Well, I was very impressed with this book. Much more than I thought I would be. I thought it might be hard to understand or relate to or boring. It was neither, it was very easy to understand and most parts were very interesting to read. The author did a good job to get you "hooked" on the characters. You wanted to know where they came from, and he explained that, and where they were going, he did that. It's a very sad story. It was cool to read about a place that is so different from "home". And to learn about what their country, relgion and history is like. It's long, but well worth the time