A Girl Named Disaster

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Summary: A Girl Named Disaster
Review: A Girl Named Disaster is a fantastic and exciting novel that takes place in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. We enjoyed this book because it's adventurous, has a lot of action going on and has different cultural beliefs. Nhamo, the main character spends a lot of time doing her chores. When she is finished with her chores she goes and talks to her grandmother or the picture of what she thinks is her mother. The Mavuki the witch smeller) tells her that she has to marry and old diseased guy with three wives. If she doesn't, her village will be cursed. Nhamo runs away to find her long lost father in Zimbabwe. She goes in a boat and floats down the river. If you are looking for a long interesting book, read A Girl Named Disaster.

By a group of fifth and sixth graders

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Summary: Nhamo's brave spirit enlightens a wonderful story!
Review: Nhamo is a strong, brave, and determined young woman who livesin a tribe in Africa. Forced to marry an older man to save her relatives, Nhamo flees from her village. Her journey is very dangerous, as she tries to survive the rivers, animals, and great spirits. Without anyone to talk to Nhamo talks to a sacred picture from an old magazine, pretending that it is her mother, who was killed by a lepoard many years ago. It keeps her company,along with the spirits of the water and the spirit an old man who used to live in her village named Crocodile Guts. Nhamo travels down many rivers encountering many obstacles, as she tries to reach her only hope, her father in Zimbabwae. When Nhamo becomes lost in a storm, she is washed upon an island shore, with her boat severly damaged, where she must learn how to survive for many months while sharing the island with wild baboons. Still she is in search of her father in Zimbabwae, but struggles to reach him ,fearing that she'll never make it to Zimbabwae alive. As you read about Nhamo's struggles and triumphs in this wonderful story, you begin to feel for her and begin to realize how hard she works and how african women were treated. She becomes a real woman, realizing that life isn't always easy and isn't always what you plan. The african tales told in this book by Nhamo and her Grandmother are very interesting and have many morals intertwined in them. Nhamo shows strength and courage, and demonstrates that you must never give up no matter what the circumstances may be. There are a number of surprises and twists in this book. Although the story is very interesting, it did slow down throughout the middle, but gave a ton of descriptive detail. Nancy Farmer includes African words in the text to provide a learning experience and discovery for all ages. An African dictionary and brief history of African life is included in the back, which is extremely interesting and makes the book seem very real. It is researched very well, and is truely an African American story, that one should read. I suggest that you try reading at least 20-30 pgs of the book and decide if you like it. It is quite confusing in the begining, however the pace speeds up and leads into an adventure that all will enjoy!

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Summary: Nhamo, an African girl tries to find the meaning of life
Review: Nhamo, an eleven year old girl is curious and has an active imagination. Living in the late 1800's is not always easy. A normal day would be having to do laundry, cook, clean, and chop wood all day for Nhamo. Aunt Chipo surprises her and tells her she has to marry Zororo Mkote and live with his three other wives. Her Ambuya(her grandmother) tells her to runaway and take Croccdile Gut's boat because it's nice and sturdy. Being on her own for more than three months, Nhamo faces losing the spirit of her mother during a tragic baboon accident. She is forced to face the dangerous animals and spirits of the Mozawique jungle. When Nhamo jumps over a fence to her final destination, she is knocked unconscious and is brought to a nearby clinic. Nhamo thanks the doctors but knows she must be on her way. She is soon to reach Zimbabwe but there is yet another journey ahead of her. I thought this was an exceptional book. When I was reading this book I sometimes felt like I was actually in Africa. The setting seemed so real as were the characters. Even though the story sometimes seemed to get a little off track and confusing, it was still good reading.

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Summary: Not my favorite book
Review: Not my favorite book. This was not one of my favorite books because I am not a big fan of girl against nature stories. Nhamo spent so much time traveling and going around the island when she could have spent that time with her grandmother. Once she was on her own, everything was about her survival and her struggles for food and shelter, against the animals, and finding her way. To me, it would have been a much more interesting story if we got to see her struggles against her cruel husband, his other wives and her mean aunt. I would have liked to see her stay and care for her grandmother and spend time with her while she was near the end of her life. Her struggles and the struggels of her parents and family were so sad even though she survived and came out on top. However, there is a lot of suspense, danger, action and a girl's fight for independence, survival and her family. If this appeals to you, then you will probably love the book. It just wasn't my type, though.

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Summary: This is a very unique and interesting book.
Review: The novel, A Girl Named Disaster is an exciting story which tells of Nhamo, an unfortunate girl of Zimbabwe. With her mother dead and her father gone, Nhamo is forced to run away to the city when she is told she must marry a cruel man with three wives before her twelfth birthday. On this long, hard trip on a stolen boat, Nhamo goes down a river and is swept into an uncharted lake alone with only the spirit of her dead mother for company. If you enjoy different cultures and unique adventures, you'd love A Girl Named Disaster.

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Summary: Greatest Book Ever
Review: This book about a girl named Nhamo, begins where Nhamo has to struggle for her village. She does all the chores for her family. She is always yelled at and pushed around by Aunt Chipo. One day, a terrible disease strikes her village and many people die. Even her cousin gets sick! Luckily, her cousin survives. Her family goes to a doctor and he sets her ambuya or grandmother into a stroke because she insulted him. Nhamo is acused of being the cause of this. An angry spirit, killed by her father, killed her mother when she was a baby, and now he wants her spirit! Her ambuya, tells her to go to Zimbabwe and find her father there. She goes on an adventure you CAN'T forget!

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Summary: This Book was the Best Book I Ever read in My Life!
Review: This book was very good! I loved it! Nacy Farmer did a wonderful job putting so much detail in this book. It captured the African customes at their best. This book takes you into a whole new world filled with imagination.

It's about a girl whose people think she is a witch, all because a deadly disease is speading around her village. The girl's name is Nhamo, meaning disaster. She runs away in a stolen boat she stole from a man named Crocodile Guts. Then she sets sail to find her father in Zimbabwe. But she gets deserted on an island surrounded by baboons. You're going to have to read this book to really understand its meaning. When I read it, I think the best part was when her grandmother told her stories that were so exciting and filled with imagination. This book was truly exciting and riveting. A masterpiece in the making.