Beyond the Mango Tree

Title: Beyond the Mango Tree
Author: Any Bronwen Zemser
ISBN: 0-06-440786-1
Format: Chapter Book-Fiction
Pages: 166 pgs.

Review: This is the story of Sarina, a 12 year old girl living with her parents in Liberia. Her father is always away on work related trips and so she is stuck at her big house with her diabetic mother and two hired helpers, Te Te, whom she can't stand and Oldman. She is forced to stay on the grounds of the property, so she does not have any friends. And she is always needed to help her mom through her diabetic reactions, which can be a lot for a girl of her age. Her sadness and boredom ends when she makes friends with a Liberian boy named Boima. He comes to visit her and they secretly play and tell stories to one another. Sarina gets angry when she finds out that Te Te has been stealing food from her house in order to give Boima and his family since they are so poor. Sarina is so enraged that she ends her friendship with Boima and threatens to tell her parents on Te Te. She learns a hard lesson when she finds out Boima is deathly ill and needs her help. Without giving away the ending, this book gives the reader time to reflect on things important to life such as family relationships, friendships, growing responsibilities, and selfishness. The audience for this book is any tween ages 10 and up. The reader can identify with Sarina, because she has to deal with a lot of issues that most tweens do not normally encounter in their lives. It provides good examples of the decision making process and learning to think of others when you make decisions. It is also heavily themed personal responsibilities, being a good friend, and carrying out one's obligations to their family even against their own will. Lots of life lessons are incorporated in this book along with lessons on racism and poverty.