Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins is a YA novel set in early 2000s Myanmar/Burma (the author uses Burma, but does have a note on why she chose to do so). It's about a 15 year old who is forced into being a child soldier. It was easy to read- I read it in a day- but definitely not an easy subject matter. It did come with a happy for now ending, but let's be real about where Myanmar/Burma is now- war. I do wish that it had contained more historical context.
