The powerful stories of two Haitian teenagers, Djo and Jeremie, speak to the loyalty they both feel for their country. Djo was one of Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide's "boys" engaged in an ongoing street fight against military dictatorship in Haiti, until he was taken against his will to work in the sugarcane fields of the Dominican Republic. It is three long years before he is able to escape back to Haiti. Soon after his return he is badly injured in a firebombing attack on Titid's boys. As he lies in a hospital bed, Djo tells his story to Jeremie, who has a tale of her own. Jeremie and Djo's contemporary voices are a riveting testament to a country in political turmoil and to the liberating power of literacy. Winner, 1992 CCBC Newbery Award Discussion. (Age 12 and older)

Every Life
Makes a Story

Djo has a story: Once he was one of "Titid's boys," a vital member of Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide's election team, fighting to overthrow military dictatorship in Haiti. Now he is barely alive, the victim of a political firebombing.

Jeremie has a story: Convent-educated Jeremie can climb out of the slums of Port-au-Prince. But she is torn between her mother's hopes and her own wishes for herself ... and for Haiti.

Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide has a story: A dream of a new Haiti, one in which every person would have a decent life ... a house with a roof ... clean water to drink ... a good plate of rice and beans every day ... a field to work in.

At Aristide's request, Djo tells his story to Jeremie -- for Titid believes in the power of all of their stories to make change. As Jeremie listens to Djo, and to her own heart, she knows that they will begin a new story, one that is all their own, together.