John and Martha, in alternating narratives, give a stunning account of their separate journeys as they fled civil war in Sudan. Witnesses to mass murders and starvation, and wrenching family separations, the two meet after years in various refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Af- terword, Timeline, Color Photographs.

The main characters in this book are John (the Lost Boy) and Martha (the Lost Girl). This story takes place in Sudan, Africa. This story is about civil war raging in John and Martha's country, and now they need to flee. The issue in the story is Martha and her sister are trying to flee to America to have a better life. The resolution to the story includes Martha starting a family, starting a education, and regrouping with family members. Also Martha and John wanted to build foundations so that other Lost Girls and Lost Boys could get to America and start a better life.
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If could rename this book I would name it "The Beginning and The End". I think I would like to see the main characters in real life and ask them some questions like: "Was war still raging in Sudan after you got to America?" or "How much money did you get from all those donations?". I think the ending was great because it talked about how people gave donations to Martha and John. I think this would be a great TV show and movie, but it wouldn't be a good video game because this book is based on a true story and I don't know why somebody would make a video game about this. I could ask the author anything I would ask: "Did you like publishing this book?".

Excellent account of surviving genocide in Sudan. ( )

Imagine losing your entire family, your home, and everything you own, as you are forced to walk for hundreds of miles in search of safe haven. This is the experience of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls of the Sudan told in the voices of John Bul Dau and Martha Arual Akech. In 1983, both of them lived in southern Sudan: 13-year-old John in the country, and 6-year-old Martha in the city. Though they came from different clans, their large families were all part of the Dinka tribe. The nation of Sudan erupted into civil war, splitting north and south. The northern troops invaded, killing people, burning buildings and crops, and destroying everything in their way. John's village was burned one night, and he thought his family was dead. He escaped into the darkness with a neighbor, and they joined a ragtag group headed for the Ethiopian border... five hundred miles away. They were walking, and most were barefoot. Meanwhile, Martha and her three-year-old sister Tabitha escaped a similar attack, saved by their father's cousin. They also thought the rest of their family had been killed. The girls faced the same walk to the refugee camp at the Ethiopian border, without much food or clean water, and with constant fear of being attacked by soldiers, lions, or crocodiles when they got water from the rivers. When they arrived at Pinyudu, the refugee camp, there were thousands of homeless Sudanese, all dependent upon deliveries of food from the United Nations twice a month to survive. The groups were evacuated to a second camp in Kenya, where schools were organized, and John met Martha. They were among the Lost Boys and Lost Girls who were allowed to emigrate to America, and John's story was the focus of the award-winning documentary film, God Grew Tired of Us. Told in both voices, they share the courage, strength, and tribal loyalty they experienced through unimaginable horrors. Less violent and graphic than Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone, Lost Boy, Lost Girl makes the devastating effects of war abundantly clear, without losing the hope of the human spirit. 7th grade and up. ( )