Gervelie was only a toddler when her life was shattered by civil war in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. She and her grandmother fled, while her father searched for her mother. During the next six years, Gervelie shuttled from city to city, parent to parent to grandmother, then country to country until she and her father arrived in England. She witnessed brutality and mur der and lost relatives and friends to the violence. She is now a young teen living in England, but she is conflicted about her “home.” Allan’s watercolor illustrations soften the potentially disturbing journey while photographs provide authenticity. 2009 USBBY Outstanding International Books List. lmp