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The Bitter Side of Sweet

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The Bitter Side of Sweet

Written by: Tara Sullivan
Narrated by: JD Jackson
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About this listen

Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. This number is very important. The higher the number, the safer they are, because the bosses won't beat them. The higher the number, the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home to Moke and Auntie. Maybe.

The problem is, Amadou doesn't know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won't tell him. The boys wanted only to make some money during the dry season to help their impoverished family. Instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive - until Khadija comes into their lives. She's the first girl who's ever come to camp, and she's a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The old impulse to run is suddenly awakened. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape.

©2016 Tara Sullivan (P)2016 Tantor Action & Adventure Difficult Situations Fiction Growing Up Literature & Fiction Young Adult Boss
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What the critics say

"Absorbing and important." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Bitter Side of Sweet

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Meaningful story

I found the topic a little mature but age appropriate for middle school and high school. It would be a good discussion about social justice and responsibility.

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puts things into perspective

I love this book. it allowed me to see things from a different perspective. really made me contemplate where my chocolate came from

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