Uwen Akpan chooses Monique as a narrator to show the loss of innocence caused by the traumatic effects of war. By telling a story through a child’s lens, Akpan allows his readers to experience the cruelty a child faces because of the wrongdoings of adults. Throughout the story, a nine-year-old Monique suffered assault, rape, and witnessed the murder of her mother by her father. To show the effects of violence from a different viewpoint, Akpan gives an insight on victim’s conflicted thoughts and emotional trauma. Monique’s innocence is completely shattered when she witnesses her father killing her mother. At that very moment, her barbarous reality clashes with her innocence—this confliction is unveiled when she cannot decide whether she “wants