A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a written, first-hand experience by the author himself, Ishmael Beah. After surviving the war, he did a fantastic job describing his journey for survival.The memoir is very descriptive and a good read. Beah writes about the horrors that he saw when he was a ‘Boy Soldier’. This novel is another addition to the collection of nonfiction survival stories. This is Ishmael Beah’s most famous novel. This nonfiction story captures the author 's childhood. This novel was mostly everything I expected from a war story; combat, chaos, and casualties. I would say that some of the scenes described were a little to gruesome. This civil war significantly took a toll on Beah; socially, mentally, and physically. A …show more content…
Being a partial American teenanger, I would say that American teenagers should read this book. This book has made me be very grateful for what I have, from the parents I have, to the clothes I wear, and to what I get on my dinner plate. I cannot even imagine Beah’s childhood. I cannot even think how I would cope with the fact that all of my loved ones are gone. On top of that he had to kill to survive. Many American teenagers complain that they hate their life because their parents took their phones away for the weekend and/or their closet does not have enough clothing in it. Beah’s childhood makes our childhoods seem like paradise. It is important for American teens to read this novel because then they can understand how grateful they should be for the things they have. Beah had to undergo war, and that had many negative effects which some privileged teens would say only happens in books.
The Sierra Leonean Civil War had a very negative effect on Beah. Ishmael Beah lost his brother, his mother, his father, his friends, his uncle, his belongings, and his mentality. This theme is important because it shows the consequences of war. It changed who Beah was. Before the war, Beah was an ordinary African school boy who after school played with his little brother, Junior. After the war he became a merciless ruthless killer who live to kill smoke marijuana, clean his gun, or