Who is the main character?

Ishmael Beah is the narrator, main character, and author of the book. When Beah is a teenager, he spends a year wandering Sierra Leone on the run from the civil war that claims his family. His childhood ended, Beah resorts to survivalist tactics to stay alive; he steals when he needs to, roams in packs of boys his own age who have been orphaned, and he spends long stretches of time alone in the forest. At 13, he is forced to become a soldier for the government's army and is ordered to kill rebels - many of whom are boys his own age. Beah witnesses and perpetrates numerous atrocities before he is rescued and rehabilitated by UNICEF. He speaks at several international conferences on children and war, including one at the United Nations. He currently lives in New York.