A Long Way Gone Ch. 19-20

The more I am progressing in this book, I am becoming so much more happier for Ishmael! I love reading about him being happy! It makes me excited for him, because he is starting a new, better life for himself. Although, I was sad that my suspicions of Ishmael not seeing Esther anymore after he moved in with his uncle were confirmed. He did go and see her once, but then he never went back. And it broke my heart in a way when Ishmael said, "It was the last time I saw her. I loved her but never told her." Pg. 181 I was sad because, he never really thanked her. He did hug her back though, which, in a way was his thanks. It just wasn't a formal thanks. I was also sad that Ishmael never saw his old friends again. But, they said their goodbyes heartily. Ishmael did make new friends though! He even had some girlfriends, but never got very far into them, because he didn't was unwilling to tell anyone about his past. He had a new loving family now also! While living with his new family, he was given the opportunity to go to the UN to talk about the lives of children in Sierra Leone and what can be done about it. He met many kids during his trip in the US and became friends with them. Especially a boy from Malawi named, Madoka. Another boy was, Bah, who had traveled with him to New York City.  There were also two women who Ishmael said would soon become his mother and his aunt when he moved to New York later. His future mother's name was, Laura Simms. I was taken by surprise when he said that she was going to become part of his family. I didn't dwell on it too long though, because I knew that she made him happy and that made me happy too. After a sad goodbye to his friends, Ishmael was on his way home. The end of Ch. 20 was very interesting. Ishmael said, "My sixteenth birthday was eight days away, and throughout the flight back home I still felt as if I was dreaming, a dream that I didn't want to wake up from. I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone. Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world." Pg. 200 After reading this, I was happy to see that Ishmael finally felt good about himself. I'm excited to finish reading! This has been a great book so far!