Summary  Ishmael Beah lived in a village in the rural part of Sierra Leone  The civil war between the rebels and the army eventually reached him and changed his life forever  He was captured and forced into becoming a child soldier  Details his efforts to escape the war

Show Don’t Tell  Beah is very effective at engaging the reader  Makes the reader feel like they are experiencing his adventure with him  Examples:  “The old man at this point was unable to speak. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t get a word out.” (Beah 33)  “I had passed through villages where dead bodies of men, women, and children of all ages were scattered like leaves on the ground after a storm.” (Beah 49)

Vivid Verbs  Uses strong verbs to engage the reader  Examples are underlined: “I inhaled the cool night breeze,” (Beah 109)  “I was confused, as I wasn’t sure what day or time it was. I felt my head pulsating a little.” (Beah 141)

Imagery  Beah is very good at describing his interactions and experiences in vivid detail  Helps paint a picture in the reader’s mind  Examples:  “Their faces were blank: they showed no emotion, but their eyes looked pale with sorrow.” (Beah 107)  “The sound of an ambulance somewhere in the city took over the silence of the night.” (Beah 173)

Sentence Structure  Effective sentence structure allows the reader to experience the pace of the events as they occur  Uses long descriptive sentences when he is describing something upsetting  Example:  “Saidu sat in the attic, holding his breath and listening to the wailing of his sisters as the rebels raped them.” (Beah 80)  Uses short compact sentences to describe events that happen quickly  Example:  “He ignored my stare.” (Beah 119)

Author’s Voice  Beah is blunt in his descriptions  He gets to the point quickly without overusing imagery or descriptive details to explain things

Purpose  A Long Way Gone was written to let the world know the truth about child soldiers and the wars that tear apart countries in Africa  Beah delivered several messages:  Never forget your past and where you came from  We all do things we are not proud of  Never lose hope

Personal Review  A Long Way Gone is a very inspiring story since Ishmael Beah had so many tragic experiences in his young life but always found a way to persevere and move on  I admired his strength when he escaped the country and found a new home in the United States after so many of his loved ones were killed  I respected him for telling the world about the awful things that are happening in African countries  I enjoyed this book very much because it was very engaging and suspenseful  It makes me appreciate everything I have and where I live