Year 13, Book 55

55. In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills by Jennifer Haupt

Shortly after the Rwandan genocide as the country is trying to come to terms with what happened and rebuild itself, Rachel Shepherd decides to travel there to see if she can locate her long missing father. He left her as a small child. Now after the death of her mother and multiple miscarriages she feels compelled to find the only family she has left. Her last known connection for him is through a woman named Lillian who runs an Rwandan orphanage. The story weaves together their stories across the past and present and finally revealing what happened to Rachel’s father. I really loved this book. My only complaint about is the love story that felt shoe-horned into it. It was barely there which made it a little less annoying but also made me wonder why the author felt the need to throw it in there at all. It was not all something this book needed. Other than that though it’s a really well-written novel with great characters and an interesting story. I give it a 9 out of 10.