Loung Ung was at a young age when she loss her right to have a normal adolescence. The transition from the city to labor camps was too devastating for the Ung family. Loung and her family faced racism and disappointments each day. But the fact that Loung was so eager for food, that she had to steal from her family, is unbearable. This little girl use to go out and eat at restaurants in the city, but then she was forced to eat small rations of food in labor camps. How can one take away another's right to have emotions and weaknesses? When taken to a work camp for orphans, Loung learns that she cannot trust anyone. She has to stay strong even when separated from her sister Chou and the rest of her family. This lonely girl was trained to become a child soldier at the mere age of eight. Loung was separated from her family for a long period of time. No child should ever have to face the death of a family member because of starvation or execution.

Will Tweedy, an average fourteen year old boy, got in trouble for kissing a mill girl. The fact that he kissed a mill girl was disappointing to his parents and disgusting to other townspeople. He was able to look beyond the façade when others only believed what was told. Being punished for not listening to stereotypes clearly shows how decent of a man Will Tweedy can be. But poor Will faced great losses in a small duration of time. He had to accept the death of his grandmother, his grandfather, his uncle, and dear friend, Bluford Jackson. This growing boy learns to face the unexpected and stay strong even when others are not. When Will's Uncle Camp commits suicide, he learns that his uncle was a loving man. While the town calls Camp a sinner, Will sees him as a good person who was misunderstood. Even when he is caught in between the town and his family, Will shows that he is on his way to adulthood.