logo

89 pages 2 hours read

Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth WeilNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2018

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“If God was just extending an invitation, you could decline, right? You could say no thank you and stay where you were.”


(Chapter 1, Page 14)

When her mother’s friend dies, Wamariya’s mother says she “responded to God” (13). In her innocence, Wamariya believes someone who does not want to die can simply decide to remain on Earth. This passage foreshadows the loss of Wamariya’s innocence as a refugee. As she travels through seven African countries, she witnesses violence and death, and she sees bodies lying in the river and in ditches. In Kigali Wamariya is “young and spoiled” (14), and her father smacking her face when she is too loud is “the most cruelty I’d ever seen” (17). The contrast between peace and protection in her childhood and the horrors she witnesses as a refugee makes her retelling of her experiences all the more powerful.

Quotation Mark Icon

“And then what do you think happened? Can you guess what happened next?”


(Chapter 1, Page 15)

As a little girl in Kigali, Wamariya has a nanny named Mukamana who tells her fantastical stories. Wamariya especially loves that Mukamana’s “stories never [have] a set ending” (15), that she lets Wamariya determine the plot herself. She recalls how in one story, the girl who smiled beads escapes into the distance and eludes capture, leaving beautiful beads in her wake. Because Mukamana allowed her to dictate the story, the girl who smiled beads became “a means to bend and mold reality that I could grasp and accept” (210).

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 89 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,400+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools