Coates, Jan

Jacob Akech Deng's young life is forever changed one night in 1987 when soldiers from the north invade his small village in Southern Sudan and, as he struggles to survive and escape the cycle of violence, he tries to remember his mother and her belief in the importance of education.

"Katie was four when her mother gave her up. Katie is a bright girl on the high end of the autism spectrum. The only memories she has are in her 'Stack of Stories' notebook. When Katie spends the summer in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia with her foster mother, the connection she feels to this historic town makes Katie determined to find out about her past. Befriending locals like Aggie, an older woman, who shares a series of letters sent by a young girl who arrived in Lunenburg in 1752, and Aggie's sister, a reclusive eccentric who lives in the woods, help Katie to find clues to her own past. She can't help feeling that she has found her true roots"--Provided by publisher.

"Thirteen-year-old Bob has a lot of challenges to face: the school bully, the feeling that he would be better off invisible, and above all, the reality that his father is suffering from inoperable brain cancer. But Bob's keen desire to play basketball--and help his father--transforms his life"--Title page verso.

Follows the journey of seven-year-old Jacob Deng as he flees to Ethiopia when his village in Southern Sudan is attacked by northern militia. After living in refugee camps for several years, Jacob attempts to enter school in Nairobi in order to fulfill his mother's wishes.