A review by serendipitysbooks
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

 Say You’re One of Them is a collection of two novellas and three short stories. It was written by a Jesuit priest and the stories are set in different African countries. All highlight the impact of big social issues - religious divides, civil war, poverty, child trafficking, the AIDS epidemic, genocide - through the eyes of children. The book is a challenging read because of the content. In addition the use of phonetic speech, different dialects and snippets of several languages could be off-putting to some readers. For me I found it added a feeling of authenticity to the stories and didn’t detract from my comprehension. Several of the stories ended abruptly, without a full resolution. This felt somewhat unsatisfying but I do wonder if it was deliberate. Most of these issues continue today - there is no resolution; the best children can hope for is to live through them. 
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