I could not put this book down until I had read to the last page. This story is told from the perspective of Matilda, a 13 year old girl, living on one of the islands of Papua New Guinea that is being ravaged by civil unrest. The mine has been closed, the power has been shut down, the villagers are faced with attacks from both both government soldiers and rebels, and all the white people have left the island - except Mr. Watts. He decides to step into the role of teacher, and proceeds to read DIckens' "Great Expectations" to the children in daily installments. This provides them with a much needed escape from the reality of their daily lives until the fiction of Pip's story starts to blend into reality and the situation turns even more tragic. I won't give anything more away. Highly recommended.
I'm blogging with the Internet Team ~ 100,000 Book Challenge
