Journal #3 - Liam

        This section of the book focuses on the really violent and cruel aspects of the conflict in Sierra Leone. On the very first page of chapter 12, there is a graphic explanation of what's happening. People lie with body parts missing, and act as if they don't realize. There are children, around 12 and 13 that lie lifeless on the banks of the river. This section of the book, and much like the previous parts have used words to create such a vivid image in your head, that you feel like you're watching the conflict unfold.

I find this somewhat sad. When you read of the young boys and their emotionless reactions to their surroundings, it's so sad. If you put a regular kid in our society in that situation, they couldn't deal with it, but the young boys in Sierra Leone are so desensitized to their brutal surroundings that they're used to the horrors. I couldn't imagine it.

This section of the book also gives the reader a sense of hope. When Ishmael finally reaches Yele, the reader gets a sense that everything will be okay. However that isn't the case. I think that this gives the book more depth, it isn't always happy and it isn't always depressing, it keeps the mood in balance.

As we get closer and closer to the end of the book, the suspense keeps rising. Ishmael seems to be in safety, but if he were to pass the outskirts of Yele, he'd probably be killed. So it's almost like all of the civilians in Yele are trapped inside the village. This creates a lot of suspense because the reader is concerned on what might happen.

I still find it difficult to wrap my mind around everything that Ishmael, and other people of Sierra Leone and surrounding countries had to go through. It's unbearable, and we can't even begin to imagine what it might have been like, you'd only be able to find out first hand.