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Shattered
Fifteen-year-old Ian must complete community volunteer service to pass social studies. Choosing to work at “The Club” sounds like fun, until he arrives at what turns out to be a soup kitchen for the homeless. It is here that he meets Sarge, the pipe-wielding homeless man who saved Ian from a near-mugging. His real name is Jacques, and he was a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces. His last tour of duty was as a peacekeeper stationed in Rwanda, an African nation Ian knows little about. What he learns will change Ian’s view of the world—and may just help Jacques, too. With a Foreword by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d), force commander for the United Nations Mission to Rwanda, Shattered is an unforgettable story, one that asks what one person can do to make a difference.
216 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
66 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Eric Walters
156 books908 followersEric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
March 8, 2015
To start, social justice books are my favourite. This book is a great book. I'd definitely rate it a 5/5 because it brought out a very powerful message. This book is such an amazing book, it changed how I saw and thought of things involving homeless people. It really touched my heart and made me feel better about myself and for the things that I have and want to do to help out the less fortunate. It made me see how much I really don't know about the world and what goes on in the world. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.
October 28, 2015
pretty good, glad my teacher picked it, had a lot of things that people should be aware about + understanding of prejudice.
May 5, 2010
I read this in one afternoon because my daughter was studying it in Grade 5 along with her class, but she was having a hard time understanding Rwanda's tragedy along with the plot of this book. I cried when I read it because of the author's description of a little boy who witnessed his entire family die during a brutal machete attack. I encouraged my daughter to read that part as her excerpt to hook the kids in class to read it too; she reported after her presentation that her teacher cried when she read it aloud to them. Ahhhh, the power of literature.
She has since read 3 more Eric Walters books.
She has since read 3 more Eric Walters books.
January 16, 2018
I really liked this. It's definitely not a book I would have ever picked up on my own, but I'm always pleasantly surprised by the books we have the grade 9s and 10s read. (I tend to have mixed feelings on the grade 11 and grade 12 books haha)
It was weird reading about the Rwanda genocide, because that was a big factor in a play I was supposed to star in in grade 11. But then I got flustered and flakey and dropped out of the play. So really, the whole time I was reading this book, I was reminded of my life as a failed actress haha
It was weird reading about the Rwanda genocide, because that was a big factor in a play I was supposed to star in in grade 11. But then I got flustered and flakey and dropped out of the play. So really, the whole time I was reading this book, I was reminded of my life as a failed actress haha
Read
March 30, 2021Not a personal choice. Had to read this for work and need all the help I can get with my reading challenge so I’m counting it 🙃
March 18, 2015
This review can also be found on A Thousand Lives Lived, check it out for more reviews!
My English teacher seriously rocks. Without her, this novel would've never in a million years hit my heart. Eric Walters is a Canadian author whose books I've actually heard of quite frequently where I actually gave them a chance. Genocide was the only word slash subject that described this novel what I prejudged and had heard of before, and I'm honestly so surprised with the outcome.
This isn't a middle grade novel. Don't expect it to be. Walters will give you the view of a total different lifestyle where everything that happens is real and you feel Ian's hope to change himself as a person. It's unbelievable to look at the way I actually ended up loving this book, as I never saw it coming. I guess prejudice is a huge thing in this world at the moment when it comes to judging a book beforehand, hm?
The storyline follows what you kind of expect it to and not at the same time. Here, we have Ian Blackburn, who is a rich fifteen year old getting forced to do community hours for his tenth grade Civics class. He decides to volunteer at a soup kitchen called, "The Club." On his way there, he meets Sarge, a man who saves him from getting mugged. Little does he know that Sarge will actually save his life and he will do the same for him vice versa...
I'm not saying anything people, as this is a book FULL of amazing things. Your mind will be blown and you'll be unable to think and I'm not going to spoil anything, anything at all since there are tons of plot twists that are so unspeakable of that you never saw them coming. Keep in mind that "Sarge" will keep on changing his name as well, just to catch to the chase and since Walters wants to give him some sort of secret identity to make it look like he's not who we all think he is.
First of all, let me just say that the writing Walters portrays throughout this whole standalone novel is impeccable compared to any other book I've had to read for school. Usually, books that are read in school are seemed to be meant to bore students (at least, that's what it looks like) but have tons of symbolism and a strong message to gain people's thinking all throughout. This wasn't boring, nor was it a tough book to read. In fact, as we are reading Lord of the Flies at the same time, this seemed like a piece of cake to understand, and I fell in love with this fictional world right away.
“You got a smoke to spare?” (4) was the question that began this story and started an intimacy that every reader will feel connected to by understanding the situations that the characters have to deal with. No, really, this is what began the most intense character relationship that I've read of in a while. To be honest, you saw that there was a wide chance for Sarge and Ian to become friends. Of course, fate somehow made them be in each other's lives. The both need help as they both have their own personal conflicts that are sure to break and shatter some of the happiness that they've ever known, but together, all of those pieces are surely bound to heal from each other's remedies. You see, Sarge has PTSD and is an alcoholic. He has witnessed the genocide in Rwanda as he had been a peacekeeper there, and he's scarred for life, feeling that he didn't do enough to help the people there. But Ian knows that it's not his fault, and there was surely nothing else he could've done in his job and in his own situation. But Sarge hadn't realized that until Ian brought it up, and he helped him.
Ian had his own personal conflicts too, no? You see, Walters created a world that made the rich and the poor, or the poverty and the wealth bond. The conflict between the two "cases" got closer and closer as Sarge and Ian made more of an attraction, and in the end, everything popped and you never saw the difference between the two. Ian felt embarrassed of his wealth and made sure to keep a low profile and look "poor." This is modern day, people, and Walters made the whole setting look like it, where everyone is following what the trend is.
This book can absolutely bring out a discussion about the homeless and through many subjects: altruism, family relationships, violence and injustice, optimism, the list seriously goes on and on. I obviously won't go through this all as it's eventually your turn to read this and become obsessed with the fact that your life is bound TO BEGIN when reading this book. So really, go ahead and become obsessed, pick up your first Eric Walters book and soak all of the realism in, without any teeny-bopper romance or cheesiness. This is reality.
My English teacher seriously rocks. Without her, this novel would've never in a million years hit my heart. Eric Walters is a Canadian author whose books I've actually heard of quite frequently where I actually gave them a chance. Genocide was the only word slash subject that described this novel what I prejudged and had heard of before, and I'm honestly so surprised with the outcome.
This isn't a middle grade novel. Don't expect it to be. Walters will give you the view of a total different lifestyle where everything that happens is real and you feel Ian's hope to change himself as a person. It's unbelievable to look at the way I actually ended up loving this book, as I never saw it coming. I guess prejudice is a huge thing in this world at the moment when it comes to judging a book beforehand, hm?
The storyline follows what you kind of expect it to and not at the same time. Here, we have Ian Blackburn, who is a rich fifteen year old getting forced to do community hours for his tenth grade Civics class. He decides to volunteer at a soup kitchen called, "The Club." On his way there, he meets Sarge, a man who saves him from getting mugged. Little does he know that Sarge will actually save his life and he will do the same for him vice versa...
I'm not saying anything people, as this is a book FULL of amazing things. Your mind will be blown and you'll be unable to think and I'm not going to spoil anything, anything at all since there are tons of plot twists that are so unspeakable of that you never saw them coming. Keep in mind that "Sarge" will keep on changing his name as well, just to catch to the chase and since Walters wants to give him some sort of secret identity to make it look like he's not who we all think he is.
First of all, let me just say that the writing Walters portrays throughout this whole standalone novel is impeccable compared to any other book I've had to read for school. Usually, books that are read in school are seemed to be meant to bore students (at least, that's what it looks like) but have tons of symbolism and a strong message to gain people's thinking all throughout. This wasn't boring, nor was it a tough book to read. In fact, as we are reading Lord of the Flies at the same time, this seemed like a piece of cake to understand, and I fell in love with this fictional world right away.
“You got a smoke to spare?” (4) was the question that began this story and started an intimacy that every reader will feel connected to by understanding the situations that the characters have to deal with. No, really, this is what began the most intense character relationship that I've read of in a while. To be honest, you saw that there was a wide chance for Sarge and Ian to become friends. Of course, fate somehow made them be in each other's lives. The both need help as they both have their own personal conflicts that are sure to break and shatter some of the happiness that they've ever known, but together, all of those pieces are surely bound to heal from each other's remedies. You see, Sarge has PTSD and is an alcoholic. He has witnessed the genocide in Rwanda as he had been a peacekeeper there, and he's scarred for life, feeling that he didn't do enough to help the people there. But Ian knows that it's not his fault, and there was surely nothing else he could've done in his job and in his own situation. But Sarge hadn't realized that until Ian brought it up, and he helped him.
Ian had his own personal conflicts too, no? You see, Walters created a world that made the rich and the poor, or the poverty and the wealth bond. The conflict between the two "cases" got closer and closer as Sarge and Ian made more of an attraction, and in the end, everything popped and you never saw the difference between the two. Ian felt embarrassed of his wealth and made sure to keep a low profile and look "poor." This is modern day, people, and Walters made the whole setting look like it, where everyone is following what the trend is.
This book can absolutely bring out a discussion about the homeless and through many subjects: altruism, family relationships, violence and injustice, optimism, the list seriously goes on and on. I obviously won't go through this all as it's eventually your turn to read this and become obsessed with the fact that your life is bound TO BEGIN when reading this book. So really, go ahead and become obsessed, pick up your first Eric Walters book and soak all of the realism in, without any teeny-bopper romance or cheesiness. This is reality.
December 12, 2021
Read this is grade 7 and re-read it to assign to a grade 7. Solid book that's great for challenging people and introducing challenging topics. Does it in a way that shows lots of perspectives, not that I agree with all of them, and its overall message is great. Fantastic book for J/I students.
July 23, 2016
I didn't realize before I began reading that this was a YA novel. Its tone was fairly young, so I'd suggest it for pre-teens. I suspect teenagers would roll their eyes at it a bit.
That said, I think this is a brilliant novel for young people, and I think all youth could benefit from reading it, especially young people who've grown up in privileged Western society.
The protagonist is a 15-year-old wealthy teenager who is disgusted with his parents and their lack of interest in his life. As the novel starts, he's about to start volunteering at a soup kitchen in a bad area of the city--he's forced to do this for school credit, and is not very happy about it.
On his way there, he bumps into a homeless man who steps in and saves him from a beating. It turns out the homeless man is a former solider, haunted by the peacekeeping mission he had in Rwanda.
Through his volunteerism, the protagonist has his eyes opened about a lot of things, including why people end up on the streets, how we treat the homeless as a society, and what happened in Rwanda. One of the best questions asked in this book was, "Why doesn't everyone know about this?" I can't even imagine how frustrating it was for the peacekeepers to see thousands and thousands of innocent people slaughtered in front of their eyes, only to return home and realize no one knew or cared.
What happened in Rwanda is of great interest to me, and I'm passionate about helping the victims and spreading the word. I'm glad that someone wrote a book about it for young adults, something they can hopefully relate to. I hope a lot of people read it.
If you know a young person, about 8-12, I strongly recommend picking up this book for them.
That said, I think this is a brilliant novel for young people, and I think all youth could benefit from reading it, especially young people who've grown up in privileged Western society.
The protagonist is a 15-year-old wealthy teenager who is disgusted with his parents and their lack of interest in his life. As the novel starts, he's about to start volunteering at a soup kitchen in a bad area of the city--he's forced to do this for school credit, and is not very happy about it.
On his way there, he bumps into a homeless man who steps in and saves him from a beating. It turns out the homeless man is a former solider, haunted by the peacekeeping mission he had in Rwanda.
Through his volunteerism, the protagonist has his eyes opened about a lot of things, including why people end up on the streets, how we treat the homeless as a society, and what happened in Rwanda. One of the best questions asked in this book was, "Why doesn't everyone know about this?" I can't even imagine how frustrating it was for the peacekeepers to see thousands and thousands of innocent people slaughtered in front of their eyes, only to return home and realize no one knew or cared.
What happened in Rwanda is of great interest to me, and I'm passionate about helping the victims and spreading the word. I'm glad that someone wrote a book about it for young adults, something they can hopefully relate to. I hope a lot of people read it.
If you know a young person, about 8-12, I strongly recommend picking up this book for them.
April 11, 2016
Shattered by Eric Walters is a well structured book with obvious character development for the main character Ian. He was a spoiled teenage boy who came from a rich family yet forced to go help out in the "club" for passing his civics class. At the "club" (a soup kitchen), Ian meets Mac, the owner of the soup kitchen, and lots of other homeless people and got to know their stories. There was a special one which was called Sarge, then Jack, then Jacques. He was a soldier who fought for the Rwanda Genocide which was a tragedy. He got homeless because after the genocide, other soldiers found him and understood him as "mentally ill", so he was never a soldier again. From knowing the homeless people's stories, and trying to help them, Ian became more empathising and understanding, and he isn't selfish anymore.
July 22, 2009
Walters has used this formula before - take a troubled teen and put him in the path of someone extraordinary. An angry teen has to get his community hours in for civics class, and ends up volunteering in a soup kitchen by mistake. The people he meets forces him to look outside himself and the world he lives in.
A well-told story and a little history lesson is included on peace-keeping, Rwanda, and Guatemala.
And I'm always pleased by a book that doesn't make teachers look like idiots!
A well-told story and a little history lesson is included on peace-keeping, Rwanda, and Guatemala.
And I'm always pleased by a book that doesn't make teachers look like idiots!
August 2, 2012
DAWWWEE, this is a sad, touching, and cute (the homeless guy).
I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's sooo sad though. well i find it is.
I actully dont remember this book that much, it was a long time ago i read it.
BUT i know it was a good book, haha.
I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's sooo sad though. well i find it is.
I actully dont remember this book that much, it was a long time ago i read it.
BUT i know it was a good book, haha.
September 26, 2009
Excellent. I recomend it to anyone.
April 3, 2023
I understand the purpose of this book and i appreciate it, however I didn’t like it. It was too boring for.
March 2, 2019
When I first read the blurb on the back of Shattered, I remember not being amazed after I read it. Someone close to me read it in the past and enjoyed it, so I decided to give it a go. Sitting here today, I am so glad that I did.
This book is filled with inspiration which made me want to keep striving to be the best person I can possibly be. Shattered is mostly based in the streets or in the soup kitchen where Ian volunteers, also where he meets a homeless person, unusually friendlier than the rest. Ian dreaded being there in the first place, in fact he wouldn’t be there at all if he wasn’t flunking socials class, which meant no car for his 16th birthday.
While assuming that there is not much more to the street life than he had seen in the general area of "The Club", Ian soon learns how much him and everyone surrounding him had been entirely blind to. The more time he spends helping at the Club, the more he learns more about the streets, growing new, strong relationships around him that he had never experienced before. Including the men he was serving and the the kitchen owner, Mac. Ian gets to know the friendly homeless man, Sarge, but the closer they get, the more he learns about the man's background, the whole reason Sarge puts up with the horrible conditions he lives in.
Carrying these burdens, Ian attempts to help until Sarge, which left Ian feeling hopeless about the situation. Still, it was all up to Ian to try. During this adventurous roller coaster, along with Ian, I learned a lot about the Rwandan Genocide and collected insight about what it was like going through war and how scarring it must be. This book shows the transformation in Ian, going from a rich, neglected, slacking kid into a thoughtful, intelligent and brave human being. This book teaches you that it's not just about what you see on the outside, it’s about what's on the inside. You may be missing out on something beautiful that awaits you if you don't give the effort to open your eyes and look. Shattered showed me and the characters in the book that the smallest things that you could do, could change someone’s life and bring hope.
This book is filled with inspiration which made me want to keep striving to be the best person I can possibly be. Shattered is mostly based in the streets or in the soup kitchen where Ian volunteers, also where he meets a homeless person, unusually friendlier than the rest. Ian dreaded being there in the first place, in fact he wouldn’t be there at all if he wasn’t flunking socials class, which meant no car for his 16th birthday.
While assuming that there is not much more to the street life than he had seen in the general area of "The Club", Ian soon learns how much him and everyone surrounding him had been entirely blind to. The more time he spends helping at the Club, the more he learns more about the streets, growing new, strong relationships around him that he had never experienced before. Including the men he was serving and the the kitchen owner, Mac. Ian gets to know the friendly homeless man, Sarge, but the closer they get, the more he learns about the man's background, the whole reason Sarge puts up with the horrible conditions he lives in.
Carrying these burdens, Ian attempts to help until Sarge, which left Ian feeling hopeless about the situation. Still, it was all up to Ian to try. During this adventurous roller coaster, along with Ian, I learned a lot about the Rwandan Genocide and collected insight about what it was like going through war and how scarring it must be. This book shows the transformation in Ian, going from a rich, neglected, slacking kid into a thoughtful, intelligent and brave human being. This book teaches you that it's not just about what you see on the outside, it’s about what's on the inside. You may be missing out on something beautiful that awaits you if you don't give the effort to open your eyes and look. Shattered showed me and the characters in the book that the smallest things that you could do, could change someone’s life and bring hope.
July 2, 2018
This is so emotionally charged that I couldn't put the book down. It shows a great grasp of the human condition.
Eric Walter's really captured the life of Sarge so well and really shows the emotional rollercoaster people with mental illness are on.
This story has so much impact that I think it will be hard to forget this book ever. I wish that all would read this as it shows about learning about the person and not just seeing what the standards of society expect.
Dealing with people who are homeless will always be a touchy subject but Eric Walters does it with so much passion and compassion that it really hits home just how alike we all are.
Reading the forward gave me goosebumps as well as I have read all novels that Lt General Romeo Dallaire has written and found that the forward captured the book perfectly.
Read the book in one sitting and can't believe how great this was and will definitely read more by this author.
Over the past few years it's hard for me to find Canadian authors who are really top line authors. Eric Walters has proven to me he is one of Canada's top writers.
Eric Walter's really captured the life of Sarge so well and really shows the emotional rollercoaster people with mental illness are on.
This story has so much impact that I think it will be hard to forget this book ever. I wish that all would read this as it shows about learning about the person and not just seeing what the standards of society expect.
Dealing with people who are homeless will always be a touchy subject but Eric Walters does it with so much passion and compassion that it really hits home just how alike we all are.
Reading the forward gave me goosebumps as well as I have read all novels that Lt General Romeo Dallaire has written and found that the forward captured the book perfectly.
Read the book in one sitting and can't believe how great this was and will definitely read more by this author.
Over the past few years it's hard for me to find Canadian authors who are really top line authors. Eric Walters has proven to me he is one of Canada's top writers.
November 13, 2020
I read this in my first year of high school. It definitely helped me empathize with anyone I met who was homeless. You can't assume someone's story from what condition they're in or what clothes they're wearing.
February 23, 2022
Short very easy read but it was nice to read a Canadian book based out of my hometown. Taught some good lessons about homelessness and veterans who experience homelessness
October 26, 2020
This was a really good book. It's about a guy called Ian who has to go work at a soup kitchen in order to pass his civics class. He hates it at first and despises homeless people, but then he meets a guy named Jack, who used to be in the military. He talks with him and researches some things on his own, and he learns about United Nations peacekeeping missions and genocide, especially the one in Rwanda. Jack was fighting in Rwanda at that time, and he can't get over the horror of it. Gradually, throughout the book, Ian tries to help Jack. His eyes open to the horrors of genocides, to the numbers that are just statistics. He becomes more caring to the homeless as he gets to know them more.
This book was really eye-opening. We learn about homelessness, what leads to it, and how the people who live on the streets are always hidden so that we can't see them, so that we can't know just how many there are. We learn about genocides, how so many are killed that the numbers just turn into statistics, how they are always hidden in the back, never on the front page of new stories.
I really liked the character of Ian. At the beginning, he's just a non-caring rich kid who hates school and thinks soup kitchens are a joke. But he really changes throughout the book, and I like who he becomes at the end.
This book was really eye-opening. We learn about homelessness, what leads to it, and how the people who live on the streets are always hidden so that we can't see them, so that we can't know just how many there are. We learn about genocides, how so many are killed that the numbers just turn into statistics, how they are always hidden in the back, never on the front page of new stories.
I really liked the character of Ian. At the beginning, he's just a non-caring rich kid who hates school and thinks soup kitchens are a joke. But he really changes throughout the book, and I like who he becomes at the end.
April 30, 2024
Me semblait que l'auteur a bien fait en abordant les sujets qu'il voulait transmettre : les relations familiales, l'injustice, l'altruisme, la guerre, entre autres; ils ont été traités avec sérieux et selon différentes perspectives. Cela a contribué à rendre l'histoire réaliste, à nous connecter plus avec les personnages.
J'ai apprécié que tout en développant l'histoire entre Ian et Jack, l'auteur nous montrait également ce que Berta a vécu, ce que Jacob a vécu et même un peu de ce que Mac a vécu, rendant l'histoire plus intéressante.
L'évolution tant d'Ian que de Jack m'a semblé évidente ; ils apprenaient l'un de l'autre, nous montrant comment finalement nous avons tous besoin d'aide, même ceux qui pensent pas en avoir besoin, comme Jack. Nous avons tous besoin de sortir de notre bulle pour voir la réalité des choses, Ian en a été un excellent exemple. Son évolution psychologique m'a semblé bonne, passant de simplement s'intéresser à terminer son travail à vouloir s'intéresser à la vie des sans-abri et à ce qui se passe en général dans le monde. Bertha, Jack et Mac ont été d'une grande aide.
J'ai apprécié que tout en développant l'histoire entre Ian et Jack, l'auteur nous montrait également ce que Berta a vécu, ce que Jacob a vécu et même un peu de ce que Mac a vécu, rendant l'histoire plus intéressante.
L'évolution tant d'Ian que de Jack m'a semblé évidente ; ils apprenaient l'un de l'autre, nous montrant comment finalement nous avons tous besoin d'aide, même ceux qui pensent pas en avoir besoin, comme Jack. Nous avons tous besoin de sortir de notre bulle pour voir la réalité des choses, Ian en a été un excellent exemple. Son évolution psychologique m'a semblé bonne, passant de simplement s'intéresser à terminer son travail à vouloir s'intéresser à la vie des sans-abri et à ce qui se passe en général dans le monde. Bertha, Jack et Mac ont été d'une grande aide.
March 28, 2019
being homeless myself it was interesting reading a story like this one from a different point of view. some rich kid, right? he's my age too which made it even better. anyways he really does change a lot and i like stories like these. where i'm around don't nobody like the rich kids, so it was cool reading it from one of their points of views. right now though what Jacques said bout the homeless kids is wrong, least where i'm from. i know kids got kicked out at 13. stuff like that. but mostly bad homes, yeah, that part was spot on. then there's the couple that just think being a street kid is cool.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2020
This book has been my absolute favourite since high school, I last read it 10 years ago and reading it today has still brought me to tears, and made me fall in love with it all over again! It is a very educational, inspiring and emotional read with such a powerful message behind it all. I highly recommend it, you connect on a personal level with the characters and i had a hard time putting the book down! My favourite quotes from the book would include "Fear is always with you. You just can't let it overwhelm you." & "Just remember, a sign of strength is asking for help."
April 7, 2021
A young adult novel. Ian is in grade 10 Civics class and needs to complete his service hours to earn the credit. He serves at a soup kitchen and is surprised to discover how many people live on the streets of his city. One man with whom he connects is a former soldier suffering PTSD from what he saw in Rwanda, a place and war Ian knows nothing about. I'd use this book in a classroom or for individual reading.
December 7, 2017
I read this book in Jr High, and it really made me think about life. I felt I grew a bit, much like Ian from the book, and opened my eyes a little. This book puts the tragedy of the Rwandan genocide in a way that younger people can understand, and yet not scar or scare them. At the book store, and library that I work at, I recommend this book to any who will listen.
May 5, 2021
I read this book for school and I really enjoyed it! It has such important topics and I learned so much while reading this book! Before reading this I had very small knowledge about what happened in Rwanda but I know more now. Also the chapter development is one of the best parts of this book! I highly recommend this to everyone!
May 1, 2022
wonderful story
This was a wonderful story. My husband knows Romeo Dallaire and was quite moved by his stories of What happened in Rwanda. However, there was a formatting problem in the kindle version where two people often spoke in the same paragraph. It took a bit of work deciphering who was speaking.
This was a wonderful story. My husband knows Romeo Dallaire and was quite moved by his stories of What happened in Rwanda. However, there was a formatting problem in the kindle version where two people often spoke in the same paragraph. It took a bit of work deciphering who was speaking.
May 15, 2019
This book was amazing, I found it really sad.
I may have cried a few times.
I'm trying to find who said "it isn't what you look like, but what you do" I can't seem to find who said it. Anyone know??
I may have cried a few times.
I'm trying to find who said "it isn't what you look like, but what you do" I can't seem to find who said it. Anyone know??
August 21, 2019
This is an amazing YA book. Most in this genre seem to pull back on the really gutting wrenching details. Not Eric Walters. In Shattered he gives us true depictions of the genocide in Rwanda. Very powerful and sure to be an eye opener for many readers. Walters never disappoints.
March 26, 2021
It was just okay. I get the idea of where the author wanted to go with this story, but IMO it was missing great details and I found that Bertha's side story was better than Ian and Sarge's. Also, the synopsis just kinda revealed the whole story for me and didn't leave me guessing.
January 4, 2025
I read this for a class project and wasn't into the book for that reason. After reading it at my own pace I ended up enjoying this book a lot, I learned a lot about history from different countries and as well it changed my perspective on a lot of different topics.
February 23, 2018
What a great book!
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