Ashley, Bernard. Little soldier, a novel.

Scholastic. 230p.-c1999. 0-439-22424-1 $16.95 JS

Ashley is an award-winning British author who has written many books for YAs. He chose the topic of African boy soldiers and melds it with teenage gang warfare on European (and American) urban streets. His main character is Kaninda, from a fictional country in Africa, who after the massacre of his family joined a rebel force, taking part in a brutal civil war. It is by a fluke that Kaninda ends up with the Red Cross and is rescued by a British family and transported to a new life, supposedly of safety, in London. In the British family (devout members of God's Force, an organization similar to the Salvation Army) is a troubled teenage girl named Laura. The reality is that tribal warfare exists on London streets--perhaps not as violent and widespread as in a civil war in Africa, but tribal warfare nonetheless, with gangs and turf. Ashley presents the London world through the eyes of Kaninda, and that is quite amazing.

American YAs will have to stretch to understand the London slang and culture as well as Kaninda's African experiences. Also, Ashley's novel is complex, with multiple plot lines and many characters. (It would be difficult to describe this plot succinctly in a review.) It is challenging reading for these reasons. However, the teenage rebellion, guilt, rage, and conflicted emotions are clearly stated and all YAs will understand those elements of the story. A story of crime and punishment, of redemption and hope, is always welcome--especially one as well written as this one.