Kidnapped for his brilliance, a 15-year-old electronics genius must fly deadly drones and fight as a sea-going pirate to keep his parents alive. Can he escape and also free his twin sister from the clutches of a sex-trafficker?
Earlier he worked as a self-taught Internet expert in the mega-city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while his songbird sister aspired to be a rumba star. But murderous gun-worshippers chloroformed him and whisked him away. Now he must fight for the wrong side.
The crazies know exactly where his parents and dog live. The leader of his captors, the thuggish Congolese Purification Army, is a seven-foot-tall whack-job handy with AK-47s and oversized machete blades.
Performed by Dion Graham, an award-winning narrator of bestsellers and distinguished literary works, the story is told as Lemba Adula's war memoir looking back on his life as a child soldier and pirate some 25 years earlier in the 2020s.
Lemba isn't just smart--he's witty and likable, and you'll be rooting for him and his sister to overcome the scary odds.
Junior Boweya and Jean Felix Mwema Ngandu fact-checked and critiqued the book.
Mature young adults and older. No obscenity or explicit sex.
PRAISE FOR DRONE CHILD
'A brainy, irresistible hero braves captivity to protect his family in this riveting tale.' - Kirkus Reviews
'A gripping, brutal account of a near-future African war, narrated by a young soldier... Purifier general 'Demon Killer' is an astonishingly effective portrait of a sociopath...' - BookLife
“A tense narrative in which scenes of degradation and violence are effective without being overly graphic... A compelling story... Interesting choice for book clubs.” - BlueInk Review in ALA's Booklist
'The characters are well developed and really make you care about what is happening to them. - Ron B, Reviewer, NetGalley
