Review: Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 304
Source: ARC from Publisher
Category: Memoir
Rating: 5/5


Synopsis:

29-year-old Conor wanted to take a year long trip around the world, after receiving some criticism from his peers about this foolish trip, he decided to volunteer at a little orphanage in war-torn Nepal. Who could criticize a man who was taking a trip to volunteer to help little children? Conor thought is sounded pretty impressive, and after his 3 months, he could walk away and he would be free to do as he pleases. However, those 3 months changed his life forever, and when he tried to leave he realized a large part of him remained with those children.He had to go back. Conor was astonished when he learned that these children were not in-fact orphans, they were children subjected to child traffickers. In war-tore Nepal parents were desperate to keep their children safe, parents were willing to sell all their possessions to pay to keep their children from being conscripted into a rebel army that had formed in opposition to the government. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages that they could protect the children -for a large fee- they could bring them to safety. Desperate parents would sell everything, and trust these strangers to take care of their children. The children would be led far away from home, and abandoned in the capital of Nepal, many of them landing in orphanages. Their parents far away, and unaware. After his 3 months, Conor continues on his trip but realizes he must do more. Conor gained the trust and love of the children and vowed to help them be reunited with their families. His initial ideas about his trip were abandoned, and he throws himself into trying to open a non-profit organization to help these children.




Overall Impression:

This is one that everyone should read in 2011.”Little Princes” is a powerful, heart-breaking, brutally honest memoir. Truly amazing, and a real eye-opener. Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down and I immediately wanted to tell everyone about it. The good news is, it’s in the bookstore and you can go pick yourself up a copy. Child trafficking is not something that I knew a lot about, and it’s so sad that these parents honestly thought their children were going to be educated and well taken care of, instead they were made into slaves, abandoned on the street, or placed into orphanages. This book made me grateful for everything that I have. “Little Princes” reads like fiction, and then you remember that this is a true story that happened not long ago. While this can easily be a very depressing book, Conor’s humor and the children’s resilience really shine through. So, one more time...PLEASE GO BUY THIS BOOK!