hgranger's review against another edition
4.0
The horrors of war seen through the eyes of a child, shielded by a giant of a parent. I was a little hesitant to read it because I read “Left to Tell” about the Rwandan genocide and it was so horrifying that I wasn’t sure I was up for another round of the atrocities humans commit towards one another. But because the story is told partially through a five year old’s point of view and partially in retrospect with a distance to the experience, it felt like a different experience. The horrors are still there, still sobering, and dreadful, and unbelievable. But the story is just so powerful and leaves a feeling of hope and goodness among all the evil of the world.
There were a couple of perspective shifts that made me have to reread a paragraph or two to find out who and when, but all in all what an incredibly beautiful book, showing trauma, agony, strength, and survival.
There were a couple of perspective shifts that made me have to reread a paragraph or two to find out who and when, but all in all what an incredibly beautiful book, showing trauma, agony, strength, and survival.
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
4.0
This is Wayetu's memoir of living in and escaping from Liberia during its first civil war, in the late 80's/early 90's. After fleeing, she and her family emigrated to America to join Wayetu's mother, who was studying over there, so the memoir also examines Waytu's experience of coming of age in the US as well.
What I thought was really interesting about this one is that the narrative pivots on one particular point, that point being a rebel militia individual. We see the experience from Wayetu's memory of fleeing as quite a young child - I think she's eight - and then it pivots and we see it from her mother's experience of being over in America, across the globe, watching the situation from the outside without knowing what was going on with her family. I thought that was really fabulous, and made this in to quite a page turner. We also see Wayetu as a young woman, with discussions on facing racism in her adopted country as she grew up and battling with feelings of being untethered, neither of one place or another, and and trying to find her home.
The book is a thorough portrayal of living through conflict, and how the displacement of people due to such a conflict can inflict further trauma to a person's identity, even long after that conflict is over. I think that's really pertinent as we're watching the Syrian refugees and other displaced people.
This memoir is pretty lyrical. It captures the child's view of the experience incredibly well, and that lyricism lends itself well to Wayetu's feelings of turmoil as a young woman. But Moore seems to know when to let that style flow and when to reign it in, which means that there is a clear path through her memoir which allows you as the reader to take in the facts of the conflict and what her family were doing to stay safe . It's a pretty seamless blend, and one which I really enjoyed reading.
What I thought was really interesting about this one is that the narrative pivots on one particular point, that point being a rebel militia individual. We see the experience from Wayetu's memory of fleeing as quite a young child - I think she's eight - and then it pivots and we see it from her mother's experience of being over in America, across the globe, watching the situation from the outside without knowing what was going on with her family. I thought that was really fabulous, and made this in to quite a page turner. We also see Wayetu as a young woman, with discussions on facing racism in her adopted country as she grew up and battling with feelings of being untethered, neither of one place or another, and and trying to find her home.
The book is a thorough portrayal of living through conflict, and how the displacement of people due to such a conflict can inflict further trauma to a person's identity, even long after that conflict is over. I think that's really pertinent as we're watching the Syrian refugees and other displaced people.
This memoir is pretty lyrical. It captures the child's view of the experience incredibly well, and that lyricism lends itself well to Wayetu's feelings of turmoil as a young woman. But Moore seems to know when to let that style flow and when to reign it in, which means that there is a clear path through her memoir which allows you as the reader to take in the facts of the conflict and what her family were doing to stay safe . It's a pretty seamless blend, and one which I really enjoyed reading.
emlbish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
emzireads's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
helenjenkins's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
ireadtoescape_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I was pulled in by this memoir very quickly. The changing pace between the times before, during, and after were so distinct in the storytelling that it felt like I was there. The perspective from when she was just a toddler and experiencing this horrific war was still so vivid even though told from a child’s perspective. Then the shift after the family gets to the US and the challenge to an identity that was not questioned in Liberia and having to deal with that in addition to the memories of the past. I just felt all of it in such a visceral way. Understanding the chaos of dating as well and how even our romantic choices are so informed by our trauma or can create misgivings stemming from our past.
I was just immersed in this story. I also loved the reflections from her mother’s perspective I’m having to go back to find her family where she was already in the US. It felt harrowing just the same even though her anxiety was from such a different perspective. Her father 🥹🥹. I loved Wayétu’s relationship with him and the memoir also felt a lot like a love letter to her parents and grandmother. I’ve never really read much about Liberia and look forward to reading more about the country and more books from Wayétu Moore. So good. So heartbreaking. But left me with hope all the same.
I was just immersed in this story. I also loved the reflections from her mother’s perspective I’m having to go back to find her family where she was already in the US. It felt harrowing just the same even though her anxiety was from such a different perspective. Her father 🥹🥹. I loved Wayétu’s relationship with him and the memoir also felt a lot like a love letter to her parents and grandmother. I’ve never really read much about Liberia and look forward to reading more about the country and more books from Wayétu Moore. So good. So heartbreaking. But left me with hope all the same.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and War
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, and Rape
kld2128's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and War
jeankwemoi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0