A review by avrilhj
Here I Stand: Stories that Speak for Freedom by Amnesty International UK

5.0

This book starts with a story about child sexual abuse. It includes stories about modern sex slavery, and a man on death row, and bullying that leads to suicide, and a suicide bomber, and a girl accused of witchcraft. This is not an easy book. I limited myself to one or two chapters a day so I didn’t get overwhelmed. And yet this is a collection for teenagers. I read it thinking about how important it is for children in countries like the UK and Australia to know these things (I think Tony Birch is the only Australian author but lots of the stories are equally applicable to Australia) but at what age is it appropriate to introduce them to this side of the world? Or did I already know these things at 13? I can’t remember when I first learned about the evil in the world. And I’m not sure it hurts less now than it did when I was a child. Reading about child abuse still nauseates me, reading about a girl being bullied for being same-sex attracted still means that I have to put the book down and take a break. The reactions of teenage me wouldn’t have been any different.