A Little Piece of Ground

A Little Piece of Ground is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Laird. I have never lived outside of Utah, but I have traveled out of the country to the Caribbean and Mexico. This book gave me the sense that living in the Middle East is scary, because of the constant terrorism. The protagonist of the book is a 12 year old boy named Karim who lives in Palestine, during the Arab-Israeli conflict. This book reminded me of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, because of the child surrounded by war. Like Liesel in The Book Thief escapes by reading books, Karim escapes by playing soccer. He and his friends just want to play soccer, but they have a curfew based on the invading soldiers.

On page 61, Karim is silently screaming about the suicide bomber, calling him a "hero." When he is rooting for a suicide bomber, his sense of value for the human life is tarnished. Abu Fiesal tells Karim war "is not simple." Karim's actions show he doesn't understand the threat of war around him and gains a better understanding by the end of the book. He seems very unbalanced, but brave. I think the war would drive anyone crazy. I thought it was sweet of Karim to take care of the kittens in the field, and it was sad to read Ginger getting run over by a tank.

The book gave good insight into how the Iraqis feel about soldiers being in their country. I can understand the frustration Karim and his friends are feeling. The book's writing is slow paced, because the author was overly descriptive. The ending seemed flat, although it is reassuring that Karim's final words are "We'll survive," showing hope for the future.