Sacred Leaf

Cocalero Novels #2

by Deborah Ellis

The people of Bolivia have grown coca for legitimate purposes for hundreds of years, but the demands of America's War on Drugs now threaten this way of life. Deborah Ellis's searing follow-up to the highly praised I Am a Taxi deals with this frank reality .

After he manages to escape from virtual enslavement in an illegal cocaine operation, Diego is taken in by the Ricardo family. These poor coca farmers give Diego a safe haven where he recovers from his ordeal in the jungle. But the army soon moves in and destroys the family's coca crop — their livelihood. So Diego joins the cocaleros as they protest the destruction of their crops and confront the army head-on by barricading the roads. While tension between the cocaleros and the army builds to a dramatic climax, Diego wonders whether he will ever find a way to return to his family. This compelling novel defies conventional wisdom on an important issue, and shows how people in one part of the world unknowingly create hardship for people in another.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Bolivia, Fiction, Childrens, Novels

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries.

She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for The Breadwinner Trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports health and education projects in Afghanistan. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario.

Reviews

[Connie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents the different sides of the drug war in Bolivia, and the effect on the children in that country. Coca is grown in Bolivia for tea and for medicine for high altitude, and is considered to be a sacred plant by the native people. It can also be mixed with chemicals to make cocaine. The army in Bolivia was pulling up the crops grown by the coca farmers, the cocaleros, in conjunction with the American war on drugs. It left the farmers with no income and no food.

Diego, whose parents were falsely imprisoned, has escaped from some cocaine processors who use young children to stomp on the coca leaves which have been mixed with chemicals to make a paste. He is taken in by the Ricardos who grow coca for legitimate purposes. After their crops are destroyed by the army, a large group of cocaleros organize a protest and block a bridge.

The author educates the reader about Bolivia and the drug war while writing about Diego's adventures. She also tells of the importance and dangers of a protest from the point of view of a twelve-year-old. Overall, it was an interesting book.

[Maggie V · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although it was a tough topic (farmers striking and blockading bridges to raise coca, not as cocaine but as tea, and being forced by American money to not grow their crops), I never really rooted for them. The writing and the language was too general for me to feel that it was happening in Bolivia. I was connected to the general theme, but not the characters.

I don't know if I would recommend it because it was so general. If someone was interested in this topic, then maybe, but not to everyone.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A revealing look at the effects of the "war on drugs" on a culture that has harvested the coca plant throughout history, and now facing govermental interventions that redefine what will no longer be allowable in order to earn a living. A thought-provoking read for a middle-school audience to discover what lies on the other side of this major U.S. issue.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deborah Ellis got her groove back with this book! WOW! Sacred Leaf picks up right where I Am a Taxi left off but the prose is MUCH more interesting and engaging this time around. Diego has matured a lot and I found him to be so much more likable in this novel. This book reminded me a lot of The Breadwinner and I thought Ellis did a great job of communicating to the reader the situation in Bolivia. She talked about the drug trade and how the U.S. actually fuels a lot of the problems with our horrible anti-drug policies. I thought she really got inside the heads of the characters and was able to show the reader why these cocalero farmers were risking everything for this protest. The characters are not all good/evil -- she skillfully illustrates how this is not such a black-and-white issue. By the end of the story you feel a lot of compassion for the characters and have a lot of questions including ones for Bolivia's government and the United States. It's bound to make you question the "war on drugs" and whether or not it's actually worth fighting. This is a really well developed, well researched book that I highly recommend to American teens.

[Gracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this novel was a good conclusion to I Am A Taxi. I liked the Captain, and thought that he was written well. He was one of mu favourite characters because even though he was supposed to be the cocalero's blockade on the bridge, he didn't want to injure his fellow Bolivians. I thought that Deborah Ellis had good character development. Diego's friends all had a personality that went well with the story line. Juanita is the tough girl that doesn't like Diego, and I think that helps the book come alive.

[Bethann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in a series I am reading. In this book Diego is now staying with the Ricardo family and all of their cocoa leaves have been taken away by the Army. The Army is trying to avoid the production of cocaine, and the Ricardo family is just trying to survive. The taking of the cocoa leaves results in a blockade of people in the village. The Captain of the Army only wants to help Diego return to his family, which in the end of the book he does. Before the book ends, Diego and the Captain are working under cover to help stop the production of cocaine.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

( 1 )i wanted to read this book because my mum said it was a great book and i would love it

( 2 )on the bingo board it fill the box "a book that teaches you about a culture other than your own

( 3 )one of my fav parts is when he escapes from the camp it's my fav part because i is exciting and nerve racking

( 4 ) i lernt that i am lucky too have the life i have and don't take any thing for granted

( 5 ) i liked diego because he is the main person in the book and he is happy even when he is in a bad way/place

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series, The Cocalero Novels, introduced me to several problems that I had been unaware of: children growing up in prisons, cocaine production, and the Bolivian revolution.

I think some of my students would be interested in these topics. I'm just worried about the kids who would be most interested in how to fight the military/police and Molotov cocktails.

I rather liked the ending.

[Cris]

I think that this is a great book. it is also a very sad book because it has a lot of things like war people against the government. They want their stuff back. That's how they make a living and the government is trying to take the cocao leaves away from them.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second part of "I am a taxi" and while it was a good story about the Cochabamba, Bolivia water war, it wasn't as powerful as the first book. Still, since there are so few YA books set in Bolivia, it's worth reading!

[Apoorv Londhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book ! It tells you about the problems of the farmers of bolivia who grow KOKE crop in their farms . Another good book from Deborra Ellis ! The situation of farmers as well as the small children is very well described !!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came from the library as a children's book so had a relatively straightforward storyline. It is the second in a series set in Bolivia about the struggle against poverty, the officials' battle against cocaine, the sacred plant of the locals. Told through a young teenager's point of view.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sacred Leaf is a great book for kids in between 9 and 10. It teaches good lessons and has flowing vocabulary that is both descriptive and easy to understand. It gets a little bit slow at times but it's all worth it in the end. :)

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about Bolivia without being too depressing.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I have learned so far is that coca is a great plant for medicine as tea in Bolivia,but when it's natruel.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to "Diego, Run!" as the impoverished peoples of an impoverished country, seek to gain control of their own lives and destiny, their own country and it's resources.

[Ryan]

2nd book after i am a taxi the should make a third book the story eneded to early

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad lives. and i am hugely unaware of life in other countries.

[Cleo Vandermeirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked but not as much as I am taxi because I am a taxi moves more. In Sacred leaf you just stay on a bridge and a village. In I am a taxi you move to lots of different places.

[Linda Cousens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents two different sides of the drug war in Bolivia and how it affects the children in that country. Caco has been grown for tea and medicine for centuries. But more recently it is turned into cocaine. In this story, the military take the plants from the farmers who depend on this for their survival. A massive protest is organized by the farmers throughout the country. They stop traffic from moving for days until the military arrive with tear gas and rifles.
This is a well-written book sensitive to the plight of the Bolivian people.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second wonderful novel in this series, by the excellent author! Diego is helped by a family after his drug work, and then he helps the community at a blockade against the coca leaf robbers.

[Dyck House · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. It really does give the reader a very different perspective on how the drug trade affects kids

[Kellyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deborah Ellis is a brave, clear-sighted writer who does not shrink from difficult topics. In this sequel to I Am a Taxi Ellis continues the story of Diego and his family. After escaping from the cocaine operation Diego stumbles into a small village where the Ricardo family take him into their home. Soon however the village's fields are destroyed by the army. Villagers join together to blockade road in order to prevent the army from continuing the destruction of their livlihood.

By focusing on the plight of Diego, Ellis personalizes the plight of a people and demonstrates how decisions made in one area of the world have unforeseen negative consequences for others. Sacred Leaf gives voice to a side of the war against drugs that is seldom heard.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, "I am a Taxi." This one is less exciting and more mature. The subject matter is probably a little higher than the reading level. There is a lot more information about politics and resistance of the coca growers. This book is also a historical fiction, following Diego as he participates in specific events in Bolivian history. It is still a good book and would be a valuable teaching tool for upper middle school to learn about peasant resistance. A very fast read.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

didactic and inauthentic dialogue, but a great introduction to the issues of drug trade for elementary/jr high

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a bit simplistic and preachy.

[Brianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this at work yesterday and remembered that I read it. I don't remember much except that I didn't like it much :')

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

i didnt enjoy this book, it wasnt as good as i am a taxi because it was less exciting.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, but not as thrilling as the first book (I am a Taxi).

[Yunes]

I suggest this book because, it was a book that you could feel what the character was feeling even if you do not relate the character. I suggest this book to the people that have read the first then you would really enjoy this one much more.