"The hypnotic present tense, first-person narration draws the reader deep into the child soldier's shattered psyche." - Washington Post "Haunting. Iweala's acute imagining of Agu's perspective allows him to depict the war as a mesh of bestial pleasures and pain. A startling debut." - The New Yorker "An outstanding first novel. Resonant, beautiful. Iweala's book will be readily embraced by readers." - Janet Maslin, New York Times "Iweala's arguments are well reasoned.

By making generous use of the voices of many Africans, Iweala's writing possesses an immediacy that makes his message powerful and compelling." - The Boston Globe "Uzodinma Iweala is receiving not just hype but praise from reviewers for the frighteningly convincing voice of a preteen soldier." - New York Magazine "Iweala gives his hero a voice that is literary yet poetic. The acute characterization, the adroit mixture of color and restraint, and the horrific emotional force of the narrative are impressive. Still more impressive is Iweala's ability to maintain not only our sympathy but our affection for his central character." - New York Times Book Review "This is a book about horror, but Iweala writes in a first-person, African patois, which gives it a lightness and wit, a buoyancy, which is very unusual considering what he's writing about. It's one of those rare occasions when you see a first novel and you think, This guy is going to be very, very good." - Salman Rushdie.