Broken Memory

IRA Notable Books for a Global Society selection

Hiding behind an armchair, five-year-old Emma does not witness the murder of her mother, but she hears everything. And when the assassins finally leave, the young Tutsi girl somehow manages to stumble away from the scene, motivated only by the memory of her mother's last words: "You must not die, Emma!"

Eventually Emma is taken in by an old Hutu woman who risks her own life to hide the child. Emma stays with the old woman and a quiet bond forms between the two, but long after the war ends, the young girl is still haunted by nightmares.

When the country establishes courts to allow victims to face their tormenters in their villages, Emma is uneasy and afraid. But through her growing friendship with a young torture victim and the gentle encouragement of an old man charged with helping child survivors, Emma finds the courage to return to the house where her mother was killed and begin the journey to healing.

Author: Elisabeth Combres
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Published: 10/01/2009
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 7.30h x 5.00w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780888998934

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.9
Point Value: 2
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 134414 / Broken Memory: A Novel of Rwanda

Award: Tayshas Reading - Commended

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 09/01/2009 pg. 80
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2010 pg. 92 - Recommended, Satisfactory