THE RED PENCIL

Pinkney performs her novel in free verse, which features Amira, a girl listeners meet when she’s living a happy life with her family in the South Darfur region of Sudan. Pinkney narrates with a gravity appropriate to poetry and Amira’s changing circumstances when Janjaweed militants destroy her home and force what remains of her family to flee. Pinkney also infuses notes of warmth and humor throughout the story, reflecting the love that surrounds Amira as well as her hopeful nature. Even as she grieves and tries to adjust to a radically altered life, Amira never stops drawing, learning, and working toward a better future. A.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2014]