Forgotten Fire, by Adam Bagdasarian

From a very young age, I was exposed to the horrible event that tainted the early 20th century, the Armenian Genocide. However, I never fully got a true sense of the tragedy until I read Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian. This novel, which follows the story of a young Vahan Kenderian, exposes all the gruesome and livid details victims had to endure during incredulously hard, deplorable times. Vahan is a young Armenian boy living in Turkey surrounded by luxury due to his father's successful career who's life is turned upside down as April 24, 1915 approaches. All of his loving family members start dropping like flies and he is left all alone to fend for himself. Within minutes of witnessing the murders of his siblings, Vahan loses all of his innocence and struggles to grasp the reality of the wicked world around him. Bagdasarian does a magnificent job at relating to the reader the troubles young Vahan faces through a fictional story set in a historical context.

I strongly recommend Forgotten Fire to anyone seeking to find out more about the Armenian Genocide and hear the story of a victim that undergoes inhumane, deplorable conditions in life. It is not the easiest book to read due to the gruesome, vivid imagery and extremely tragic context. The novel gives readers a sense of human suffering, as well as many, many tears. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful book to read as both a story and a historical account of one of humanity's tragic events.

-Reviewed by P.P., grade 11.