It's a rather short, fast-paced novel that is able to convey the heart-breaking lives of children forced into slavery/servitude that so many are still facing in our so-called modern world. The novel is based on the real-life of Iqbal Masih and the courage he had to defy what so many had come to accept. He pays the ultimate price for his heroism and this novel does a wonderful job in keeping his memory and his mission alive.