The girl who smiled beads cover

The girl who smiled beads

by Clemantine Wamariya

It was 1994, and in 100 days, more than 800,000 people would be murdered in Rwanda and millions more displaced. Six-year-old Clemantine Wamariya and sister Claire spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries searching for safety and hiding while witnessing unimaginable cruelty. At age twelve, Clemantine and Claire were granted asylum in the United States. Raw, urgent, yet disarmingly beautiful, this book captures the true costs and aftershocks of war: what is forever lost, what can be repaired, the fragility and importance of memory.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?