- In the book Alexandria of Africa Alexandria gets into some trouble with the law and instead of going to juvenile Detention, she opts to do some charity work in Africa; which to her seems like a vacation.
- A little about Alexandria Hyatt: she is a very spoiled, very rich teenage girl who doesn’t really have a lot of respect for those around her. She has always gotten what she wants, and usually she can scheme her way out of trouble.
- When Alexandria arrives in Africa she realised that this “vacation” isn’t as she expected. She’s over 7,000 miles away from home, with no hot water, no cell phone reception, and no friends or family.
- Alexandria is confronted with a land as unfamiliar as it is unsettling.
- As she flaunts her popularity and fine designer clothes, Alexandria realises that none of these people seem to care about popularity or what she looks like.
- She also realizes that she’s the only one being forced to be there.
- But Alexandria’s perspective starts to turn when Renée, the group leader, shows her the classes of children they’re building the school for.
- Alexandria is stricken by the poverty and poorness of the children.
- One girl in particular, Ruth, who is around Alexandria’s age, befriends her.
- Ruth shows Alexandria the culture and customs of the people in Kenya.
- Throughout this journey we see Alexandria grow and transform into someone caring and kind. She now works hard on building the school instead of working hard on her looks.
- When she returns home her parents are shocked at how different she is.
So What?this book is a great insparation for teens to get out and do charity work! it promotes it in a really good way, it also talks about the culture and customs of the people of Kenya, and i think it's important for people to learn these things. this book is a good read for teens especially, and if you know anyone like Alexandria, suggest they read it, it might just be the wakeup call they need! this book shows how people form all over can get together and do something wonderful for those who need it. it tlaks about in the book how Alexandria was without hot water, cell phone reception, family and friends. well newsflash! there's a lot of people out there who don't have ANY of those EVER in their lives! this book hopfully inspires many others to go out, forget about those "sprinkles on the ice cream" and do something to make a differnece! even if it's locally. Eric Walters does a fantastic job in this book with Alexandria's transformation. He actually wrote most of this book while he and his son were doing charity work with Free the Children.
About the Writer
- Eric Walters was born in Toronto in 1957
- Eric is currently living in Mississauga, Ontario with his wife and 3 kids.
- In 1993 Eric Walters was a grade 5 teacher, with a class of reluctant readers and writers. This is what got Eric started on writing.
- His first novel, Stand Your Ground was created for his class.
- Since this first novel Eric has literally exploded on the children's young adult literature scene. Over the following years he has published sixty more novels with more scheduled for the coming years.
- Eric’s novels have won more than 80 awards including Silver Birch, Blue Heron, Red Maple, Snow Willow, Ruth Schwartz, and 11 separate children’s choice awards.
- Eric has moved beyond merely writing for children. He has presented to over 1 million - 400 thousand children across the country.
- His presentations blend drama, storytelling, audience participation and interaction.
- The book Alexandria of Africa is partially based on Eric’s trip to Africa.
Helpful Links & Sites Consulted- http://www.ericwalters.net/
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