A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer

Plot: a young girl living in an impoverished village with her deceased mother's relatives is being married off to a stranger. Worse yet, he already has two wives! Frantic to escape this unearned punishment, Nhamo runs away to find her long-lost father's family in distant Zimbabwe.

Comments: this book was very interesting, and had a viewpoint unlike one I'd ever seen. The plot could have been based on a true story (actually, I think it was), it was so real. The descriptions of the setting were well-written, and though I've never been any of the places the story took place in (or, indeed, seen many pictures of them), I could easily imagine what everything looked like. The characters fit into the story well, and they were definitely easy to imagine. Nhamo's grouchy grandpa yelling at the boys, her young cousin smiling sweetly, her stingy aunt glaring at her. I like the wide variety of characters, as well. They help to show me what life in her village - and beyond it - was like. I especially like the name of the main character, Nhamo. I wonder why anyone would have named her Nhamo, knowing that it means "disaster". It doesn't seem like a very big deal in the story, being named "disaster".

The plot was an original idea. A young girl has to run away and survive on her own in the middle of nowhere to avoid an arranged marriage. It was a mixture of an adventure story and a survival novel, almost guaranteeing a curious read. She faced all kinds of danger, such as drowning, being attacked by a wild animal, and starvation. Nhamo had to adapt to each problem and cope as best as she could. The spirit concept was very interesting, with all the water spirits, animal spirits, gods, etc. I learned a bit about different cultures, reading this book. I think that the book went on too long, however. Large sections in the middle didn't keep me very captivated, and I was constantly on the verge of putting the book down for a while. I think Nancy Farmer could have cut down a little bit, because after a while, it seemed like nothing new was happening. But it was a good beginning, a satisfying ending, and an interesting middle, and I recommend this book for reading a chapter at a time.

Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten.