The Red Pencil is a novel written in verse which describes a life in Sudan of a 12 years-old girl named Amira. Her beautiful village and her family fills her life with peace and delight. Yet everyone in the village including her and her family had to lived in fear of the Janjaweed attack. And one day they came without warning, lighting the village on fire and destroying all the happiness and joy. On that horrific day, Amira had lost her beloved dad, everything is gone, except from ashes that is left behind from the burning village. Her, her sister and her mother along with the other villagers have to migrate and find a new home. After few nights of walking, they finally arrive at the new places called Kalma. At the camp she receives a red pencil and and yellow sheets of paper from a visitor named Miss Sabrina. This inspired her to draw and want to learn more.

          This book introduces me to the new aspect of living in small and peaceful village where there’s no noises and busy roads unlike in the city as well as what it is like to live there. I like this book because I think that the storyline is very interesting even though there’s some parts that are really sad such as the loss of Amira’s dad and the memories during the Janjaweed attack which I don’t really enjoy. Furthermore, in my opinion this book is easier to read than normal novels because of the way the book written in verse which makes the story flows and also easier to understand.