Journal #1 - Mikayla

            Already, I find this book is really interesting and I would recommend it. The reality of A Long Way Gone and its horrifying details makes it a unique book.  Some events the author describes that he suffered through makes me feel strong pity for the author and his friends. I keep reminding myself that it’s based on true events because it is so unimaginable. Another factor that makes it seem so surreal is that he can describe his story with so much detail. At first I thought he had a remarkable memory, but my second thought was that if I was in his position I would never forget. It’s traumatizing.

            This particular part of the book had a big impact on me when Ishmael Beah wrote “It was during the attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother.” (Pg.43) At that moment I knew that the series of unfortunate events were only about to start for him. On the other hand I was predicting something big would happen because Ishmael and his friends had been some what lucky with escaping villages and reentering them.

            Reading this book makes me appreciate the good things in my life and the fact that I live in Canada. I have never read a book that I thought about so much other than when I'm reading. It’s like when you first meet somebody and you are still missing important information about their lives. You want to know more and you have so many questions! I am really curious to read if he will meet up with certain people in the future and if he did what their relationship is now. I also wonder who the people he dedicated the book to are.

             So far so good!