IRB Intro #1

For my first independent reading book of the school year, I chose They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, a nonfiction narrative piece written by “the three Lost Boys from Sudan”; Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak. With the help and encouragement of their American “caretaker”, Judy A. Bernstein, these boys are able to transform their life story into text and explain what it is like to be a teenage boy in Sudan during a civil war.  From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was a country of chaos over regional disagreement of natural resources.  Being one of many results from the war, this story focuses on the thousands of young Sudanese boys who fled from being captured or killed by the violence in their country.  These refugees, now known as the Lost Boys from Sudan, share their personal stories of escape which were once the same words written in their diaries.  

I chose to read They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky because it seemed to be very different from the genre of reading that I usually enjoy reading.  Typically, I choose fiction over nonfiction.  For no particular reason, I do not tend to choose novels that involve a historical background- I just never really tried them out.  Since this nonfiction book involves a lot of Sudanese history and culture, it is more challenging for me to adjust, compared to past books I have read.  I am excited to continue reading because I feel that it may be a new genre of interest to me.  This exposure of text variety will also prepare me for the AP Exam in May.  Another thing that I hope to learn from reading about the Lost Boys from Sudan is how different their lives are from mine.  Just from reading the first few chapters so far, it is easy for me to see that Sudanese culture is nothing like the American way of life.  While my mom cooks me dinner that comes from the grocery store, these boys are hunting elephants in order for their village to eat.  I have always found myself interested in the diversity of people, and I have realized that this book will expose me to even more.  Through reading these boys’ stories of their journeys from Sudan, I hope to become more aware of the different people, cultures, and environments that are in this world.