by Sandra Uwiringiyimana, Abigail Pesta
Katherine Tegen Books, 2017. 304 pages. Young Adult Nonfiction
Sandra Uwiringyimana's biography opens with the moving retelling of a massacre at a refugee camp where her family was staying when she was ten years old. She goes on to tell about her life as a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, playing with her siblings and exploring her neighborhood, then of the growing tension and troubles facing her people and their eventual flight, including their fear and uncertainty after the massacre in the refugee camp. When her family is accepted as refugees to the United States, what seems like a promising new start instead turns into an ordeal of culture shock and racism. Sandra sees the racism in the United States through an outsider's eyes, lending a fresh perspective to a pervasive problem. As she grows older, she becomes involved in activism and works to transform her life and rise up and become a voice of her people and others with similar struggles.
Uwiringyimana's biography is a stunning story and I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a new perspective or a story of rising above adversity. So much of her tale dealt with grief, and anyone who has personally experienced it will find echoes of their own pain in her words. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Uwiringyimana, who does a fantastic job and has a lovely voice. This is also a great pick fans of I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.
BHG
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