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WORK TITLE: Soldier Boy
WORK NOTES: with Ricky Richard Anywar
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://keelyhutton.com/home.html
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://us.macmillan.com/author/keelyhutton/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, journalist, and novelist. Former schoolteacher.
AVOCATIONS:Playing piano, reading.
AWARDS:Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop scholarship at Chautauqua.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A former schoolteacher turned journalist, Keely Hutton is the author of Soldier Boy, a novel based on the wartime experiences of Ricky Richard Anywar. In 1989, at the age of fourteen, Anywar was forced to become a soldier in the guerrilla army of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. He was trained, armed, and then forced to fight alongside his rebel kidnappers. Hutton was introduced to Anywar via a cousin who first met Anywar while working in Africa with nonprofit organizations. The cousin told Hutton that Anywar, who still lived in Uganda, was looking for someone to recount his experiences as a child soldier. Via Skype chats and e-mail, Hutton and Anywar discussed various ideas for the book. Then, over the next several years, Hutton began writing Soldier Boy with Anywar via Skype giving feedback and clarifying details of the story.
According to Hutton, Soldier Boy was written with a thirteen- to eighteen-year-old audience in mind. In an interview with Kate Olson for the Nerdy Book Club website, Hutton noted: “As an 8th grade English teacher, I knew if my students were mature enough to handle the Civil War and Holocaust units taught at the 7th and 8th grade levels, they could handle reading about the Ugandan civil war and the LRA [Lord’s Resistance Army]. In 2013, I created a compare-and-contrast curriculum to supplement my school’s existing Civil War unit. Ricky’s story proved an effective vehicle to show the similarities and differences between the U.S. Civil War and modern civil wars.”
Soldier Boy begins by relating the true story of Anywar as a child soldier and then moves forward twenty years to tell the story of the fictionalized character of Samuel, whose experiences as a boy soldier lead to an overriding fear and distrust of everyone around him. In her interview with Nerdy Book Club website contributor Olson, Hutton discussed the reason for choosing the story’s format, noting that Anywar “didn’t want the story to be a series of shocking, graphically violent scenes.” She added: “He wanted the message of his story to be one of hope and inspiration. I looked at my notes from our conversations and knew I had to find a way to give readers time to breathe.”
Hutton eventually came up with the proposal to write alternating story lines focusing on Anywar’s and Samuel’s stories. The chapters focusing on Anywar reflect real-life events, while Samuel serves as a composite of many children that Anywar would later in life help via his organization Friends of Orphans, which he started in 1999 while the civil war was still raging and international organizations were unable to safely provide assistance. Hutton told Olson that she sees Samuel’s story, which takes place twenty years later, “as a thread of light woven between the darkness of the Ricky chapters.”
In Samuel’s story, Anywar meets Samuel when the boy ends up at Friends of Orphans. It is 2006, and eleven-year-old Samuel is recuperating from serious injuries incurred in battle after being shot and then left behind by his fellow soldiers. Samuel is so traumatized by his experiences as a boy soldier that he does not even trust his caregivers after he arrives at Friends of Orphans or the man who keeps trying to get him to tell his story. As a result, Samuel initially tries to escape, believing that he is being held captive. The novel switches back and forth in time to tell both Anywar’s and Samuel’s stories, via the two protagonists’ points of view.
“The fictional interactions between every-child-soldier Samuel and Anywar at Friends of Orphans gives readers hope that recovery can happen,” wrote Nicole Thompson in Voice of Youth Advocates. Noting that “Hutton doesn’t shy from discussions of rape, torture, and abuse,” a Publishers Weekly contributor went on to call Soldier Boy “eye-opening and relevant.” Anywar writes an afterword for the novel, discussing how Friends of Orphans has helped 25,000 children impacted by the war through the organization’s rehabilitation and vocational training center.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2017, Michael Cart, review of Soldier Boy, p. 60.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2017, review of Soldier Boy.
Publishers Weekly, May 1, 2017, review of Soldier Boy, p. 62; December 4, 2017, review of Soldier Boy, p. S124.
School Library Journal, June 1, 2017, Monica Cabarcas, review of Soldier Boy, p. 108.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2017, Nicole Thompson, review of Soldier Boy, p. 66.
ONLINE
Keely Hutton Website, http://keelyhutton.com/home.html (February 18, 2018).
Nerdy Book Club, https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/ (July 9, 2017), Kate Olson, “How Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton Came to Be,” author interview.
Keely Hutton is an educational journalist and former teacher. She is the recipient of the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop scholarship at Chautauqua. Since 2012, she has been working closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story. Soldier Boy is her first novel.
Keely Hutton is a novelist, educational journalist, and former teacher. She is the recipient of the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop scholarship at Chautauqua. She has worked closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story in her first novel, Soldier Boy.
Keely Hutton is an educational journalist and former teacher. She is the recipient of the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop scholarship at Chautauqua. Since 2012, she has been working closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story. SOLDIER BOY is her first novel. Ricky Richard Anywar is the founder of the internationally acclaimed charity Friends of Orphans, and a former child soldier in Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Since escaping the LRA, Anywar has dedicated his life to rehabilitating other survivors and advocating for peace in their communities. When she’s not writing, Keely enjoys playing piano, reading, and planning Disney trips with her family.
Nerdy Book Club
HOW SOLDIER BOY BY KEELY HUTTON CAME TO BE BY KATE OLSON
POSTED BY CBETHM ON JULY 9, 2017 IN SURPRISE SUNDAY | 2 COMMENTS
An incredibly powerful YA book with an amazing creation story – read on to learn about how Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton came to be…..
Several months ago, I was sent a box of books from a publisher, mostly advance reader copies. When I get these books, I always put them on my ARC shelf in order of publication date without looking very closely at them, and then attempt to get to them before the release date. Using this method, I grabbed one of the titles with a June 13, 2017 date off the shelf about a week before its release, and started reading. I was instantly captivated and heartbroken by the story, and after I managed to finish the book and write my review, I immediately reached out to the author asking if I could interview her.
That book is Soldier Boy, and the author is Keely Hutton. When I reached out to her on Twitter, Keely immediately agreed to the interview and even managed to coordinate with Ricky Richard Anywar in Uganda to complete the questions within just a few days. I am so honored to get to share this book and their words with you here.
OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Soldier Boy begins with the story of Ricky Richard Anywar, abducted at age fourteen in 1989 to fight with Joseph Kony’s rebel army in Uganda’s decades-long civil war. Ricky is trained, armed, and forced to fight government soldiers alongside his brutal kidnappers, but never stops dreaming of escape.
The story continues twenty years later, with a fictionalized character named Samuel, representative of the thousands of child soldiers Ricky eventually helped rehabilitate as founder of the internationally acclaimed charity Friends of Orphans.
Working closely with Ricky himself, debut author Keely Hutton has written an eye-opening book about a boy’s unbreakable spirit and indomitable courage in the face of unimaginable horror.
My thoughts on the book are included in this post after the interview with Keely and Ricky.
INTERVIEW WITH KEELY AND RICKY:
1) How did you come to meet Ricky Richard Anywar?
KEELY: In 2012, my cousin emailed me about Ricky, who he’d met while working with non-profit organizations in Africa. Ricky was looking for a writer to tell the story of his time as child soldier. Five minutes into our first Skype conversation, I knew I wanted to help Ricky give a voice to the thousands of children whose voices were stolen by Kony and the LRA. Ricky and I have been working together on SOLDIER BOY ever since.
2) Describe the process of working with Ricky on his story – did you get to go to Uganda? Did he give you all of the information verbally or did he write a lot for you?
KEELY: After our first Skype chat, we started Skyping and emailing regularly. In June 2012, Ricky traveled to the States for an award ceremony. After the ceremony, he travelled to Upstate New York, where he stayed with my family for several days. We spent hours each day discussing ideas for the book, Ricky’s time as a child soldier in the LRA, and how he came to found Friends of Orphans. We have communicated on a weekly basis for the last five-and-a-half years through emails, Facebook messenger, and Skype. Ricky clarifies details and answers specific questions through email and Facebook messenger, but the majority of our communications regarding his life before, during, and after the LRA were conveyed verbally over Skype. I have not yet visited Uganda, but hope to someday.
3) Describe a little bit about the pitch and revision process for this book – was Ricky involved after the initial manuscript was submitted?
KEELY: After I’d written and revised…and revised…and revised the manuscript, which at the time was titled FINDING OBENO, and Ricky had read and approved it, I waded into the query trenches in search of a literary agent. I kept Ricky informed of every rejection and request. Two years, two hundred queries, and four revise-and-resubmit requests later, I found my amazing agent, Soumeya Roberts. Soumeya recommended cutting 50-100 pages of the manuscript. I cut 80, and we went on sub. Ten days later, Wes Adams at Farrar, Straus, Giroux made a pre-emptive offer on the book. He was the perfect editor for Ricky’s story and his remarkable team at FSG have championed the book every step of the way. They exceeded Ricky’s and my expectations for SOLDIER BOY. We couldn’t be happier with the book and are so excited to share it with readers.
4) Who is the intended audience for this book? How do you envision it being used/read in schools?
KEELY: The intended audience for SOLDIER BOY is readers ages 13 – 18+. As an 8th grade English teacher, I knew if my students were mature enough to handle the Civil War and Holocaust units taught at the 7th and 8th grade levels, they could handle reading about the Ugandan civil war and the LRA. In 2013, I created a compare-and-contrast curriculum to supplement my school’s existing Civil War unit. Ricky’s story proved an effective vehicle to show the similarities and differences between the U.S. Civil War and modern civil wars.
Students worked in literature circles and read novels set in the U.S. Civil War, such as BRADY by Jean Fritz, SHADES OF GREY by Carolyn Reeder, SLAVE DANCER by Paula Fox, HARRIET TUBMAN: CONDUCTOR ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Ann Petry, and ACROSS FIVE APRILS by Irene Hunt. The whole class also read about Ricky’s experience as a child soldier and researched articles and documentaries about the LRA and the Ugandan civil war. They also had the opportunity to Skype with Ricky and ask him questions about his life and organization.
Using a contemporary novel in conjunction with classic works to analyze the issue of civil conflict made the topic more relatable for my students. They were surprised to learn there were civil wars other than the one fought in the U.S. and were shocked to discover civil wars and slavery are ongoing problems still faced by children their age today.
The themes, story structure, and literary devices used in SOLDIER BOY may be discussed in 8th – 12th grade English classrooms, and the issues the novel explores may supplement high school Global and U.S. history curriculums, as well as certain college curriculums.
I am excited about the opportunities available for SOLDIER BOY to find a place in school curriculums and look forward to hearing about teachers’ and librarians’ creative ideas for using the text and the important discussions I hope will follow. In addition, Macmillan will be releasing a classroom guide for the book in the near future!
Questions for Ricky:
1) How did you choose Keely to write your story?
RICKY: After struggling for over eight years to find someone to tell my story in a beautiful and smart way, I found Keely. I couldn’t believe what she accomplished with SOLDIER BOY. It was more than I dreamed. I am so proud of the book. She has given words to my story and a voice to so many here in Uganda. I am excited that my dream to inspire people and provide healing through my story is becoming a reality.
2) Share a bit about how you decided to create Friends of Orphans
RICKY: My life experiences as a child soldier, abductee, and orphan motivated me to help children who experienced similar trauma. I started Friends of Orphans in 1999, at the peak of the war when international organizations could not dare to reach Pader. I knew it was dangerous to go back. I was safe in Kampala. I had a good job with the government. I knew I could be killed if I returned, but hearing news of the LRA’s continued attacks on villages and abductions of children in northern Uganda was also killing me. I had to do something to help, so I quit my job and returned to Pader to start Friends of Orphans. It was very dangerous. My vehicle was ambushed and I was shot, but I had to keep returning to help. Friends of Orphans was the only ray of hope for children in northern Uganda.
Since 1999, we have managed to help over 25,000 war-affected children in northern Uganda at our rehabilitation and vocational training center. Friends of Orphans is helping to rebuild lost hope and confidence in children whose early lives were stolen away.
How did you decide to write this book in the format you did, with Ricky being himself, and then using Samuel as a compilation of many of the orphans?
KEELY AND RICKY: When Ricky approached me about writing his story, he explained that he didn’t want the story to be a series of shocking, graphically violent scenes. He wanted the message of his story to be one of hope and inspiration. I looked at my notes from our conversations and knew I had to find a way to give readers time to breathe. During his two-and-a-half years as a child soldier, there were no moments that weren’t traumatizing and terrifying. I had to build in quieter moments. With that goal in mind, I pitched the idea of two alternating storylines, Ricky’s and Samuel’s. Ricky’s chapters would be accurate representations of his time in the LRA. The chapters that follow Samuel, a composite character, who represents the thousands of children Ricky has helped since founding Friends of Orphans, would be set twenty years later and serve as a thread of light woven between the darkness of the Ricky chapters.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK:
Add this to high school required reading lists IMMEDIATELY. Eye opening and heartbreaking, Soldier Boy is not a book we want to exist, given that it’s a semi-factual account of horrifying events (Ricky’s account is true, while the other narrator Samuel is a compilation of the thousands of boy soldiers Ricky has helped). However, given that these child soldiers are real and suffering, and Ricky Richard Anywar is a real person doing real work to help rehabilitate these child soldiers, this book needs to be read. It’s not an easy read, given the graphic depictions of killing, rape and mutilation, but it is a fast read in the sense that you want to keep turning the pages. It’s written at a perfect level for upper middle school and high school, as well as for adult readers like me who are new to reading about this ongoing tragedy. While the descriptions may be graphic, the events happened and need to be understood by more people worldwide. If we expose US students to book after book about the horrors of the Holocaust, it is our duty to share this story as well.
Please read this. You will squirm and cry and want to believe this is fiction. You may need to spread it out over several days because it’s so heavy, but please read it.
You can find more information on Ricky, Friends of Orphans, and the background of the war here: http://frouganda.org/index.html
Note: There is a story in the book “The Moth Presents: Stories From the Unknown” called “Unusual Normality” by Ishmael Beah that describes his experience as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone and struggling to fit in with other teens in his adopted home of NYC. This was a fascinating story, and would be a great one to share with students when reading this book – you can listen to it here:https://themoth.org/stories/unusual-n…
Kate Olson is a PK-12 librarian in a small rural school district in Wisconsin, as well as a reviewer for School Library Journal. She lives on the top of a giant hill in the middle of nowhere with her husband, 3 feisty children and a border collie named Max. She can be found on her blog The Loud Library Lady and on Instagram as @theloudlibrarylady and Twitter as @theloud_library.
Soldier Boy
264.49-50 (Dec. 4, 2017): pS124.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Soldier Boy
Keely Hutton. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 ISBN 978-0-374-30563-5
In this brutal debut novel inspired by real-life events, Hutton addresses the horrors of the Ugandan civil war through two child soldiers. The narrative primarily follows Ricky Richard Anywar, kidnapped at age 14 and forcibly inducted into Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army alongside his brother and friends in 1989. Over the next few years, Ricky survives horrifying conditions, brutal training, and numerous combat missions, always looking for a chance to escape. Meanwhile, in 2006, 11-year-old Samuel recuperates from grievous injuries after falling in battle, unable to trust his care givers or the strange man who insists on learning his story. Both boys are forced to confront the memories of lost friends and the things they did to stay alive. Hutton approaches the setting, conflict, and characters with unremitting honesty, drawing from Anywar's own life (he contributes an afterword) while using the fictional Samuel as a stand-in for the current generation of unwilling soldiers. This isn't an easy or pleasant read--Hutton doesn't shy from discussions of rape, torture, and abuse--but it's eye-opening and relevant. Ages 13-up.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Soldier Boy." Publishers Weekly, 4 Dec. 2017, p. S124. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A518029962/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=16169dd0. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A518029962
Hutton, Keely. Soldier Boy
Nicole Thompson
40.2 (June 2017): p66.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
5Q * 3P * J * S * NA (a)
Hutton, Keely. Soldier Boy. Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan, 2017. 336p. $17.99. 9780-374-30563-5.
In this fictional biography, Ricky Richard Anywar is stolen from all he ever knew at the tender age of fourteen in 1989. He is forced to become a child soldier in Joseph Konys sadistic rebel army fighting against the Ugandan government. Anywar is trained to kill on command during his terrifying years in captivity. Forced to endure a brutal detention along with other oppressed child soldiers, he witnesses atrocities most humans cannot imagine. Anywar survives because of his fierce hope and determination to return home, though he is uncertain what will await him if he does get there. Through the Friends of Orphans, a foundation Anywar creates many years after his escape, he finally finds the home he desperately hoped for by creating a place of refuge for other child soldiers. The fictional interactions between every-child-soldier Samuel and Anywar at Friends of Orphans gives readers hope that recovery can happen; that it begins with discovering oneself, finding forgiveness, and re-learning to see the humanity in other people.
Hutton's debut novel seamlessly blends the biographical account of Anywar's experiences with the fictional story of Samuel--one of the many who found home at Friends of Orphans after surviving the graphic violence described throughout the story. While not all teens will know of Uganda's war, most will relish the strength of the human spirit and the ultimate will to not only live, but to love and forgive as shown by Anywar. Anywar will inspire a multitude of readers with his phenomenal ability to make peace with his past and his desire to help others like him. This harrowing account will require a bit of booktalking, but the effort will be worth it. Readers will want to look away from the horror of child soldiers, but will keep looking to make sure Anywar finds his home. This story is a must-have for every library with a teen collection.--Nicole Thompson.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Thompson, Nicole. "Hutton, Keely. Soldier Boy." Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2017, p. 66. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A497860328/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2914dbf5. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A497860328
Soldier Boy
264.18 (May 1, 2017): p62.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Soldier Boy
Keely Hutton. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-374-30563-5
In this brutal debut novel inspired by real-life events, Hutton addresses the horrors of the Ugandan civil war through two child soldiers. The narrative primarily follows Ricky Richard Any war, kidnapped at age 14 and forcibly inducted into Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army alongside his brother and friends in 1989--Over the next few years, Ricky survives horrifying conditions, brutal training, and numerous combat missions, always looking for a chance to escape. Meanwhile, in 2006, 11-year-old Samuel recuperates from grievous injuries after falling in battle, unable to trust his caregivers or the strange man who insists on learning his story. Both boys are forced to confront the memories of lost friends and the things they did to stay alive. Hutton approaches the setting, conflict, and characters with unremitting honesty, drawing from Any war's own life (he contributes an after word) while using the fictional Samuel as a stand-in for the current generation of unwilling soldiers. This isn't an easy or pleasant read--Hutton doesn't shy from discussions of rape, torture, and abuse--but it's eye-opening and relevant. Ages 13-up. Agent: Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts, HSG Agency. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Soldier Boy." Publishers Weekly, 1 May 2017, p. 62. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491575375/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=dc4d5e6d. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491575375
Soldier Boy
Michael Cart
113.16 (Apr. 15, 2017): p60.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
* Soldier Boy. By Keely Hutton. June 2017. 336p. Farrar, $17.99 (9780374305635). Gr. 5-8.
The year is 1989 and 14-year-old Ricky--his whole family, except his brother Patrick, having been brutally murdered--has been kidnapped from his northern Uganda village by the LRA, the Lord's Resistance Army, and pressed into service as a soldier with this unspeakably cruel rebel force. Flash-forward to the year 2006, when another Ugandan boy, 11-year-old Samuel, is wounded in battle, abandoned by his LRA comrades, and, found by a government soldier, brought to a Friends of Orphans camp. Not understanding that he has been rescued by this relief organization, Samuel is determined to escape those he regards as his captors. The novel then moves backward and forward in time as the two boys' stories unfold from their respective points of view. Samuel's story is imagined, but Ricky's is real; Hutton's novel is a lightly fictionalized story of Ricky Richard Anywar, who, himself a former enslaved soldier, grew up to found the internationally acclaimed relief organization Friends of Orphans. The novel is a visceral indictment of man's inhumanity to man, while also celebrating human beings' ability to empathize and to rescue those who desperately need saving. For a similar reading experience, refer readers to Patricia McCormick's Never Fall Down (2012).--Michael Cart
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cart, Michael. "Soldier Boy." Booklist, 15 Apr. 2017, p. 60. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A492536293/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=70525494. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A492536293
Hutton, Keely: SOLDIER BOY
(Apr. 1, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Hutton, Keely SOLDIER BOY Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's Informational) $17.99 6, 13 ISBN: 978-0-374-30563-5
Spanning the conflict-laden years of Uganda's recent history, this debut novel-meets-biography is based on the true story of a former enslaved child soldier who escaped and found his own salvation in providing sanctuary for children who suffered a similar fate. Ricky Richard Anywar was abducted as a child soldier in 1989 to fight for the Lord's Resistance Army, led by the infamous fugitive war criminal Joseph Kony, as continuing legacies of political corruption and economic instability set Uganda on a dark path to civil war. This powerful novel, which features scenes of sheer horror, does not depend on readers' ability to decipher the overwhelming structural factors that have thrown Ricky's Uganda into violent chaos. Rather, it is most significantly a story that stands up for the unrelenting power of the human spirit to reject evil, the nigh-impossible odds that must be conquered to escape enslavement, and the deep scars that remain for a lifetime. In 2006, Samuel, a composite character representative of the thousands of children helped by Anywar's acclaimed Friends of Orphans charity, gives voice to this intimate process of recovery. Interleaved chapters tell Ricky's story from 1989 to 1992. Through Ricky's story, Samuel can find himself home again, before he was a rebel and a soldier, before he was a victim and an orphan, to the time when he "was a student and classmate. A cousin and friend. A brother and son." Unapologetically searing and catastrophically truthful, a reminder to readers that it demands much to meet harsh realities with impossible courage. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 13-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Hutton, Keely: SOLDIER BOY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A487668623/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=347d575f. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487668623
Hutton, Keely. Soldier Boy
Monica Cabarcas
63.6 (June 1, 2017): p108.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
* HUTTON, Keely. Soldier Boy. 336p. Farrar. Jun. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780374305635.
Gr 9 Up--A compelling tale that recounts the story of former, real-life Ugandan child soldier Ricky Richard Anywar. Told in alternating chapters that focus on Ricky's past and the present-day story of Samuel, this brutally honest novel will have readers struggling to move through the often gruesome initiation of kidnapped children into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Ricky is consumed by fear and desperation as he attempts to escape from the LRA with his older brother. Samuel's narration is permeated with distrust and alarm as he figures out how to deal with a severe injury and his placement in a rehabilitation program. This book is filled with many instances of graphic violence. Hutton's intense accounts of families burned alive and machete attacks on villagers emphasize the emotional anguish. While the subject matter is mature, the story is accessible and addresses topics such as world history, civil war, and shifting political powers. A description of the Friends of Orphans program ends this work with a message of hope. Readers may liken this title to memoirs such as Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. An author's note explains that Hutton spent a considerable amount of time with Anywar and read through several interviews with other survivors to craft accurate depictions of life as a child soldier. VERDICT A must-purchase for teen collections, with the understanding that this text portrays traumatic childhood violence associated with civil war.--Monica Cabarcas, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, VA
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre | Tr Hardcover trade binding | lib. ed. Publisher's library binding | Board Board book | pap. Paperback | e eBook original | BL Bilingual | POP Popular Picks
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cabarcas, Monica. "Hutton, Keely. Soldier Boy." School Library Journal, 1 June 2017, p. 108. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A493916127/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5238ed40. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A493916127