The average user rating for this Book is 7.8 out of 10 (based on 21 Votes).
Kenji H. gave it an8: good book. short/quick read. pretty enjoyable.... very weird tone though so may be hard to understand for young readers
Nicky G gave it a7: Uzodinma Iweala's debut novel captures the reader in his strict use of the present tense, taking them through the gripping story of a naive soldier who is trying to maintain his conscience. It tells a good story through an interesting character, but there is still something missing that would make this book amazing. Perhaps it is in the end where the theme of the novel is lead astray, but an overall interesting work. Recommended, but not incredibly strongly. It will be interesting to see how his future works turn out, but Iweala seems to have a promising literary future.
Jinfiest o gave it an8: Good book, the abrupt ending was a little annoying though. The childish language can get a little annoying after a while.
TheKate M gave it a7: Perhaps this is where my voracious appetite for books hurts me... It is true that this book offers us a change in perspective and writing style by creating a child's language, but does that make it more worthy of praise? It felt as if I were reading the abridged blurb of something better.
Michael K gave it a7: The setting is an unnamed African nation, although one first thinks of Liberia's warlord/ president Charles Taylor and his Small Boys Unit. The subject matter is very compelling and while this is certainly a worthwhile read, I don't feel its ranking on this site as one of the top 3 or 4 works of fiction of 2005 is justified.
Dara G gave it a10: A disturbing tale of child soldiers that one will not soon forget. I must respectfully disagree with other criticisms of the abbreviated length of the book. Shorter works such as this one and Yasmina Khadra's The Swallows of Kabul demonstrate that it is possible to pen an excellent work that gets to the heart of a subject.
Matthew L gave it a7: Solid writing, but felt it lacked real gravity for the subject matter. Maybe more length would have added to its 'weight.'
Dennis K gave it an8: Great, fresh writing style...too short, if anything.
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