Reviews
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba
kimberly_b's review against another edition
3.0
Non-fiction really isn't my thing, but my book club was reading this so I read it. Overall, I liked the story and William's story of perseverance. The book was longer than I would have liked, but I don't really have any complaints other than that.
van_worldexplorer's review against another edition
3.0
Half of it didn’t really seem important to the overall theme of the story, just fun stories from his childhood. Don’t get me wrong, it was all good and easy to read. It was just hard to see a cohesive story throughout. About halfway through you really see the story start to come through and it gets really good and heartwarming.
georgiarose710's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
medianoche's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
leannaaker's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great story....the kind that you imagine are still possible in the world, but don't really believe it. William, who loves in an impoverished area in Africa, gets books from a local library (that he struggles to even read, since he didn't have enough money to attend secondary school) and learns enough about electricity and magnetism to build a windmill that gives power to his family's home. He doesn't stop there, though, as he continues to build circuit breakers, rudimentary light switches, water pumps, and transformers. He is discovered and gets to travel and speak about his windmill, and get more schooling.
This is a feel good tale, but the book is not always roses. The first third of the book is setting the backstory for how impoverished Malawi is. This part of the book is slow to get going, but by the time you get to the heavy duty "windmill part," you are sooooo cheering on William.
This is a feel good tale, but the book is not always roses. The first third of the book is setting the backstory for how impoverished Malawi is. This part of the book is slow to get going, but by the time you get to the heavy duty "windmill part," you are sooooo cheering on William.
statman's review against another edition
4.0
My kids have all read this one for school so I had to read it to keep up with the dinner conversations. Cool, true story from the perspective of an African boy surviving starvation and figuring out a way to use the resources around him to help his family and his people.
ashersmashervanbeek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
davidseverns's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.5
A little dry. Good book, educational—especially on culture in Africa.