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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everyday bamboo people, August 18, 2010
This review is from: Bamboo People (Hardcover)
There is a perception that many children acquire over the course of their education that learning and fun are mutually exclusive ideas. If a book has so much as a smidgen of a fact in it then it's no good to you, right? Fortunately, there are thousands of different kinds of child readers. Some like fantasy. Some like science fiction. Some go in for historical novels. And some like to be taken out of their humdrum lives and given a chance to see how the world works from a different perspective. They may even (gasp, shudder, shudder, gasp) enjoy reading realistic contemporary fiction. Enter "Bamboo People" by Mitali Perkins. I know we've enough books out there to say that this probably isn't the first book on Burmese child soldiers we've seen. It may well be the best, though. Splitting her book between two boys on opposite sides of a war they do not want, Perkins deftly drops us head first into a world we do not know and makes it accessible, understandable, and interesting. In a time when every other novel for kids is just a reiteration of an idea we've seen done a hundred ways before, here we have at least one book that knows that being important and being enjoyable are simply opposite sides of the same coin.
Chiko's life is spent mostly indoors, and it's driving him insane. Ever since his father was arrested and taken by the Burmese armies the boy has been forced to hide in his home. His mother's fear? That he'll be snatched away and forced to serve in the army like other boys his age. But when a risk taken to apply for a teaching position leads instead to his capture, Chiko is forced into the impossible position of aiding his government as a soldier. And though he makes a clever alliance with the smart street urchin Tai, it may only be a matter of time before Chiko is destroyed utterly by his service. Meanwhile, an opposite story is playing out in a Karenni community. Tu Reh is ready to fight for his people against the Burmese oppressors, but his very commitment to his cause is put to the test when he saves a wounded Burmese soldier. That's soldier's name? Chiko. And suddenly two worlds come together, causing both boys to question their lives and assumptions. An author's note and afterword give more information about Burma and what readers can do to improve the situation there.
The problem with a book of this sort is that as an author Ms. Perkins has to deliberately place her heroes in constant danger while at the same time keep the plot just upbeat enough that you're not crushed by despair. So it is that during their time training as soldiers, Chiko and Tai must constantly find ways to outwit their oppressors without going so far as to draw the worst of their ire. You are consistently made aware that at any moment something truly terrible could happen to the boys. At the same time, there's that strange flicker of hope that maybe they'll find a way out of their predicament. It keeps them going. It keeps you going too.
It's interesting then that Ms. Perkins switches the narrative focus halfway through the book. Up until this point you've been wholly enmeshed in Chiko's story. He is your friend on this journey, and to suddenly switch at this point feels harsh. You understand Tu Reh, of course. And as the story continues you may even grow to like him. But I believe that you never feel quite as close to Tu Reh as you feel to Chiko or even Tai. To be fair, Tu Reh is in a much tougher position. Unlike the two Burmese boys he's surrounded by people who care about him (for the most part) and his enemy is clear cut. They, in contrast, are surrounded by people seemingly on their own side who wish them harm. It's no surprise that the Epilogue belongs to Chiko then. He's the one you want to get the last word. Tu Reh's narrative is necessary, but Chiko's is the one you hang your heart on.
As a child I was a fantasy reader. I deliberately avoided any books with realistic tendencies, particularly if I suspected they might be what I dubbed "depressing". So there would be no reading of " Bridge to Terabithia" or " Julie of the Wolves" or any of that for me. It's funny to be a children's librarian now and to realize that while there are plenty of kids out there who share my tendencies, there are plenty more that are looking for something exactly like "Bamboo People". Exciting, tense, often beautiful, and containing a moral without whapping you upside the head with it, Mitali Perkins yet again hits it out of the park. Even the fantasy fans like I was are going to find this an exciting ride. A book that continually keeps you guessing.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolutely amazing book, August 7, 2010
This review is from: Bamboo People (Hardcover)
Things are dangerous in Burma. When Chiko's father was taken away to prison, he asked Chiko to take care of his mother. So far, Chiko doesn't feel like he's doing a very good job, since he and his mom don't have enough money to pay the rent, eat well or send to support his dad. When Chiko sees an ad for teachers, he's anxious to go apply, since he can read and write in both English and Burmese. If he can get the job, things will improve for him and his mother. When he goes to apply for the job, he discovers that it's a trick and he and all the other "applicants" are rounded up and forced to become boy soldiers. Chiko and a young street boy become unlikely allies.
Tu Reh is a young Karenni boy. Burmese soldiers have forced him and his family out of their home and into a refugee camp across the Thai border. Tu Reh and his best friend, Sa Reh are consumed with anger and they're anxious to exact revenge. Tu Reh's father is a well regarded and peaceful man - when he selects Tu Reh to accompany him on the camp's latest mission, Tu Reh is ecstatic.
Chiko's and Tu Reh's lives intersect at a violent and surprising moment, changing them and their families forever.
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins is an absolutely amazing book! I'm not sure I'll be able to adequately express just how much I loved it and how important I think it is. It's impossible to read this book and not be affected. I felt a range of emotions from anger and sadness to joy and hope. Chiko and Tu Reh are such different characters but I became attached to both of them and rooted for them along the way, especially when their lives came together in such a violent and unexpected way. This book really made me think about the fact that it can be easy to be taught to hate a group of people, but it's much more difficult to hate an individual. It made me think about the way power and greed can corrupt people and ruin the lives of so many. It made me wonder how we can let things like this go on in our world and what can be done about it.
Don't let the YA label of this book fool you. There is much in Bamboo People for adults, as well as children. I learned so much as I read it, and also want to know more now. (I admit to knowing very little about Burma before I read this book.) Mitali Perkins includes several notes in the back of the book and tells readers that in 1989, the military government of Burma changed it's name to the Union of Myanmar, however, the US, the UK and Canada as well as other nations refused to recognize the new name. Not all that long ago, Burma had one of the highest literacy rates in Southeast Asia, but things have been declining there for years. Now, the country is poor with the second worst health system in the world. Burma has the largest number of child soldiers in the world and these young soldiers are taught to hate ethnic minorities . To learn more about Burma and to find discussion questions for the book, visit [...]
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Story, October 7, 2010
This review is from: Bamboo People (Hardcover)
Set in current day Burma, a country the size of Texas. It shares borders with India, China, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand. The Karenni state is on the Thai, Burma border. The Karenni people are being pushed out and killed by the Burmese. Burma has been cited for having the highest number of child soldiers in the world. I learned all of this after reading Bamboo People.
Bamboo People is the kind of fiction that will make one want to seek out the facts. Perkin's has written an eye opening novel for those unfamiliar with what's going on in Burma. The author manages is to educate, while never once forgetting she's telling a story. For many authors this could have easily turned into a story filled with flat characters, relying heavily on facts . But not Perkins, she's a gifted story teller, that comes across on every page.
15 yr old Chiko, is tricked and forced to serve in the Burmese military. Before, Chiko is taken he was living with his mother. His father, a doctor was imprisoned for going against the government. Thanks to his father, Chiko is a smart, well read and independent thinker. He doesn't want to go to war, he wants to teach. Though he must quickly learned to adapt, to survive and make it home.
The captain, the man in charge of kidnapping the young Burmese boys has it in for Chiko. Calling him the teacher with venom. Tai, a young boy from the street quickly attaches himself to Chiko. At first glance Chiko underestimates this boy from the streets, though he quickly learns Tai is smart with a good heart. The first half of Bamboo People is Chiko story. The boy soldiers are of two groups, those who believe in the captain, willingly calling him father and those who don't. Chiko and Tai are in the latter. Perkins is great at the slow build. I easily lost myself in the author's words and Chiko's world. Though I didn't want Chiko's story to end it was still a very smooth transtion to Tu Reh story.
Tu Reh a young Karenni boy watched Burmese soliders burn down his home. Tu Reh longs to pick up a gun and go to war. Finally Tu Reh father invites him on mission to get food and supplies to their people. Tu Reh is forced to decide Chiko's fate when they first meet.
I know this novel is about Chiko and Tu Reh but Tai was my favorite character. There was just something about Tai, that I loved.
And I got to love an author that creates great three dimensional main characters yet still manages to have secondary characters that capture and hold me. Bamboo People is a wonderful novel. Great for readers of any age. 12 up.
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