Audio Review & Giveaway: Say Your One of Them by Uwem Akpan

Title: Say You're One of Them
Narrator: Robin Miles and Dion Graham
Author: Uwem Akpan
Publication: October 13, 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Format: Abridged
Source: Gift
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Length: 2 Hours and 32 minutes
Format:Rating: 5 of 5

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Synopsis: Each story in this jubilantly acclaimed collection pays testament to the wisdom and resilience of children, even in the face of the most agonizing circumstances.

A family living in a makeshift shanty in urban Kenya scurries to find gifts of any kind for the impending Christmas holiday. A Rwandan girl relates her family's struggles to maintain a facade of normalcy amid unspeakable acts. A young brother and sister cope with their uncle's attempt to sell them into slavery. Aboard a bus filled with refugees-a microcosm of today's Africa-a Muslim boy summons his faith to bear a treacherous ride across Nigeria. Through the eyes of childhood friends the emotional toll of religious conflict in Ethiopia becomes viscerally clear.

Uwem Akpan's debut signals the arrival of a breathtakingly talented writer who gives a matter-of-fact reality to the most extreme circumstances in stories that are nothing short of transcendent.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this listen. It is emotional. You always hear about the atrocities occurring in Africa but never from a child's point of view. Akpan does an excellent job of providing a child's experience. My eyes were opened by many of the things the children went threw. There were moments that i had many tears. The tears shed were worth getting to experience this story. I will be picking up this audio unabridged in order to get the rest of the stories. 

This book is perfect for an audio performance. This is a single multi-voiced performance. What I mean by that is that there are 2 narrators but for the most part they handle each story individually. Each character is differentiated by tone, inflection, and accent. The pacing of the audio is appropriate. The abridgment flows smoothly. 

Giveaway: This giveaway is for a used Audio in new condition (only listened to once) and is only open to US/CAN residents. Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter. 
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