Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- How do Ishmael's memories bring him comfort him in difficult times?
- Why are our links to family and community so important? How does Ishmael learn this as he's growing up as part of the war?
- How does Ishmael find makeshift families after he loses his own?
- How would Ishmael's experiences in the war have been different if he was a girl?
- Why does Ishmael go from being an observer of violence to a perpetrator of it?
- How are drugs used as a means of control for the child soldiers in the army?
- Do you think Ishmael ever really accepts Esther's assertion that the things he did during the war weren't his fault?
- How does coming to the United State change Ishmael's life? Why do you think he finally decides to settle here?
- Recruiting of child soldiers is a huge problem throughout the world. Why would armies want children as young as seven years old to fight in their wars?
- Some folks have made claims that Ishmael's memoir is exaggerated in places. What do you think?
- How does Ishmael's writing style support his story?