She promised her mama she'd keep them safe.It's been six months since Mama died, and Chanda is struggling to raise her little brother and sister. Determined to end a family feud, she takes them to her relatives' remote rural village. But across the nearby border, a brutal civil war is spreading. Rebels led by the ruthless General Mandiki attack at night, stealing children. All that separates Chanda from the horror is a stretch of rugged bush and a national park alive with predators. Soon, not even that. Before she knows it, Chanda must face the unthinkable, with a troubled young tracker as her unlikely ally. Chanda's Wars is the unforgettable story of a teenager who risks everything to save her brother and sister. Epic in its sweep, intimate in its humanity, here is a gripping tale of family intrigue, love and courage, forgiveness and hope. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 8 Up-Chanda has reached some level of stability in her life since readers first met her in Chanda's Secrets (Annick, 2004). She takes care of her younger brother and sister and works as a teaching assistant to support her family. However, Chanda is pursued by nightmares. Friends and neighbors soon persuade her to take her siblings to the countryside to end the feud with their mother's family. The ravages of AIDS and poverty on a fictional, but realistic sub-Saharan African country are once again depicted with unflinching honesty, but it is the issue of child soldiers, a tragedy that affects more than 300,000 children around the world, that takes center stage. Stratton deftly handles the devastating effects war can have on young people. Horrific things happen to the characters, though Chanda's first-person narrative never gets unnecessarily graphic in the detail. The author strives for authenticity in the psyche of child soldiers and, through substantial research, captures a voice that is seldom heard. This story is both suspenseful and engaging. Chanda is steadfast in the face of adversity, and the book is as hopeful and spirited as its protagonist.-Ernie Bond, Salisbury University, MD Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Like his Printz Honor Book, Chanda's Secret (2004), Stratton's sequel, set in a fictional African country, revolves around Chanda Kabele, orphaned by AIDS. In this book, Chanda, who tells the story in an immediate, first-person, present-tense narrative, is caring for her younger brother, Soly, and sister, Iris. Horrors of the civil war are all around them, and Iris and Soly are kidnapped by rebels and turned into brutal soldiers. The realistic description of Chanda's tracking the children through the bush to rescue them is intriguing, and readers will appreciate the girl's feelings as she wonders if her siblings can ever recover from what they have seen, what they have done. Familiarity with the previous book isn't necessary; this one starts off with detailed references to the past too many, in fact. But the characters are drawn without sentimentality, and the story is a moving portrayal of betrayal and love. The army's brutality and the traumas of the child soldiers are graphic and disturbing; there's nothing easy and comfortable here.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.