Sugar Beach--Review--from Rebecca

(I wrote the following right after finishing the book. Now that it's Feb. I'm going to post it b/c my book has to go back to the library this week!) There aren't any questions posted yet, so here I am writing some thoughts down in a very random way.  When I first started reading, it was interesting but a little slow. I got a little bogged down in the introduction of so many relatives and different times in history. Once I got halfway though, I was so caught up in Helene's life that I read all the way through in one evening, just wanting to know the outcome! It's amazing to know that this is her true-life story. 

Helene is so very likable. At the end, one thing I found myself really wanting was to actually hear her voice, and was excited when I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vbZI3fbTC8.  It was easy to picture her as a friend, a happy child, a "normal" teen.  I liked her honesty--for instance in telling about the way she faced some of her new challenges like attending new schools and hiding in the library.  We've all faced new situations before and I related to that feeling. She was inspiring--she kept moving forward even after her childhood was taken from her and dedicated herself to achieving her dream as a journalist. I think she's a remarkable woman!

Reading this made me feel immenseley stupid in the realm of foreign affairs. I don't think I'd given much thought to the country of Liberia prior to this! Once it was an affluent, up & going society and after the coup, it reverted into a 3rd world country! How so many people survived, and are still living in this manner, with no electricty, no phone lines, etc. is shocking. What then  struck me is how fragile our country is as well. It could be said that we have a false sense of security too. In the end, Philip had stayed behind, saying that despite what had happened,  Liberia was his home. That is some serious allegiance! I was touched at how he had endured a church service in the same congregation with the men who murdered his father, and then been able to let go of the anger & hatred. I would have liked to learn a little more about him. 

While at first it seemed strange that Helene's parents went and adopted 11 year old Eunice from a poor family, I was pleasantly suprised that Eunice really was treated like their own daughter. I think that says a lot about Helene's parents. I loved that although Eunice was shy and stuttered when she spoke, that she was still spunky and courageous. Where did she get her inner strength from? She was the one always comforting Marlene, reassuring Helene, protecting them when she wasn't even that much older than they were. There wasn't very much detail about her life after the Coopers moved to the U.S. I was shocked when Eunice got pregnant in a relationship where the boyfriend took off immediately after. This didn't seem like her. I wonder if she was feeling "lost" during this time of her life, without the Coopers, dreams of college in the U.S. now unattainable, living in a poor shack with her biological mom again, and just longed for some love and security in a boyfriend. I was pretty heartbroken for her.  To sidestep away from Eunice for a minute...I was impressed by the lesson that this taught Helene, Marlene, and their father when he told his girls that they "could always come talk" to their parents. When Eunice reunites with Helene again, she seems to have carried no bitterness. I have to admire this amazing, humble, woman.