All the Glimmering Stars

A soldier warns the boys that they’re now “murderers” and that there are pictures to prove it. He tells them that they can’t return home because their families and the government will never forgive them. Inside, Anthony begs for forgiveness but feels only guilt.

On October 1, 1994, Anthony, the LRA soldiers, and nearly 200 children stop marching to make camp. Just as they settle down for the night, several military helicopters fly overhead. They open fire on the LRA camp.

Anthony attempts to flee. However, when he’s caught, he pretends that he got lost out of confusion and was merely looking for the soldiers so that he could return. The soldier doesn’t believe him, dragging him back to the camp and tying him up.

The next morning, the soldiers gather all the recruits. One soldier comes up to Anthony and the two other tied-up boys. He tells the group that the three tried to escape. He then stabs the other two children with his bayonet. Anthony begs for his life, but the soldier doesn’t listen. Just before he stabs Anthony, he’s stopped by a man sitting nearby on a stool. The man says that Anthony’s escape is “disputed” and that he should be spared.

The man introduces himself to Anthony as Brigade General Charles Tabuley. He tells Anthony that, because he spared his life, Anthony will unquestioningly do everything he asks.

The group begins marching again. Anthony focuses all his energy on following Tabuley closely. He realizes that he’ll never escape and that his “destiny” is to “die in the bush” (70).

Anthony and the other children march into the Sudan and the Imatong Mountains. Their number grows to more than 5,000. Anthony sees several children killed for falling behind, while others die of starvation or dehydration.

Patrick takes Anthony to the top of a hill along with hundreds of other recruits. As they climb, a storm begins to gather. Patrick tells Anthony that he has seen the Great Teacher gather storms such as this. He takes Anthony to the exact spot where he first heard the Great Teacher speak.

Anthony stands with Patrick on a small rise near the edge of a clearing. A tall, fierce woman walks out first, who Patrick tells him is Fatima—Kony’s “number-one” wife. Three other women follow her.

Kony then comes into the clearing and speaks to the recruits. He tells them that they’re going to overthrow Museveni’s government. He warns them that they must “believe in the power of the spirits and the Lord and [him],” as they’ll be “blessed by the spirits through the anointing of shea butter” (76). As he speaks, the rain, thunder, and lightning come.

Patrick tells Anthony that a spirit will now speak through Kony. As Anthony watches, Kony’s eyes roll back, his body trembles, and he speaks with a new voice as he becomes possessed by the spirit of Jumma Driscer, the LRA military command. Driscer tells the gathered children that they’ll become invincible if they believe in Kony and follow their training.

Enthralled by Kony’s actions, Anthony feels a “rush,” excited by the idea of becoming invincible. He throws back his head and extends his arm, looking to the sky as Patrick encourages him to feel the “belief” growing inside him.

When Driscer finishes, Patrick tells Anthony that “Who Are You” will speak now; he’s the “spirit of law in the LRA” (78). Who Are You tells the children the laws and their punishment, comparing it to the Ten Commandments. They aren’t allowed to drink, do drugs, have sex while unwed, or steal—except when raiding towns for food. Losing their weapon will be punished with death.

When Kony finishes, he tells the recruits that he isn’t human. Instead, he’s “the body of four spirits” (81).

As Patrick and Anthony return down the mountain, Patrick explains their situation. The LRA formed an alliance with the Arabs to fight the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). In exchange, the Arabs give them supplies and weapons to use against Museveni.

The next morning, Kony addresses 500 boys who are going to Gong One, a newly created permanent training camp. He introduces them to Sergeant Bacia, a fierce-looking man whom Anthony recognizes as the man who killed the two escapees and nearly killed Anthony. Bacia is a tracker who will catch anyone who tries to flee.

Tabuley puts Anthony in charge of leading the boys to Gong One, telling him to take them back down the mountain in a different direction, using a long, winding path. Despite a downpour that starts, they make it to a valley, where Tabuley, Bacia, and other LRA officers are waiting.

For two weeks, the rain continues. The children are forced to sleep in the open and have little food. Through it all, Anthony sleeps at Tabuley’s feet under his tarp. He receives the scraps from the officers’ dinner, so he’s extremely grateful for Tabuley.

Tabuley tries several times to get permission from Kony to end Gong One due to the rain. Kony finally relents, allowing the surviving children—now less than four hundred—to go to a nearby village. Five days later, they’re sent back into the forest for Gong Two.

For more than five weeks, Anthony and the others train in a new valley. They receive little to eat and drink. They’re forced to stand in the river, where the water is freezing, for hours each day. Initially, Anthony is distraught at the dead bodies that float down the river; however, he eventually learns to ignore them. He spends much of his time thinking of his family and knowing that their love is still with him.

When the torrential downpours begin again in mid-December, Tabuley finally gets permission from Kony to end Gong Two. Of the 500 who went, only 345 survived.

Florence celebrates Christmas with her family. She’s happy the entire day to have everyone in her family together.

The narrative then shifts to Rwotobilo. Anthony’s father, George, sits atop a hill with Charles. He admits how much he misses Anthony and Albert, but Charles assures him that they “must” be alive. George has Charles guide them home by the stars.

Before going to bed, George sees a fire outside his wife Acoko’s old hut. When he investigates, he finds Acoko has returned. She apologizes for leaving him and admits that there are moments when she doesn’t love him; however, she knows that he’s a “truly good” man.

In the Southern Sudan, Patrick tells Anthony that he’s going into battle in three days. They’re going to Koromush. Because it’s Anthony’s first battle, he won’t have any weapons but instead will “show [his] courage and belief in the four spirits of Joseph Kony” (102).

That night, Anthony can’t sleep. He replays Patrick’s words, thinking how he’s going to die because he doesn’t believe in Kony or his spirits.

Anthony and the others stop about five kilometers from Koromush to make camp. The night before the attack, Kony calls Tabuley over the radio. He tells the new soldiers that they’ll cover themselves in shea butter he has blessed. During the attack, they’ll sing and clap, which will break the spirits of the SPLA soldiers.

The next morning, the soldiers arrive at the edge of a field and are told to link arms. After several moments, Anthony hears the soldiers behind him begin to sing. Trying to “believe,” Anthony sings too. It helps him drown out the thoughts of his death.

As mortars begin to go off, Anthony and the recruits reach the edge of the field. As Anthony and the recruits move across the burned earth, several explosions occur. Anthony realizes that they’re walking across a mine field. Bullets and explosions surround Anthony, and several recruits die.

When Anthony reaches the bottom of the hill, he’s alone. He continues up the hill, eventually reaching an enemy trench. He stands in the trench, continuing to sing and clap, until the shooting stops. He sees the SPLA huts explode in the distance. The SPLA soldiers retreat, many running or getting into the back of trucks.

Anthony continues to stand there, “stunned” by everything that happened and still mouthing the song. Patrick comes up, excited, and hugs him. He celebrates Anthony’s survival, and Anthony finds himself laughing.

The soldiers search the SPLA barracks to recover supplies and weapons. Anthony finds a rifle, which Patrick tells him is his now. They then return to camp, stopping along the way to trade in a nearby village. Anthony eats chicken, his first food other than beans and rice in months.

When they return to the LRA camp, Kony speaks to Anthony and the other survivors. He refers to them as “soldiers,” which fills Anthony with a strange “pride.” He remembers his father’s words about soldiers being the worst thing he could become, which causes him to have mixed feelings. He realizes that he’s changing “for good and for bad” (117).

Over the next several days, the battle intensifies between the SPLA and the LRA. The Ugandan government backs the SPLA and the Dinka, hoping that they can fight both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the LRA. In response, the Arabs send more supplies and ammunition to the LRA. Kony decides to cut off the Dinka’s supply chain at the nearby village of Pajok.

On January 9, 1995, the LRA soldiers attack the Pajok barracks, disbursing most of the Dinka soldiers. Anthony is then sent with two other soldiers to watch the road from the south. After three days, reinforcements arrive for the enemy, sending both sides into a battle that lasts weeks.

On February 7, 1995, Anthony goes with Tabuley and 180 other LRA soldiers further south to Puge to try to cut off the supply line to the battle. As they prepare to attack, Anthony realizes that he’ll need to kill someone for the first time. The thought shakes “him deep in his core” (120), and he wonders whether he’ll still be the same person if he commits such violence.

During the fight, Anthony is at the front with Tabuley. He shoots several groups of soldiers, unsure if he even hits anyone. They push closer to the enemy barracks. When a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) goes off near Anthony, the fins slice into his soldier. He falls to the ground unconscious.

When Anthony wakes up, he finds Patrick, who splints his arm and helps him to the field hospital.

Anthony spends more than two months recovering from his injury. Even when he’s healed, he has little use of his right arm. He’s afraid that he’ll be killed, as other LRA soldiers are when they can’t fight. However, Tabuley comes to him and tells him that he’ll become a signaler—someone who communicates for the LRA over the radio.

Anthony goes to signaler school. He’s delighted to discover that Albert is there too. One night, they meet up outside, expressing their relief that the other is still alive. However, they agree to pretend they don’t know each other so that they won’t draw attention.

During the five days of training, Anthony struggles to learn some tasks. He’s unable to set up the radio or the antennas as fast as the other boys. His right arm makes it difficult to assemble the pieces or climb trees as necessary to get the best signal. However, he’s skilled at operating the radios and learns quickly. On the last day, they learn TONFAS—the secret coding system the LRA uses to hide messages from the enemy. Anthony learns faster than the other boys and quickly decodes messages.

At the end of training, Anthony is sent back to Tabuley. He begins working as Tabuley’s personal radioman.

Just before her 14th birthday, Florence prepares to take her end-of-year exams. She hopes to get in the top 10%, which will allow her to go to a better secondary school and put her on the path to becoming a nurse.

Florence takes a break from studying to help her mother prepare a stew. Josca complains about the market, which has hardly any food. Because the LRA raids nearby villages so frequently, people have largely abandoned villages and moved into the cities. As a result, fewer people grow and sell crops, and there’s less food for everyone.

That night, Florence struggles to sleep. She knows she’s prepared for her exams but begins to doubt whether she’ll get the score she needs.