Say You're One Of Them by Uwem Akpan is a book of 3 long short stories and 2 shorter stories about different countries in Africa, with children or young adults as the central characters. Using young people as the main characters seemed to really make the stories more touching, especially given the conflicts portrayed in the book. Religious and tribal conflicts and sheer poverty are the main themes.
Although I had glancing knowledge about Africa and its troubles, these stories really gave a new dimension to my understanding. The stories are very engrossing and easy to read, with the possible exception of one which uses a lot of African dialect. The story set in Rwanda struck me as the most moving and harrowing.
They are sad stories, though, but given the state of Africa, that's not surprising. It is a good read and I recommend it. (This one is on my Kindle)
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