Synopsis from Amazon:
In 1999, the plane carrying then 18-year-old Kalli and her father was hijacked by a leftist guerilla group and flown to a Colombian jungle, where the passengers were held captive for just over a year. Kalli kept a diary of her experience, reprinted here in a competent translation that retains Kalli's vivid intensity, even as she's explaining the fear and tedium of daily life as a hostage.
My review:
This is the story of the author's 373 days in captivity. She was 18 when this happened, and the experience forced her to grow up considerably. One reason I liked this book is because you can see her mature throughout. At the beginning all she talks about is boys and if she's too fat. Throughout the experience, she thinks about the future and what she wants to do, and struggles with body image issues and perhaps an eating disorder. The book also shows a change in her relationship with her father. They had not been very close, but the shared experience brought them closer together. At the beginning, she regularly prays for God to release her. But partway through, it seems like she stops believing in God, or starts to think that praying does not do any good. Scattered throughout the book are pictures she drew in her diary throughout her ordeal. I think that photographs would have enhanced the story. When I read a book like this, I like to see pictures of the people going through these experiences so that I can visualize them. The writing is not the greatest, but she was only 18 when she wrote this, and she originally did not intend anybody to see it. I liked that the story was told through diary entries.
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