Customer Reviews

Boy Kills Man

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I read this book aloud to my middle school students and we were all so hooked we couldn't stop reading. What an engaging, realistic story.

Sonny, aka Shorty, hasn't been in a classroom in years, and he spends his days doing odd jobs on the dangerous streets of Medellín, Colombia, South America. He and his best friend Alberto have a regular gig running cigarettes for a convenience-store owner, and in this line of work Alberto meets El Fantasma, a soft-spoken crime leader with a reputation for being merciless.

Soon after Alberto starts spending time away from Sonny, he shows up with a gun and fifty American dollars. Sonny knows Alberto is involved with something illegal, but rather than try to stop Alberto, he's intrigued with his friend's new secrecy and possessions. After all, the criminals in Medellín have better lives than everyone else. They have money and power and they know they're in control. Sonny, following Alberto's lead, convinces El Fantasma to take him on as an employee, specifically an assassin. What he doesn't know is that El Fantasma sees him as nothing more than a disposable object.

Don't be fooled by the title and setting of this book. Even though Sonny lives in poverty, abuse and violence, he is not a violent or evil person. In fact, he cares greatly for his friends and takes the assassin job because he believes it will help him support his mother. Matt Whyman doesn't beat the reader over the head with morality and lessons, either. Instead, he lets Sonny, a basically good kid who does the wrong thing for what he believes is the right reason, speak for himself.

BOY KILLS MAN is inspired by the true story of child assassins in Colombia.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber