I received my copy of this book in the mail about a week ago (I won it through a Goodreads giveaway). My book-lovers' club was generating a list of good books from or about the Latin American region, and while I didn't start this book till after our list was already posted, I figured I ought to read it and mention it on our club's facebook page.
Orphans of War is about a young woman, Rosario, who is adopted by an American couple after she is orphaned. She was born in Guatemala, and her mother vanished along with their entire village during civil war violence, and Rosario wants to know what happened to her mother. Her blundering about trying to find answers proves deadly to some of the people who help her, and I was a bit annoyed at how casual she is about having gotten people killed, but at least she is not too stubborn to let professionals help once a few people she's talked to have died. Rosario bugged me just in general, not because she was not realistically portrayed, but just because I disliked her. Still, the story is interesting and provides a perspective on the pathways to justice after a bloody, chaotic, probably pointless civil war. ( )

After Rosario is adopted by an American couple at the age of 8, she returns to Guatemala, her place of birth, 15 years later to find out what happened the night her mother disappeared. The whole village vanished that fateful night, but no one seems to 'remember' anything about the incident.
With the help of Sister Alex, Rosario returns with two missions - to teach the children of the village and to find out who was behind the massacre of the innocent families.

In her quest she meets the village doctor who wants to help, gets a couple people killed and finally helps to get enough information to bring the guilty party to justice. With a few surprises along the way, this short novel will be a quick read. ( )