LoveReading4Kids Says
One of the best books ever about the realities of young boys forced into fighting in rebel armies and the effect it can have. Back home, Kaninda has been trained to carry a gun and use it. When he is taken from Africa by aid workers and brought to a different life in London he finds there are tribes and loyalties of a new kind. Unwillingly Kaninda gets drawn into local conflicts while he longs to return home and take revenge. A moving and thoughtful exploration of the scarring effect of violent conflict.
Perfect for Reluctant Readers as well as keen readers. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here.
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Bernard Ashley Press Reviews
This is Ashley at his hard-hitting best..A serious and provocative reflection on kids and war, this novel should spark debate The Daily Telegraph
[Ashley's] gritty urban realism marks a fresh approach to children's writing Financial Times
Another thoughtful and topical tale Daily Mail
Compelling and unforgettable Time Out
It's wonderful to have another full-length, meaty novel from this gritty writer The Bookseller
A considerable achievement Books For Keeps
Original and touching Scotland on Sunday
Ashley is sympathetic without ever sentimentalising the survival tactics of his little soldier The Guardian
Finding himself on a housing estate in south London, he witnesses a different tribal warfare, one gang against another. This is a tautly written book, complex and hard-hitting, but immensely rewarding, which examines questions of loyalty, revenge, guilt, war, rights and ultimately freedom. (12+ years) (Kirkus UK)
About Bernard Ashley
Bernard Ashley lives in Charlton, south east London, only a street or so from where he was born. He was educated at the Roan School, Blackheath and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester. After National Service in the RAF Bernard trained to teach at Trent Park College of Education, specializing in Drama. He followed this with an Advanced Diploma at the Cambridge Institute and has recently been awarded honorary Doctorates in Education by the University of Greenwich and in letters by the University of Leicester. During his career as a teacher he worked in Kent, Hertfordshire, Newham and Greenwich, with thirty years of headships in the last three. His debut novel The Trouble with Donovan Croft won the Other Award, the alternative to the Carnegie Medal, and several of his other titles have been highly commended by the Carnegie Medal panel.
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