A Girl Named Disaster (Glencoe Literature Library)

A Girl Named Disaster (Glencoe Literature Library)

By Nancy Farmer

3 ratings 10 reviews 5 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 9 - 12Grades 3 - 8X5.190379
Orchard Classics is a collectible hardcover line of award-winning titles from the Orchard backlist with fresh, beautiful new designs and new author prefaces and discussion guides.

A GIRL NAMED DISASTER is the humorous and heart-wrenching story of young girl who discovers her own courage and strength when she makes the dangerous journey from Mozambique to Zimbabwe. Nhamo is a Shona girl living in a traditional village in Mozambique in 1981. When her family tries to force her into a marriage with a cruel man, she flees. What was supposed to have been a short boat trip across the border into Zimbabwe, where she hoped to find her father, turns into an adventure filled with challenges and danger that spans a year.
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
ISBN-13: 9780545356626
ISBN-10: 0545356628
Published on 1/1/2012
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 336

Book Reviews (10)

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A girl named disaster is about a girl named Nhamo who has to run away from her village due to being forced to marry against her will. Nhamo goes on a journey to find her dad, who disappeared years ago, and is supposed to be living in Zimbabwe. Her journey has many different twists and turns, and when she does gets to Zimbabwe, she isn't quite sure who her family is any more. It is a great book and I recommend that you read it.

this is a very powerful book. it has so many messages that are simple and some that you really have to pay attention to. I say "yes" to this book.

Dierdre M Dierdre M

The book a "Girl Named Disaster," is about a young girl, named Nhamo, her mom is dead and her dad is missing. When she is given to a cruel man with two wife's as a junior wife, she steals a canoe from the deceased crocodileguts to find her father. when Nhamo hits the river she is taken down stream . With limited food she will have to go past her village, through a huge lake, and to Zimbeawe. Will she make it? Even though the book sounds very exiting the book is rather slow and boring. A reason this book is slow, is because not a lot of exiting things happened. She does get lost but she stays lost for a long time and their is not a lot of twist. It had some fast parts but mostly slow parts.

Cassidy K. Cassidy K.

The book "A Girl Named Disaster" is about a young girl, Nhamo, whose mom died and before she goes on a journey to find her father, who hasn't been part of her life for awhile, she finds out she has to marry a bad man. So, Nhamo runs away before marrying him to look for her father in Zimbabwa. While she is boating to Zimbabwa it shows what Nhamo eats, wears, feels, acts, thinks and a lot about her culture. It is a long journey where she meets friends and learns how to survive.

Soha S. Soha S.

A Girl Named Disaster is about a girl who is named Nhamo, who goes on a journey to find her father. Her mother was killed by a leopard a long time ago. So she's on a journey to find her father. I enjoyed this book because its interesting and keeps me guessing. I enjoyed all the details. I could picture whats happening in my head like its a movie. Thats what I enjoyed about the book "A Girl Named Disaster."

Sami Sami

A Girl Named Disaster Nancy Farmer The book ‘’A Girl Named Disaster,’’ is a adventurous, thrilling novel in which a girl experiences the worst life ever. This ‘’disaster girl’’ is named Nhamo. Nhamo lives with her family, but it is not full. Her mother was killed by a leopard and her dad unexpectedly ran away. Now Nhamo must live with her cruel aunt who is always pointing out her mistakes. When Nhamo discovers that she is forced to marry a mistreating man with three wives she runs away. With only a boat some cakes and her loved ones spirits she is forced to try to survive the raf of Mother Nature on the way to freedom-Zimbabwe. On the way she learns more about her self and makes some new friends.

Clancy G Clancy G

“A Girl Named Disaster,” by Nancy Farmer was an exciting, thrilling story that caught my attention and won’t be forgotten. The main character takes you on the adventure of a lifetime but is not too far from real life. Nhamo, the main character, has a hard time living in her village, always feeling on the outside. Her mother was killed by a leopard and her father is nowhere to be found. No one will tell her anything about her father and where he has gone, she doesn't even know if her parents were married. When she has to be sacrificed to a cruel man who already has three wives, she doesn’t know what to do. Her grandmother knew what she had to do, Nhamo had to run away with little information on how to survive in the wild. She must follow hard directions to try to find her father. She steals a boat, and is swept out into a large lake. She will battle drowning, starvation, wild animals, and the mystery of what lies ahead. The gripping adventure and spirit of the main character turned the story into a must read. One reason the story was unforgettable was how realistic it felt and how you could really connect with the reading. It made you feel like you were following the girl the whole time being able to relate to the smallest things like loving the feel of the ground after you got off a long boat ride. The detail just made it better making you able to feel exactly how she felt at that time. You were able to feel the pain when Nhamo heard news that broke her heart and enjoy some of the things we take for granted. This thrilling adventure took you somewhere you never thought you would go. This is a must read and will teach you something about the African culture.

This seems llike an interesting book. My family has it, but I'm too busy to read.... (:

vivi padmaraju vivi padmaraju

When almost 12 year old Nhamo finds out she has to marry a cruel man who already has three wives, because her father murders the kings brother, she runs away to Zimbabwe to find her father who ran away. All she takes with her are a couple of mealie bags, gold nuggets and some other food. Nhamo thinks it will take only two days to get their but it ends up being over a year, on her journey she faces vicious animals, hunger, womanhood, and loneliness. Will she survive the shocking moments or will she lose it all.

Lauren Martin Lauren Martin

Summary An almost twelve year old girl named Nhamo lives in the village with her family all but her mother who is dead and her father who is gone.She soon finds out that she will be forced to marry a man who already has three wives.To keep from this she runs away to find her long lost father by conoe.On her journey she battles starvation and wild animals. Overall review Overall I thought this book was ok.It has great information on African culture but it could have had a better ending, and be far more intersting throughout the book. The thing that i dislike about this book is the fact that it wasn’t very interesting.She was on the boat for far too long and I completely lost interest.One thing I did enjoy is the great details about the African culture.It talked about their religion,food,how they dressed and much more.