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Gr 9 Up–The Good Braider follows Viola on a journey from her home in ravaged Sudan to Cairo and finally to the folds of a Sudanese community in Maine. Viola’s story, told in free verse, is difficult to read without a constant lurking sense of both dread and hope. In the opening scene she gazes at the curve of the back of a boy walking the street in front of her, only to view his senseless execution moments later. T...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In Juba, Sudan, life is a mixture of fear and violence for Viola and her family. Viola is haunted by the image of the narrow back of a young boy shot by a soldier for attempting to defend her. When the soldier rapes her, and her "bride price" is compromised, Viola, her mother, and her brother Francis decide to escape their bleak, war-torn village in hopes of a better future. The three flee to Cairo, and, though their jour...Log In or Sign Up to Read More