little princes

One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

by CONOR GRENNAN

Stories like Little Princes, which I couldn't help but compare to Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, convince me that even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there is some good in human beings, that people do have the ability to change for the better, and that one man can make a difference.  That evidence, and the enthralling tale of rescuing abandoned and abused children in the middle of a remote and civil war-torn country like Nepal, made this book one that I couldn't put down.  Conor Grennan, a well-educated, international public affairs think-tank consultant, needed a break from his job, and as a single guy with a little savings, he had the resources to take a year off to travel around the world.  He decided to spend the first couple of months volunteering in a Nepalese orphanage, mostly because it sounded dangerous and would impress women in bars.  However, he had only been at Little Princes, an orphanage outside Kathmandu started by a French woman, for a few weeks when these children had completely won his heart.

The more he learned about the background of these children the more he wanted to help them, and when he discovered that most of them were not orphans at all, but trafficked children, essentially stolen from their parents in Humla, a dangerous and distant part of Nepal, he realized he intended to come back and try to reconnect them with their parents.  Back in the United States, Conor raises funds, and makes plans to return to Little Princes.  While in the States, he learns that seven children he expected to be moved to a safe house, had disappeared.  He blamed himself, and his resolve to return, find those seven, and establish his own safe house became his passion. 

The narrative of Conor's return, working with a government official to find his seven children, establishing his own home for children with the help of Farid, a dedicated Frenchman who loved the children as much as Conor did, and trekking into Humla to find the parents of the children at Little Princes, is a fascinating and engrossing story.  Conor Grennan writes with intensity and humor, making Little Princes an inspiring and entertaining read.  Well worth the time!!        Reviewed by Dail Sams







Gregor the Overlander
by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins has become quite famous recently for her Hunger Games trilogy, but before there were Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, there was Gregor the Overlander.  Gregor lives with his family in a New York City apartment.  Over two years ago, his smart and loving father disappeared--seemingly just fell off the face of the earth.  Since then, he and his sisters and their mother have just existed, trying to make do, and trying not to lose hope.  This summer, Gregor will not be able to attend the summer camp he attended last year.  His mother must work, and there's no one to stay with his 2 year-old sister, Boots, since his grandmother has become increasingly senile.  Gregor is sorely disappointed, but refuses to allow himself to feel anything too deeply.  He stays home, watches his sister, does the laundry, and waits. 

One day, while in the basement washing clothes, Boots falls through a grate in the basement wall.  There's nothing for Gregor to do but follow her in, falling and falling for miles, down to an underground world inhabited by humans, giant cockroaches called "crawlers", enormous and vicious rats, and a variety of other surprising creatures.  Gregor soon learns that his father is in this world being held prisoner by the rats, and he sets off on a quest with a number of companions, not only to find and rescue his father, but to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Those making the quest encounter one danger and adventure after another, battling the dark environment, evil creatures, and treachery within their own ranks.  In the Underland, Collins has created a rich and believable world, and in Gregor, a character full of courage and creative intelligence.  Though Gregor and the Underlanders face frightening and brutal realities, baby Boots provides the comic relief this story needs.  A great read for those who love alternate worlds.
                ~reviewed by Mrs. Sams