Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday
Published on 3. June 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-78607-912-1 (ISBN)
Description
'[A] potent, brutal read... You won't be able to forget this story of a young boy robbed of his own childhood.' Marie Claire, best YA 2019
I tell myself I've chosen to live, but the water knows the truth. Waves brush my arms, soft as shroud linen.
The water knows I have to die.
Three years after his older brother is recruited by the Somali militia group Al Shaabab, Abdi and his family are kidnapped by Americans. In exchange for their freedom, he reluctantly agrees to go undercover to rescue his brother and help foil deadly attacks.
After months in their ranks, Abdi finally escapes. Haunted and alone on the streets of Kenya, he steals what he can to get by. But an arrest for petty theft sets in motion a chain of events that force him to confront the past he's been so desperately trying to forget.
I tell myself I've chosen to live, but the water knows the truth. Waves brush my arms, soft as shroud linen.
The water knows I have to die.
Three years after his older brother is recruited by the Somali militia group Al Shaabab, Abdi and his family are kidnapped by Americans. In exchange for their freedom, he reluctantly agrees to go undercover to rescue his brother and help foil deadly attacks.
After months in their ranks, Abdi finally escapes. Haunted and alone on the streets of Kenya, he steals what he can to get by. But an arrest for petty theft sets in motion a chain of events that force him to confront the past he's been so desperately trying to forget.
Reviews / Votes
'Greed, guilt, and redemption are layered in a sober yet tender narrative showing the lengths one will go to for loved ones.' * Kirkus Reviews * 'An intriguing examination of ways familial loyalty and guilt can lead anyone to make desperate choices. Anderson uses the exploration of manipulation and coercion to craft a thought-provoking narrative.' * School Library Journal * 'Anderson...breathe[s] ferocious life into a story that needs to be told. This is one of those tough but invaluable books with the power to increase a reader's awareness of and empathy for teens who have lost the right to be young.' * Booklist, starred review * '[Anderson] makes it clear how difficult it is for even children to survive this faith-based and historically rooted conflict unscathed.' * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books * 'Narrator Kevin R. Free breathes dramatic urgency into Anderson's intense story...Listeners hear and feel Abdi's horror and numb, helpless despair at the atrocities he witnesses - and perpetrates - and we rejoice at his redemption.' * AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner * '[A] potent, brutal read... You won't be able to forget this story of a young boy robbed of his own childhood.' -- Marie Claire, best YA 2019 'Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday is a gritty, challenging, but worthwhile read offering a message of redemption.'-- Armadillo Magazine
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Oneworld Publications
Target group
Young adult
Interest Age: From 13 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
338 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78607-912-1 (9781786079121)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Natalie C. Anderson
Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday
E-Book
06/2021
1st Edition
Rock the Boat
€5.08
Available for download
Person
Natalie C. Anderson is a writer and international development professional living in Geneva, Switzerland. She has spent the last decade working with NGOs and the UN on refugee relief and development, mainly in Africa. This is her debut novel.