Reminiscent of [b:All the Broken Pieces|4296443|All the Broken Pieces|Ann E. Burg|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328838681s/4296443.jpg|4344030] and other novels in verse about children experiencing incredibly difficult circumstances (also [b:Never Fall Down|12924297|Never Fall Down|Patricia McCormick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330649356s/12924297.jpg|18079742], which isn't in verse but I thought of it as I was reading this). The history of Guatemala was somewhat known to me, but a first-person account of a tragedy such as this makes it visceral. I felt strongly for Carlos, his mother and his village. The poetry used not only words but shapes and spaces to convey meaning. ( )

middlegrade fiction in verse (war/Guatemala 1981). I would've liked this better if I could force myself to slow down, pace out each poem, but I generally don't care for poems and skim over them. These I could tell were well-written (compared to other novels written in verse) and I got a good sense of Carlos' feelings, and all that was going on around him. ( )

This is a story that looks like a poem. If you are a person who doesn't read poems--don't worry--It is really a story.
The author just uses the pattern of the words on the page
.....to give our mind the space to see the pictures,
.....to give our hearts room to feel.
You may find a page that you can't tell what order to read the words in, then you find that they make sense in both directions and the ideas in your mind expand.
This is a story of survival, but in order for there to be even a concept of survival there first has to be the danger that is moved through.

It would be a good book to read with children old enough to be aware of the wider world-- it is told from the point of view of a boy, too young to be conscripted, living in a Guatemalan mountain village in 1981. In it, he discovers what his path in life will be.
I am doing my best to encourage you to read this as there are still, in this time, helicopters raining death on villages and families who are just trying to live their lives in harmony.
There is a glossary at the end to define the occasional Spanish word used. ( )

In my opinion this is a great book. First, I liked the style. Caminar is a poetic historical fiction book that took place in the 1980’s during the war in Guatemala. Carlos is a young village boy who enjoys playing like other children his age, but as war is nearing his village, he wonders about the army. His mother doesn’t want him to join any side, but instead she tells him to run, hide, go to his grandmother’s village and then look for her. Carlos obeys his mother but doubts his decision. The way the words are organized, are written in ways where the words speak to you. For example,
“the thuds
Stopped
The hisses
Gone
The sound of blades
Faded
I blinked my eyes
Looked around
Smoke thick
Trees thick
I saw
No one”
The spaces in between give enough time for the words to be processed and one can imagine and feel exactly what was happening. Second, I liked the theme. I’ve read many books that have strong Hispanic origins, but never had I read a book about a war from a Hispanic country. Not many people are aware of the different wars from other countries. The main purpose of this book was to shine light on to the people from Guatemala who survived the war in the 1980’s. Many people died, but their voices and stories still linger. ( )

This story takes place in 1981 in Guatemala, during the time of their civil war. The story revolves around a boy named Carlos and he has decide when its time for him to grow up and become a man. So he can defend his village from the soldiers that frequently come there, but his mother tells him that she does not want him to for he is still her little boy. The book is a good read and can be graphic at times. ( )