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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

'Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal' by Conor Grennan

Genre: Memoir
About the book (from Goodreads) :
In need of some fun and adventure, 30-year-old Conor Grennan traded in his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal. But what began as a lark became a passionate commitment that would transform the young American and the lives of countless others.


Why I wanted to read this book: I have often wanted to volunteer in another country and Conor's story sounded promising and intriguing. I wanted to know how Nepal and these children changed his life and the impact he made on theirs.
 
What worked for me:

  • I was immediately and I mean immediately drawn to Conor's voice. His authentic self shined through page after page and I liked him immediately.
  • He brought the orphans to life to me. I knew these children, I could hear their voices and laughter coming from the pages as I immersed myself in their country and culture.
  • I was enlightened about the civil war that raged through Nepal from 1996 until 2006. During that time many parents sent their children to live in the city. They were told that if they let their children leave with these people that they would be educated and fed. What they didn't realize is that they were being robbed of their entire life savings and that their children were sold into bondage or even worse, given to the Maoist to fight as soldiers. I never knew about this...I'm ashamed of myself for not being more knowledgeable about current events.
  • Conor's growth during this whole process was such a wonderful thing to experience. I utterly fell in love with these children, their stories, and yes, Conor himself...what a great humanitarian!!
Recommend?  Absolutely! Do not miss a chance to read this book. If you purchase a copy of Little Princes, proceeds go to Next Generation Nepal, which is the organization that Conor founded that houses these orphans and ultimately tries to reunite them with their family. Do yourself a favor and watch this short video. I think you'll be moved by Conor's words and will want to experience his story for yourself!!


My Rating: 5/5

Author: Conor Grennan
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages:281 (uncorrected ARC)
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 9780062031709
Disclaimer:Thank you to Tavia Kowalchuk, William Morrow and Shelf Awareness for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel
  © 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

23 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great book, Staci! If it weren't for the TBR Dare, I'd be heading over to my library's website right now to place a request. For now, I'll have to be content with adding it to my wish list.

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  2. Wowwwwwwwwwwwww! This sounds AMAZING!! I need to read this!! WOW! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  3. Wonderful review Staci. Hope to read this soon. Sounds like an important story.

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  4. I really want to read this book. My husband and I are in the process of adopting, and we looked into Nepal as an option. In our research we found that there are concerns about unethical or illegal activities regarding adoptions from Nepal, and ruled them out. You can read a bit more about this at http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/nepal.html. I am sure there is different information and opinions about this matter, this is just how I felt.

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  5. That was a great review Staci. Oh and the little boy on the cover is just so cute! I might just have to read this one someday!

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  6. How horrible, I did not know about these things either.

    Sounds like an emotional and good book

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  7. This sounds really good. Is it based on a true story?

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  8. This sounds like such an inspiring story. I've got it near the top of my TBR and cannot wait to read it.

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  9. That sounds really amazing.

    Thank you for sharing. :)

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  10. Great review. Wonderful what he is tring to do. I work with refugees from Butan in our ESL program at our Church and boy do they have stories that will break your heart.

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  11. There are a lot of great reviews written here, thanks for that. Have you ever thought giving Kindle book reviews? Just a thought, if you're interested I personally have two short story Kindle books to purchase and would love to hear a review. Thanks for the time, keep up your ambitions, they are encouraging. The link to both stories I've written for Kindle are: Boiling Point and Sunflower. You can search Amazon's site for either title with my name; Tim Eagle as the author. Thanks again.

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  12. I sometimes think about volunteering on other countries too, however there are so many needs on the homefront too.
    Regardless this is a book I will definitely read. Thank you Staci.

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  13. Very cool. I wanted to join the Peace Corps after college but was talked out it/chickened out. Love stories like this!

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  14. This sounds like such an incredible & inspirational story - I've read a few reviews on it and all are wonderful, which makes me even more intrigued to read it.

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  15. Ah hah! Now I see why my friend is trying to lend me this book. Thanks!

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  16. Oh wow. What an incredible sounding book. I had no idea that Nepal had just recently suffered through a civil war--now that I really think about, Nepal never seems to make it onto network news. I think I will be looking to read this one--thanks for the wonderful review...
    *smiles*

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  17. Wonderful review of a book that sounds like a must red for all. When I first finished my degree in teaching I truly thought about going overseas to teach. Had it not been for the fact that I had two tweens at the time I think I would have done it, volunteering would be a life altering experience and it sounds like this book more than show this.

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  18. I know pretty much nothing about the war in Nepal :\ I guess this is a good starting place to begin to change that, though!

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  19. Wow, this definitely sounds like a worthwhile book to read!

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  20. This sounds like it would be a perfect fit for me and the Memorable Memoir challenge I am attempting to participate in. Interesting topic and great review!

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  21. That sounds like an incredible story. Thanks for including the video with the author talking, that makes me want to read the book even more!

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  22. The child on the cover caught my eye first. I admire people who do work like the author has done. This sounds like an admirable story.

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