By: Allan Stratton
Chanda has been surrounded by AIDS all of her life. Living in Africa where over 53 million people have AIDS, it is present everywhere. But the attitude of her community is if it is not talked about, it doesn’t exist. So when her mother shows signs of AIDS and her father leaves for good, Chanda is left alone to take care of her mother. But with no one to help her, it is growing increasingly hard. And when it is discovered that Chanda’s best friend was forced into prostitution, things go from bad to worse.
Isolated from her community, Chanda is completely alone. Then one day, her mother disappears. Chanda desperately searches for her, only to find that her mother doesn’t want to come home and face the shame of dying from AIDS. Outraged, Chanda raises awareness in her community and brings AIDS out into the open. People start to come forward for help. Although in the end her mother dies, Chanda has managed to save so many more people with her awareness program.
This book is an intriguing and awareness raising read that really opens your mind to how other people are forced the live. It is amazing how Chanda manages to live and still have hope when she comes out of it all. This is a remarkable book.
- Paige W, age 14
The sequel Chanda’s Wars was nominated in 2010/2011