Title: A Girl Named Disaster
Author: Nancy Farmer
Major Themes: Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Survival
Synopsis: In order to escape a forced marriage she doesn’t want, a young girl flees to another country, trying to find her father.
Once a year, Sonlight Curriculum has a clearance sale of books they need to move on, and I often buy a number of books, since I have long since learned that their recommendations almost always turn out to be good. One that I bought two or three years ago was A Girl Named Disaster, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading it until last week. I had added it to the selections my boys could choose from for daily reading, but I thought I should probably find out what it is like! I’m glad I did.
Publisher’s description:
Eleven-year-old Nhamo lives in a traditional village in Mozambique, where she doesn’t quite fit in. When her family tries to force her into marrying a cruel man, she runs away to Zimbabwe, hoping to find the father she’s never met. But what should have been a short boat trip across the border turns into a dangerous year-long adventure, and Nhamo must summon her innermost courage to ensure her survival.
My thoughts:
I came away from A Girl Named Disaster with mixed feelings. I really like the storyline, and seeing how Nhamo managed to survive despite one accident after another. However, the large amount of traditional African spiritism that shows up over and over, all the way through the book, left me uneasy. Several times, either Nhamo or someone else would make sacrifices to the spirits, and she often told stories that included a magical element. At one point, she was friends with a group of people who belonged to a religion that combined Christianity with spiritism, and in one scene, they performed an exorcism in which some very strange things happened. Another thing I objected to, in a book for children, was the open talk about menstruation. So, while I really like the glimpse into African life and the African bush, I decided I won’t be keeping this book. It just doesn’t quite fit with our standards for books.
WARNING: Chapter 4: A girl menstruates for the first time, and becomes a woman. Chapter 5: Sending messages to far-off people by scattering ashes in the air, killing twins. Chapter 6: Man killed his son to gain power from the spirits. Chapter 7: Mention of girl’s menstruation, charms against witchcraft. Chapter 9: Woman possessed with spirits. Chapter 11: Talk of ghosts, girl’s menstruation. Chapter 18: Spirit woman with breasts so long she could wrap them around herself; she appears multiple times in the rest of the book. Chapter 19: Appeasing the spirit of a dead man. Chapter 36: Blerry (swear word explained in a footnote), girl thought a spirit was telling her to kill animals and people. Chapter 37: People conduct an exorcism. Chapter 41: A dead man’s spirit communicates with people. Chapter 42: Three ghosts appear and talk to a girl. Throughout most of the book: The girl talks with her dead mother, a dead boatman, and interacts with spirits who live under the lake.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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