Keely Hutton

I want life. For ten years, Achut Deng surrived at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya after her family was ripped apart by the Second Sudanese Civil War. But Achut wanted to do more than merely survive. She wanted to live. The twenty-two-year civil war essentially orphaned over 20,000 children and drove them from their villages in southern Sudan. Some of these children walked over a thousand miles, through dangerous war zones and across unforgiving deserts. They are often referred to as The Lost Boys. But there were girls, too. Achut Deng was one of them. This is her story. It’s a story of unimaginable hardship and selfless bravery, of tormenting physical pain and amazing emotional resilience, of unbreakable bonds of friendship and family. It’s a story about what happens when your dream comes true, only to give way to a new nightmare. It’s about how hard you will fight to save your own life.

Over a quarter million underage British boys fought on the Allied front lines of the Great War, but not all of them fought on the battlefield--some fought beneath it, as revealed in this middle-grade historical adventure about a deadly underground mission. Secret Soldiers follows the journey of Thomas, a thirteen-year-old coal miner, who lies about his age to join the Claykickers, a specialized crew of soldiers known as "tunnelers," in hopes of finding his missing older brother. Thomas works in the tunnels of the Western Front alongside three other soldier boys whose constant bickering and inexperience in mining may prove more lethal than the enemy digging toward them. But as they burrow deeper beneath the battlefield, the boys discover the men they hope to become and forge a bond of brotherhood. Secret Soldiers is another stunning story of strength, perseverance, and love from Keely Hutton. This title has common core connections.

I want life. For ten years, Achut Deng surrived at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya after her family was ripped apart by the Second Sudanese Civil War. But Achut wanted to do more than merely survive. She wanted to live. The twenty-two-year civil war essentially orphaned over 20,000 children and drove them from their villages in southern Sudan. Some of these children walked over a thousand miles, through dangerous war zones and across unforgiving deserts. They are often referred to as The Lost Boys. But there were girls, too. Achut Deng was one of them. This is her story. It’s a story of unimaginable hardship and selfless bravery, of tormenting physical pain and amazing emotional resilience, of unbreakable bonds of friendship and family. It’s a story about what happens when your dream comes true, only to give way to a new nightmare. It’s about how hard you will fight to save your own life.

A searing, shocking book--part non-fiction, part novel--based on the true story of a child soldier in Uganda who survived war and enslavement and went on to create a haven for others who suffered a similar fate. Soldier Boy begins with the story of Ricky Richard Anywar, abducted at age fourteen in 1989 to fight with Joseph Kony's rebel army in Uganda's decades-long civil war. Ricky is trained, armed, and forced to fight government soldiers alongside his brutal kidnappers, but never stops dreaming of escape. The story continues twenty years later, with a fictionalized character named Samuel, representative of the thousands of child soldiers Ricky eventually helped rehabilitate as founder of the internationally acclaimed charity Friends of Orphans. Working closely with Ricky himself, debut author Keely Hutton has written an eye-opening book about a boy's unbreakable spirit and indomitable courage. Beginning in Africa amidst the horrors of civil war, his is a story that is as uplifting as it is heartwrenching. Praise for Solider Boy: "Unapologetically searing and catastrophically truthful, a reminder to readers that it demands much to meet harsh realities with impossible courage." --Kirkus Reviews "In this brutal debut novel inspired by real-life events, Hutton addresses the horrors of the Ugandan civil war through two child soldiers. Hutton approaches the setting, conflict, and characters with unremitting honesty, drawing from Anywar's own life (he contributes an afterword) while using the fictional Samuel as a stand-in for the current generation of unwilling soldiers. This isn't an easy or pleasant read--Hutton doesn't shy from discussions of rape, torture, and abuse--but it's eye-opening and relevant." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "A visceral indictment of man's inhumanity to man, while also celebrating human beings' ability to empathize and to rescue those who desperately need saving." --Booklist, starred review "A compelling tale . . . with a message of hope . . . A must-purchase for teen collections." --School Library Journal, starred review "Hutton's debut novel seamlessly blends the biographical account of Anywar's experiences with the fictional story of Samuel . . . Anywar will inspire a multitude of readers with his phenomenal ability to make peace with his past and his desire to help others like him . . . A must-have for every library with a teen collection." --VOYA "A story that stands up for the unrelenting power of the human spirit to reject evil, the nigh-impossible odds that must be conquered to escape enslavement, and the deep scars that remain for a lifetime . . . Unapologetically searing and catastrophically truthful." --Kirkus Reviews "Over the years I have read many novels and memoirs about children and warfare in modern Africa, but Soldier Boy stands out as one of the very best. Based on actual historical events, this compelling novel is a story of great violence and pain, but it is also one of tremendous strength, courage, and resilience. I will definitely be assigning it to my students for many years to come." --Alicia Catharine Decker, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, author of In Idi Amin's Shadow: Women, Gender, and Militarism in Uganda