All the Glimmering Stars by Mark Sullivan

 “The medicine man also told me that our spirits come from stars and return to stars when we die. So, when you look up at the stars, Anthony, you may also be seeing the spirits of your ancestors and the souls of your children shining back at you.”

     -George Opoka, to his young son 

 "He bowed his head and wished to God that all the glimmering stars in the sky, the souls of his ancestors and the spirits of the unborn, could come together to show him the right direction to take."

     -Anthony Opoka, remembering his father's words

I've read 2 historical novels by this author and enjoyed them both. In selecting this one, I surely didn't know what I was getting into!

Based on a true story it begins in Uganda in the late 1980's when the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is wreaking havoc in the country under the leadership of maniacal Joseph Kony. 

Two teens are kidnapped from their loving families in two different villages and forced to become soldiers in the LRA. Anthony Opoka is an outstanding student and athlete while Florence Okori, also an excellent student, dreams of becoming a nurse. The situations they are forced to endure among other "child warriors" makes for difficult reading. In the course of 400+ pages, one wonders if they will ever be able to escape but one keeps reading and hoping.

When Anthony and Florence meet and fall in love, there is some joy---briefly, but they remain slaves to Kony, called the Great Teacher, whose cruelty is horrifying. By the time the couple have two sons, they become desperate to get away. Memories of their good upbringing helps them survive. And Anthony's chance meeting with Mr. Mabior, a dying man whose last words to Anthony are very wise and inspiring make a huge difference for him through some terrible times.

The story was compelling but far from enjoyable, so I am rating it a 4. The story of Anthony and Florence Opoka is an amazing one, to be sure, and it is interesting to read Sullivan's notes about how he discovered it. I can only hope it brings attention to the use of children in combat because that horrible practice should be banned across the globe.