Helpful Score: 2
Wonderful young adult book about a young African girl who runs away from her village and all she knows and loves to find her father's family. The unimaginable challenges she meets and overcomes along the way reveal her true spirit and inner strength. A 1997 Newberry Honor book that will capture the imagination and hold the interest of any pre-teen or teenager who craves a book with well-developed characters and supremely engrossing plot.
Classic school must (mostly for middle school)
Nhamo, the protagonist, is not heroic but tender and courageous (if for no other reason than by necessity.) I couldn't help but be touched by her impossible plight.