Guerrieri di sogni
(Warriors of Dreams) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Her flight had just begun, and would take her to uncharted territories, but Maud knew one thing for sure: her life was not the product of circumstances but of her humble and joyful decisions, and of her hard work, done at night, while the rest of the world was asleep. A Chinese proverb says: if you plan for next year, grow rice, if you plan for the next ten years, plant trees, but if you plan for the next hundred years, bet on people. And that is exactly what the protagonists of this book do. They bet on themselves, putting themselves on the line to make their dreams come true. From little Wang Fuman, who walks to school every day in the freezing cold in China, to Emma, who, after losing her classmates in a shooting, fights against the free sale of weapons in the United States; from Negin, who studies to become an orchestra conductor in Afghanistan even though music is considered immoral in his country, to little Nojoud, a Yemeni ‘child bride’ who rebels and asks for a divorce. Yacoub, a refugee in Italy, has been trying for years to find his mother. They, like all the other protagonists of these stories, are dreamers and warriors. They are our future. [Publisher’s website]
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
This book by Viviana Mazza is an insightful collection of the lives of brave girls and boys, true peaceful warriors in a world that often humiliates and betrays them. The author selects stories from all over the world, embracing different ethnicities, cultures, and socio-economic classes, from the United Kingdom to Pakistan, from China to Indian reservations in the USA. The book presents many different examples of young women’s and men’s lives. In particular, it portraits many different examples of young women: from Afghan Negin Khpalwalk, the first female orchestra conductor in her country, to Yemeni Nojoud Ali, a child bride who rebels against patriarchal oppression, to American Emma González, survivor of a school shooting and now a gun control activist. Out of 13 profiles, seven are dedicated to young women, and all the stories offer a wide variety of courage, strength, perseverance, and resilience. Of all the people presented, only one protagonist is white, that is, the visually impaired Paralympic athlete Millie Knight. Viviana Mazza, award-winning journalist for the newspaper Corriere della Sera, tells the stories of these girls and boys with honest and admiring participation. They are activists for the protection of the environment and human rights, like the Native American Jasilyn Charger, girls who defend their right to study, like the Zimbabwean Maud Chifamba, boys who want to play football instead of being recruited by street gangs, like the Honduran Kevin Rodriguez. The writing style is fluent and engaging, and it succeeds in recounting with balance and sincerity the violent and painful conditions in which millions of children live. The beautiful illustrations by Paolo d’Altan and the short factsheets on the countries covered complete an intense, quality text, an excellent read to allow secondary school students (as well as older readers) to get to know the challenges and resources of their peers around the world.