The Weaver's Scar: For Our Rwanda - Softcover

Brian Crawford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898244773 ISBN 13: 9780898244779

Publisher: Royal Fireworks Publishing Company, 2013

Synopsis

The Weaver's Scar is the first young adult novel written in English and for an American audience dealing directly with the Rwandan genocide. It is a story of a Rwandan boy who manages to escape the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis and make it to America. It is a story that is both horrific and inspiring. Faustin is a normal schoolboy growing up and very good at running and soccer. But dark secrets of the past hang over his family, and his father disapproves of his friends and his football games. Things only start to make sense when the teachers at school begin to emphasize the division between the Tutsis and Hutus, a division that even makes its way to the soccer field. As the terrible events of the genocide unfold, Faustin discovers what caused his father’s disability, experiences the cruelty of his schoolteachers, and sees first-hand the horror of neighbor against neighbor. With his family slain, his only chance of survival lies in his running and sheer courage to ou

About this title

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—In the prologue, Faustin Kazubwenge introduces himself as a Lincoln High student who eats French fries, drinks Coke, and goes to movies. "To the parents, friends, and relatives," he notes, "I'm just one of 236 seniors about to get their diplomas. What I'm not is one of the million who died." The story then flashes back to Rwanda in 1993, right before the genocide. Faustin, a young teen, is Tutsi and is thus considered to be an inyenzi (cockroach) by the government-supported Hutu majority. Short chapters, clipped sentences, and nonstop action move the story quickly as he escapes the massacre, flees with an unlikely friend, and eludes the Hutu gangs that are searching for survivors. Crawford paints a vivid picture of both the horrifying events that Faustin survives and his fortuitous rescue and later immigration to America. Kinyarwanda words appear in conversation and are defined in the text. A map, however, would have helped readers follow the journey of the two friends down the Nyabarongo River to safety in Burundi. The dramatic first-person narrative allows readers to experience the story through Faustin's eyes, encouraging empathy and understanding.—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Fireworks Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0898244773
• ISBN 13: 9780898244779
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 189