Author(s): Skila Brown

Middle Fiction 8-12-year-olds

Set in 1981 Guatemala, a lyrical debut novel tells the powerful tale of a boy who must decide what it means to be a man during a time of war.
Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mam tells him not yet-he's still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist. Mam tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. . . . Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos s abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala s civil war, Caminar is the moving story of a boy who loses nearly everything before discovering who he really is.
Debut author with a fresh and powerful voice.
Based on true events, Caminar is a moving story about the will to survive in a time when all seems lost.
Carlos's life-or-death journey up the mountain will have readers anxiously turning the page, all leading to the book's terrifying yet hopeful conclusion.