Brown, Skila. Caminar. Somerville, Massachusetts, 2014.

I was drawn to this book for so many reasons. A fairly new arrival in my library, I picked it up to prepare for an 8th grade historical fiction book talk. After I got over the fact that a civil war wet in 1981 was ACTUALLY history, I was drawn into this story very quickly. Carlos, a boy in war torn Guatemala, has to figure out what it means to be a man. His small village in Chopan seems to be the center of a civil war. Both the soldiers and the rebels find their way into the village. His mother urges him to avoid the war at all costs. He is conflicted. His friends wish for him to be a man and defend his village. As far as he knows, his friends and family are lost. , As he wonders about, struggling to survive, he meets several rebels. He finds himself still torn as he travels with them to the village of his grandmother. There he must decide what makes him a man...listening to the words of his mother or joining the rebels to avenge her death.

Carlos’ story is told in captivating verse. Brown uses form structure, words, and figurative language to engage the reader. I’ve said it before, and will likely say it again and again. My kids are drawn to works in verse because they consider them reader friendly. This belief I encourage because in books like this the language and the ideas sneak up on them. I love when this happens. I often think how lucky I was to be born in Western Pennsylvania in the quiet countryside. I think often of kids born in war torn nations - how different their world is from mine and that of my students. My readers will be drawn through the verse and then impacted by his coming of age story. They will experience through the narrative just a bit of the life of Carlos. The cultural education will be a bonus. I loved particularly the reflection on nahuales - Carlos’ perception of the spirit guide. The culture and language are just another benefit to the readers. And truly, the book was gone as soon as I allowed the 8th graders access to it after the book talk. I look forward to hearing their reviews!