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Girl Named Disaster
  
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Girl Named Disaster [Paperback]

Nancy Farmer (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)


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Kindle Edition $6.64  
Hardcover $15.56  
Paperback $6.99  
Paperback, 1996 --  
Audio, Cassette, Audiobook $75.00  


Product Details

  • Paperback
  • Publisher: ORCHARD BOOKS @ (1996)
  • ASIN: B000Q9L04A
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,051,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Farmer has written three Newbery Honor Books: The Ear the Eye and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The House of the Scorpion, which, in 2002, also won the National Book Award. Other books include Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, the Trolls trilogy and three picture books for young children. She grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and lives with her family in Arizona.

 

Customer Reviews

103 Reviews
5 star:
 (57)
4 star:
 (23)
3 star:
 (10)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (8)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (103 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book Ever!, December 10, 1999
By 
Mandy (Osawatomie, Kansas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Girl Named Disaster (Paperback)
The name of my favorite book is "A Girl Named Disaster." I thought that this book should receive a five star rating because it was so dramatic, dangerous, and also very sad. I thought this book is an all-around good book and I wish I had a copy of it. There were very few things I disliked about this book. However, it was very emotional, there were parts I didn't understand, but other than that it was a very good and detailed book. A young girl named Nhamo's, mother was killed when Nhamo was a baby by a leopard and her father had killed someone and left Nhamo with her aunts, Aunt Chipo and Aunt Shuvai. A disease starts to kill people in her village so they go to this man her cousin is supposed to gett married to and he told them that Nhamo was the cause and that she was a witch.When they got back to their village the wedding was a few days later and her Grandmother helped her escape in Crocidile Guts boat. Nhamo meets a lot of animals on her journey but the rest you have to read for yourself. I think people with an average reading level should read this because it is hard to understand and has hard words in it, but other than that I think anyone that likes dangerous, and action filled books should read this great book.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully misnamed heroine, March 27, 2005
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Girl Named Disaster (Paperback)
The middle of Farmer's three Newbery Honor books of the last decade, this is different, being historical fiction adventure to the other two's science fiction. Like The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm, this takes place in Africa, giving it an exotic touch. Nhamo (Disaster in her native Shona language) is an orphan of sorts, with a deceased mother and absent father, living traditionally in a tribal village in southern Africa. Through circumstances beyond her own making, she is put in a position of fleeing her home, a not uncommon Newbery theme (see Crispin The Cross of Lead) For this reader, she partakes in the adventure of a strong, bright, observant, resourceful girl/young woman reminding me of Miyax (Julie of the Wolves), Omakayas (The Birchbark House) and Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphins), high company, indeed. Nhamo leads a fascinating life, both in the village and after leaving it, including spending significant amounts of time fending for herself. This is thoroughly enjoyable on many counts, the intriguing cultures, countrysides, and relationships, some touches of spiritualism, the ideas of how to maintain oneself emotionally and physically when isolated, the ideas of perseverance in the face of what appear to be insurmountable obstacles, and flexibility and teaching oneself what's necessary when it's necessary. Well suited for secondary grades, a very strong reading fifth or sixth grader could enjoy it, too.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Girl Named Disaster, March 1, 2006
A Kid's Review
This review is from: A Girl Named Disaster (Paperback)
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer, Puffin Publishing co.

"The journey will be the hardest thing you'll ever do, but it will be worth it", her grandmother said. When a Shona girl named Nhamo is forced into an arranged marriage to save her village in Southern Africa, her grandmother thinks the opposite. Grandmother tells her to runaway from Mozambique to Zimbabwe, to find her father and be safe. After going countless days all alone on a lake she comes across an inhabited island with baboons. After resting , she finds Zimbabwe and a few other friends. A scary part in the book is when Nhamo gets possessed by a witch. That is part of the rising action and leads to the conclusion.

Nhamo and Ambuya (Nhamo's grandmother), Mastiva and Nhamo mother are the main characters in this book. To describe Nhamo, she was quiet and obedient. She got bossed around by her aunt and other women in the village. Most of the work around the village was done by Nhamo with rarely any help. She liked hiding away and not being found when her aunt sent her to get wood. As Nhamo goes on to Zimbabwe, she gains muscle and becomes brave. Ambuya is a strong, wise village elder. Nhamo is one of Ambuya's favorites. Ambuya enjoys telling folk tales and is good at giving advice. Mastiva is Nhamo's cousin and gets to sit all day and do nothing while Nhamo has to do all the work. The reason why Mastiva doesn't have to do work is because Mastiva's mother holds a grudge at Nhamo's Mother who is dead. Nhamo is important to this story because she's the strongest. She is the main character because she goes through the most and learns very quickly.

Yes, I would recommend this book to girls age 12-16, because I learned a lot from it. It made me think about what I would do in Nhamo' situation. I liked the adventure in it because I was never sure what will happen next. If you read this book, you'll learn a lot about Shona culture and many of its words. You'll love this fiction book because it has many unexpected, funny and scary moments throughout Nhamo's voyage. I rate this book 5 stars!
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