Book Info
Loading other formats...Format
Paperback208 pages
Publication date
5th June 2008ISBN
9780192755483Children's Author 'Like-for-Like' recommendations
Click to buy book vouchers
The Prison Runner
Deborah Ellis
This title is in stock
Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24
RRP: £6.99 Saving £1.75 (25%)
Julia Eccleshare's comment:
Deeply moving and wholly compelling, The Prisoner Runner is an eye opener on how easily a child can get used by the drug trade in Bolivia. Diego is a good boy, and smart too. While his parents are in prison, he makes money by running errands and doing homework for students who are less able then him. But sick of the drudgery and eager to help make his family’s life better, Diego joins a friend on a mystery mission which promises to pay them well. But the mission is drugs. Diego is forced into the horrifying labour of creating cocaine. Diego’s story is as gripping as it is horrifying and the background of the inexorable link between drugs and the exploitation of the poor in one of the world’s poorest countries is as fascinating as it is horrifying.
The Lovereading comment:
This is one of the most powerful and compelling novels you’ll ever read about the effect of cocaine production on the city children of Bolivia. It’s the story of ordinary kids caught up in extraordinary situations living a nightmare away in the jungle in the clutches of men who produce drugs for a living but who thought they were being employed to get rich in order to build a better life for their family back home in the city.
Who is Julia Eccleshare ?
Synopsis
The Prison Runner by Deborah EllisDiego had never been in the jungle before. He'd lived with his family high in the hills, and then he was a prison kid, a city kid. His nights were bare lightbulbs burning, women and children crying, guards yelling and keys clanging. He hated it, but it was what he was used to ...' A simple error of judgement hurls Diego into a nightmare. He's been living in prison with his mother and sister, looking after them and earning money whenever he can. Until the day he accidentally breaks the rules. Suddenly the family are in trouble, and Diego needs money to save them. So when one of his friends tells Diego that he knows a job that will make them both rich, Diego gives into temptation. But the job is far different from the one he'd imagined, and Diego soon finds himself in the heart of the Bolivian jungle and the clutches of men who produce drugs for a living.
Reviews
[The Breadwinner]: 'deserves to become a bestseller. The Daily Telegraph a powerful and gruesome depiction of life under the Taliban regime, told honestly by children. Entertainment News [Parvana's Journey]: 'A book all children should read The Teacher ... a harrowing, true-to-life story ... meticulously researched and sensitively written, but not for the faint-hearted. Northern Echo a book all young teens should read ... It is impossible not to be moved Birmingham Post A moving story, with a deeply satisfying ending, the novel convincingly portrays the story of the real children behind the headlines about landmines and refugee camps. Best Books Guide 2003About The Author
Deborah Ellis works as a mental health residential counsellor in Toronto and is the winner of the Governor General’s Award in Canada (equivalent to the Carnegie Medal) for her first novel 'Looking for X'.
She was raised in Paris, Ontario and from the time she was 17 she has been a political activist, advocating non-violence. After high school she went to Toronto and worked in the Peace Movement. Later she got involved in the Women’s Movement, focusing on women’s rights and economic justice. She has spent a lot of time in Pakistan, in Afghan refugee camps, talking to women and documenting their lives under 20 years of war. Her main engagement continues to be anti-war politics.
Her books include 'The Breadwinner' and its sequel 'Parvana's Journey'. Both books are set in Afghanistan during and after the rule of the Taliban.
More books by this author
If you loved this book, you might like these...
John Barrowman, Carole E. Barrowman The Bone Quill |
Jacqueline Wilson Four Children and It |
John Barrowman, Carole E. Barrowman Hollow Earth |
Rachel Billington Poppy's Hero |
Megan Rix The Victory Dogs |
Share this book