Abe In Arms

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A senior in high school, Abe's got a scholarship awaiting him, a hot girlfriend and a loving and wealthy adoptive family, including a brother his own age. But suddenly, horrific flashbacks and seizures rip him back to five years ago in war-torn Africa, where he lost his mother, his sister, his friends and almost his own life to torturous violence. Abe in Arms is a suspenseful, action-filled book that will open teens' eyes and hearts to the lives of young people exposed to violence around the world, uncovering terrible experiences of war.

Reviews

"Pegi Shea's book, Abe in Arms, although fictional in nature, could have been true for any number of young boys in West Africa whose lives were devastated by conscription into the rebel army through force, threats, manipulation, bribery, and drugs. As a counselor and member of a trauma team who went to Liberia to teach counseling skills to civic and religious leaders following their civil war, I found it very heart breaking to witness the long term effects of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome upon the young boys, often no more than 11-14 years of age. Although there is a nation-wide effort in Liberia to rehabilitate these young boys, many require extensive mental health treatment and the prognoses are often disappointing. In her book, Pegi Shea engrosses us in the horrors of war, pulls at our heartstrings as we weep for Abe, and causes us to yearn for a time when he can confront the demons that control his life. At the same time, she explores the wrenching irony of war refugees being thrust into an American youth culture that glamorizes the very violence that has caused Abe so much anguish. Shea's resolution, like Abe's epiphany, is surprising, believable, and gratifying."
--Eleanor Porter Pershing, PhD., West Africa Trauma Team

Author Bio

Pegi Deitz Shea teaches at the Institute of Children's Literature and the University of Connecticut and has presented at more than 350 schools, libraries, and conferences across the United States. She is the author of The Carpet Boy's Gift, Patience Wright, Tangled Threads, Ten Mice for Tet, and The Whispering Cloth, which have been made Notables by organizations including the International Reading Association, National Council for the Social Studies, and the New York Public Library. She lives in Vernon, Connecticut.