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Review
This compassionate account of the lives of the working poor makes us care deeply about the characters, both children and adults, because their struggles have a human face. Strikingly, the children are as integral to the success of the blockade as the adults, and no one belittles their support. Ellis portrays adults who truly respect the part that children can play in the world and children who believe that they can make a, difference. This ultimately makes Sacred Leaf a powerful work of fiction for young readers. (Quill & Quire 20071007)
...Ellis brings the events themselves alive...[readers] will be sorry to say goodbye. (Paper Tigers 20071007)
...middle school readers possessing a developing social conscience will recognize that Ellis is really telling a story that has a much greater significance beyond just this one isolated happening. (CM Magazine 20070901)
Ellis sketches believable, well-delineated characters in very few words: in Diego, grief and decency, eagerness to help and desire for affection comingle appealingly...a remarkably compact blend of character and engaging, dramatic events...a good choice for reluctant readers. (Toronto Star 20071107)
Based on historical events in Bolivia's history, this realistic fiction novel contains enough adventure to draw reluctant readers while providing important information that is little know by today's youth. Highly recommended. (Reforma )
It's a dramatic story that manages the nuances... (Kliatt )
...Ellis brings the events themselves alive...[readers] will be sorry to say goodbye. (Paper Tigers 20071007)
...middle school readers possessing a developing social conscience will recognize that Ellis is really telling a story that has a much greater significance beyond just this one isolated happening. (CM Magazine 20070901)
Ellis sketches believable, well-delineated characters in very few words: in Diego, grief and decency, eagerness to help and desire for affection comingle appealingly...a remarkably compact blend of character and engaging, dramatic events...a good choice for reluctant readers. (Toronto Star 20071107)
Based on historical events in Bolivia's history, this realistic fiction novel contains enough adventure to draw reluctant readers while providing important information that is little know by today's youth. Highly recommended. (Reforma )
It's a dramatic story that manages the nuances... (Kliatt )
Book Description
USBBY Oustanding International Books selection
After he finally manages to escape from being a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation, Diego is taken in by the Ricardo family — poor coca farmers who provide a safe haven while he recovers from his ordeal in the jungle. But even that brief respite comes to an end when the army moves in and destroys the family's coca crop — and their livelihood.
Diego eventually joins the cocaleros as they protest the destruction of their crops by barricading the roads, confronting the army head on. As tension between the cocaleros builds to a dramatic standoff, the wonders whether he will ever find a way to return to his family.
(20071101)
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sequel to I Am a Taxi - great book for kids,
By
This review is from: Sacred Leaf (Paperback)
This book is the sequel to I Am a Taxi, and follows the protagonist, Diego, after he leaves the jungle camp where he was "working" for the drug trade. In this book the reader follows Diego as he becomes close to a family who grows Coca leaves, and takes part in a blockade.Just as in I Am a Taxi, I was drawn into the life of 12-year-old Diego, and found this book just as fast-paced as the first. The author has a very good way of making the reader empathize with the protagonist without coming on too strong. I would highly recommend this book for children. I have just recently returned from a (church team) trip to Bolivia, a Socialist country whose people put up blockades on a regular basis every time they want to protest a government action. The blockade in this book is to protest the seizing of the Coca leaf crop, in compliance with an American stipulation of aid to that country. Although it sounds good in principle - we'll give you aid if you eradicate your coca leaf production, which is what fuels the cocaine trade - in fact there is a human side to this, and this is what the book explores. The author takes pains to explain the medicinal uses of the coca leaf, and also the effect on the poor indigenous farmers of removing their livelihood. (As an aside, chewing coca leaves or drinking coca tea is what got my church team through bouts of Montezuma's revenge and altitude sickness, with no narcotic side effects. Coca tea or "Mate de Coca" can be purchased in any supermarket or restaurant in Bolivia.) Never does the author condone the cocaine trade, and the ending is very good proof of this. The book does have a "happy" ending for Diego and hints at a happy ending for his family. Altogether a good read, and an eye-opening one. Since our church has a mission-based relationship with Bolivia, this is a book which, as the church librarian, I'll be recommending to the children of my congregation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging Sequel!,
By jsorak - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sacred Leaf (Paperback)
Diego's journey to secure peace and stability for his loved ones continues as he navigates a new series of circumstances leading to one bittersweet mini-victory after another.
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