Sacred Leaf (The Cocalero Novels) Paperback – March 1, 2009

I visited the prison and saw first hand what it was like. The book is all correct. Very interesting system.

Deborah Ellis' books are all wonderful. I have read them all

Great book had to read it for school but it was probably the best book I have read for school. To think that the plot is actually very real kinda blows my mind because there are illegal drug dealers in Bolivia and there are children there suffering from it. It is a sequel to the book I am a Taxi.-Zachary Shelver age 12

Diego's journey to secure peace and stability for his loved ones continues as he navigates a new series of circumstances leading to one bittersweet mini-victory after another.

Very happy thanks

This book is the sequel to I Am a Taxi, and follows the protagonist, Diego, after he leaves the jungle camp where he was "working" for the drug trade. In this book the reader follows Diego as he becomes close to a family who grows Coca leaves, and takes part in a blockade.Just as in I Am a Taxi, I was drawn into the life of 12-year-old Diego, and found this book just as fast-paced as the first. The author has a very good way of making the reader empathize with the protagonist without coming on too strong.I would highly recommend this book for children.I have just recently returned from a (church team) trip to Bolivia, a Socialist country whose people put up blockades on a regular basis every time they want to protest a government action. The blockade in this book is to protest the seizing of the Coca leaf crop, in compliance with an American stipulation of aid to that country. Although it sounds good in principle - we'll give you aid if you eradicate your coca leaf production, which is what fuels the cocaine trade - in fact there is a human side to this, and this is what the book explores. The author takes pains to explain the medicinal uses of the coca leaf, and also the effect on the poor indigenous farmers of removing their livelihood. (As an aside, chewing coca leaves or drinking coca tea is what got my church team through bouts of Montezuma's revenge and altitude sickness, with no narcotic side effects. Coca tea or "Mate de Coca" can be purchased in any supermarket or restaurant in Bolivia.)Never does the author condone the cocaine trade, and the ending is very good proof of this. The book does have a "happy" ending for Diego and hints at a happy ending for his family. Altogether a good read, and an eye-opening one. Since our church has a mission-based relationship with Bolivia, this is a book which, as the church librarian, I'll be recommending to the children of my congregation.