Language: PG (14 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G Violence: PG13 (Genocide, talk of throwing bodies down wells, rape, mutilation, murder - images on page contain blood but are not graphic or disturbing)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
Jose and Charlie were born in America, but they know nothing about their mother's life as a girl in Guatemala in the 1980's. When Jose hears about the genocide trial of Efrain Rios Montt he asks his mother, which is upsetting for her, but soon she agrees to tell her story. In 1982 Clara and her sister Elena have heard of the conflict between the government and the guerillas, but they are taken by surprise when their village is attacked and nearly everyone is murdered by soldiers. They manage to escape into the forest but are soon separated. With no provisions and just the clothes on her back, Clara finds herself alone in a dangerous country caught in the middle of a civil war.
I loved the connection of the past to the present. This is a terrible thing for young Clara (probably about 13yo or 14yo) to have experienced, and the telling to her teenage sons tempered the violence a bit. I like the graphic novel illustrations, the book is in full color
Clara and her sister are Indigenous Mayan.
Lisa Librarian
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