A Girl Named Disaster has been criticized for its irregular pacing, which is an element of plot development. The reviewers who make this complaint seem to think that the book has three separate stories—life in the village, Nhamo's journey, and her new life in Zimbabwe—and that the final part of the story is a letdown. However, the journey itself would not seem so urgent without the village background, and the last part of the book brings Nhamo's story full circle. As important as her adventures are to Nhamo's development, they are not the purpose of her travels. She has not set out to seek adventure but to find a home and family.

And her survival involves more than overcoming the physical dangers of the trip.

Because the themes of the book are multilayered, all three parts of the story are necessary to...