Useful Fools
Grade 8 Up—What makes a terrorist? Drawing on her own experiences as a journalist in Peru in the 1980s and '90s, the author explores this question in this moving coming-of-age novel. After the Senderistas bomb the health clinic that his mother established in their Peruvian shantytown, killing her and driving away the doctor and his daughter Rosa, 15-year-old Alonso's anger and curiosity about their philosophy tempt him to join their Shining Path terrorist movement. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Alonso and Rosa, and details of his family's grinding poverty make a strong contrast to her privileged middle-class life. Already defeated by his situation in life, Alonso's father becomes an abusive drinker after his wife's death. The violence both inside and outside his home—where neighbors, Party members, and police are all a threat—is convincingly portrayed. Teens will despair about whether or not Alonso can find safety, or if Rosa and Alonso, star-crossed lovers, can be reunited. While some episodes seem contrived, more for readers' background than the story arc, the narrative moves quickly to a convincing conclusion. The explicit violence makes this best suited for older readers, who will come away with an awakened appreciation for the complexity of the issues.—Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.