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Title details for The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan - Available

The Bitter Side of Sweet

by Tara Sullivan
JD Jackson
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. This number is very important. The higher the number the safer they are because the bosses won't beat them. The higher the number the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home to Moke and Auntie. Maybe. The problem is, Amadou doesn't know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won't tell him. The boys only wanted to make some money during the dry season to help their impoverished family. Instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive—until Khadija comes into their lives.
She's the first girl who's ever come to camp, and she's a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally, the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The old impulse to run is suddenly awakened. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 23, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781515921134
      • File size: 269348 KB
      • Duration: 09:21:08

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 810
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator JD Jackson captures the complex emotions of 15-year-old Amadou, who is trapped at a work camp on the Ivory Coast with his younger brother, Seydou. Every day Amadou must carry out the grueling work of cutting down cacao pods in order to protect himself and his brother from punishment by the bosses. After he befriends a newly imprisoned girl, Khadija, and his brother suffers a horrendous injury, Amadou musters the courage to attempt an escape. Jackson expresses Amadou's anger as he struggles to deal with everyday life, but also his softness when he shows his deep love for his brother. This powerful story of suffering and pain juxtaposed with family and friendship makes a lasting impact on the listener. M.D. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 30, 2015
      Sullivan (Golden Boy) shines a harsh light on the horrors of modern-day slavery through 15-year old Amadou’s struggles to care for his eight-year old brother, Seydou, while farmers force them to harvest cacao on an Ivory Coast plantation. Amadou’s understated narration accentuates his desperation: “I don’t count how many times I’ve been hit for being under quota. I don’t count how many days it’s been since I’ve given up hope of going home.” Tricked two years earlier into believing they had been offered seasonal work, the boys are locked in a shed at night, beaten for the smallest infraction, and punished with food deprivation. Escape attempts by a newly arrived 13-year-old girl, Khadija, inadvertently lead to Seydou suffering grievous injury. Terrified, but recognizing that Seydou will die if they remain enslaved, Amadou and Khadija make one more attempt at freedom. In a poignant scene later on, Amadou drinks hot chocolate, but gags when he realizes its source. His plea to Khadija’s journalist mother to write their story, or “we won’t have anyone to speak for us,” underscores the disturbing realities underlying this heart-wrenching survival tale. Ages 12–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:810
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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