#1 Book Review

My first book review is on 'Shadow' by Michael Morpurgo. It is a touching book about a young boy called Aman who lives in Afghanistan at a time the Taliban are in power. As the Taliban begin taking more power Aman's dad is killed. Aman thinks his life his ruined but out of the darkness comes 'Shadow' an injured Springer Spaniel. His mother hates dogs and keeps sending him away but Shadow keeps coming back. So, every night when Aman's mother and grandmother are sleeping he invites Shadow  into the cave he lives in to feed him the leftovers from the meal and to sleep there for the night. By the time Aman wakes up in the morning Shadow has left, knowing he can't get spotted by the other members of the family. As the bond grows stronger things get worst in Afghanistan, his Grandmother is killed. His mother, who was taken to prison and beaten by the officers knows they have to flee so they leave Afghanistan with Shadow leading the way. They end up being captured and all their jewels and most of their money stolen from them. Left on the streets with hardly no money they have to find countless numbers of places to sleep for the night, but one day when they are walking Shadow finds something at the side of the road, Aman runs over to find what he is looking at but everyone is telling him to move back. He runs into a ditch with his mother, just as a bomb goes off. It turns out that Shadow is a Sniffer Dog for the British Army. Aman then realizes that Shadow was leading them back to his proper owner, as the soldier tells him and his mother that he thought Shadow who is actually called Poppy was dead and he was heartbroken. Aman and his mother stay at their base for a few days, as Aman's foot needed to be treated but as everyday went by he knew it was getting closer to giving up Shadow for good. There are lot's more twists are turns in the story, and it is a must have book. I would recommend it to ages 12+, as it is a grown up topic. But overall it is a heartwarming and moving tale of friendship by a master story teller. I would rate this book a 9/10.