Alive in the Killing Fields

October 1, 2009
Gr 6 Up-At age nine, Keat was rousted from his bed by Khmer Rouge soldiers. After savagely murdering most of his family, they shot him three times and left him for dead. Miraculously, he survived, only to spend the next few years fighting for his life and running from the Khmer Rouge along with his remaining family members. Eventually, he and his siblings made their way to a refugee camp where his older sister bought his freedom. In this memoir, written with the assistance of his college professor, Keat paints a poignant portrait of life as a child in Cambodia in the 1970s. His skills, cunning, and sheer will to survive enabled him to endure devastating occurrences and difficult living conditions. The story is not for the faint of heart, as suffering torture at the hands of soldiers, subsisting solely off of rice chaff, and being forced to sleep among human remains are only some of the atrocities he suffered. Keat's story is compelling and concise, and readers will find themselves invested in his eventual escape."Kelly McGorray, Glenbard South High School, Glen Ellyn, IL"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Grades 7-12 Just nine years old in 1973 when the Khmer Rouge raided his Cambodian village, Nawuth survived the massacre, but he saw his family shot and murdered. Forced to slave in the rice fields, he saw daily killings and torture, though more people died from starvation than from bullets. He finally escaped with what was left of his family and journeyed through the jungle, making it across the border to a crowded U.N. refugee camp in Thailand. Sponsored by a U.S. family, he ended up in San Jose, California, and years later, he told his story to his city-college teacher, Kendall. She wrote down his terse first-person narrative, as he remembered endless work, endless hunger, and endless fear. The teens viewpoint will draw YA readers into the history. An important title to add to the Holocaust curriculum, this will also partner well with Mark Bixlers The Lost Boys of Sudan (2005).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)