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Summary
Summary
Set in 1981 Guatemala, a lyrical debut novel tells the powerful tale of a boy who must decide what it means to be a man during a time of war.
Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet -- he's still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist . Mama tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. . . . Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos's abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala's civil war, Caminar is the moving story of a boy who loses nearly everything before discovering who he really is.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Carlos, a young boy living in remote Guatemala, yearns to be a man and defend his village from the soldiers who are seeking Communist rebels. His mother, however, tells him to run to the trees to hide. He's in the jungle when the soldiers return, and he's left alone, full of shame because he did not help his people. Carlos comes across a small band of guerillas, and joins them in their race to warn the people in the village at the top of the mountain. Along the way, he learns valuable lessons about what it means to be a man and that a moment of fear does not keep one from being able to help in the future. The story, told in verse, is inspired by true events, and narrated by Christian Barillas. This is an excellent choice for middle school libraries.-Amanda Rollins, Northwest Village School, Plainville, CT (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Writing in verse, Brown debuts with a tense coming-of-age story set amid the Guatemalan Civil War. Opening in 1981, it follows a timid boy named Carlos as he wrestles with what it means to be a man after his fictional village, Chopan, is visited by government soldiers and, later, by a band of guerillas. Brown uses concrete poetry to excellent effect, skillfully playing with spacing, structure, and repetition. One poem is a jumble of quotations as villagers discuss the passing rebels (" 'We must protect our village.' 'They have guns.' 'Dios mio.' "). In another, Carlos argues with himself as he trudges through the forest after disaster strikes Chopan, his thoughts (" 'Mama told me to run' 'Only boys run' ") appearing on both sides of a column of text that repeats "I walked." Brown offers some historical context in an opening note and a Q&A (a glossary of Spanish words is also included), but the ambiguities and uncertainties within the story itself help align readers with Carlos and his fellow villagers, caught in a conflict they don't understand. Ages 10-up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
"Forest sounds / all around / but on the ground / the sound / of Me / grew. Echoed. / I heard a path I could not see." Exquisitely crafted poems are the basis of an unusually fine verse novel set in 1981, in the middle of the Guatemalan Civil War. When the government helicopters appear over the small village of Chopn, young Carlos obeys his mother when she tells him to go into the forest to hide. When all is quiet, he climbs down from his tree and soon comes across a group of four guerrilla rebel soldiers, lost in the forest. They confirm his greatest fears -- that Chopn was burned to the ground, and that the people there were massacred by the government soldiers. Wracked with survivor's guilt, Carlos begins to walk -- caminar -- on a mission to reach his grandmother's village at the top of the mountain, to warn them about the helicopters. The poems, all written from Carlos's point of view, are emotional, visceral, and lyrical. Layered and varied, some are shape poems; some can be read in more than one way, as if written from two perspectives; and all are accessible to young readers. When Carlos first encounters Paco, the rebel soldier his own age, their meeting is described in a poignant mirror poem. All combine to give us a chillingly memorable portrait of one child surviving violence and loss in a time of war. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The horrors of the Guatemalan civil war are filtered through the eyes of a boy coming of age. Set in Chopn in 1981, this verse novel follows the life of Carlos, old enough to feed the chickens but not old enough to wring their necks as the story opens. Carlos' family and other villagers are introduced in early poems, including Santiago Luc who remembers "a time when there were no soldiers / driving up in jeeps, holding / meetings, making / laws, scattering / bullets into the trees, / hunting guerillas." On an errand for his mother when soldiers attack, Carlos makes a series of decisions that ultimately save his life but leave him doubting his manliness and bravery. An epilogue of sorts helps tie the main narrative to the present, and the book ends on a hopeful note. In her debut, Brown has chosen an excellent form for exploring the violence and loss of war, but at times, stylistic decisions (most notably attempts at concrete poetry) appear to trump content. While some of the individual poems may be difficult for readers to follow and the frequent references to traditional masculinity may strike some as patriarchal, the use of Spanish is thoughtful, as are references to local flora and fauna. The overall effect is a moving introduction to a subject seldom covered in fiction for youth. A promising debut. (glossary, author QA) (Verse/historical fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The Guatemalan Civil War is powerfully fictionalized through the eyes of a young boy on the verge of becoming a man in this debut novel. Carlos wants to defend his village from the Communist rebels the group that government soldiers warn everyone away from but his mother tells him now is not the time. But when the village is then overrun by those same soldiers, Carlos escapes and is the only one who can run to the top of the mountain to warn his grandmother's village about what is coming. The horrors of war force the boy to grow up quickly and discern who exactly is to be trusted. Basing her story on true events, Brown infuses the novel with facts that will teach readers plenty about this piece of history. Written in verse, the book takes advantage of a variety of formats and styles. This is a welcome way to increase the diversity of any collection while providing a glimpse into a period of history unknown to most American kids. A glossary of Spanish words is included.--Thompson, Sarah Bean Copyright 2014 Booklist