the ways that these people have to live in fear all because of the rebels.

a long way gone ch 3-5

It is amazing what starvation will do to you. In this book it turned these boys from being good citizens to stealing people's food during the night. it was sad when they had taken the 2 ears of corn from the little boy, when if they would have asked the boy for an ear of corn his mother would have made them some.I guess that if you are in bad conditions yo will do anything to get out of them. I just don't see how these rebels can do what they are doing to these innocent people. It must have been a horrifying scene to have watched people get shot and grenaded right behind you when you are trying to escape or seeing an old man being humiliated by the rebels. I feel bad for Ismael Beah, in that he had to go through this terrifying war during his childhood.

a long way gone ch 1 and 2

The start of this book is really neat to me in that these kids are talking about this rap music that I know about today. Also I found it quite funny that they were trying to do the running man! I feel it is bad when the father and son do not have a good relationship because of the boy's stepmother.It is really amazing how the boys mother can send send the youngest brother to school and take care of him.It was really amazing the transition of everything being good to being a complete disaster. It was really sad when they talk about the bloody people coming out of the van and how they whole family had been killed by the rebels. It was truly sad when it tells me about the dead baby on the woman's back. The one part I didn't understand though was when he was carrying the dead body.