AK
Peter Dickinson
Macmillan Children's Books
231p pbk
ISBN: 0-330-48204-1
AK is a book about a boy named Paul Kagomi who is about 13 years of age. He cant remember his past. All he knows of is war. He was found stealing Michaels food one morning. Michael is the leader of a guerrilla warfare group in an uncharted area of Africa, Nagala. Michael becomes Pauls uncle and teaches him his language. During an ambush to capture military supplies the commando hears that the war is over and Michaels friend has become ruler of Nagala. Paul then gets sent off to a school. Then a couple of days later Michael comes and talks with Paul and ships him to an even better school. After weeks at that school with one of the children from his commando Paul gets to go visit Michael in Dangoum where he learns the corruption of the land. Then while visiting a friend on the flats, the school gets burned down and many get shot.
The genre of this book would be a mix between war and survival. I would think it is a book for a Year 8 standard with bits of violence through it. It has a great story line. It has little to no swearing, the text size is fairly big and it is a type of book you would read alone. I would recommend this book to most because it has great reality put into it, so all in all it is worth a read and you should like it.
Russell, aged 13, Canberra, ACT
