Forgotten Fire

Forgotten Fire (2002) is a young adult novel by Adam Bagdasarian. It became a National Book Award finalist.

Plot summary

It's about a young early teen boy Vahan Kenderian, who must resort to a variety of measures to survive the Armenian genocide. Having lived a privileged life as the youngest son of one Armenia's richest men, Vahan witnesses the deaths of family members - often through execution. One of his sisters commits suicide with poison to avoid suffering rape. While surviving the war and genocide, Vahan aims to reach Constantinople where refugees are taken into safety. From there on Vahan felt relieved because of the end to his suffering. His only relative to survive the genocide is his sister Oskina, who is separated from early in the novel but later reunites with her as read.

Characters

Vahan Kenderian- the protagonist of the story. Throughout the novel, Vahan goes though many difficult experiences before reaching the final destination Constantinople and safety. He runs away from Turkish soldiers, fakes deafness, experiences family deaths, and falls in love many times. Vahan is not the most brilliant or brave of the Armenians, but he is fortunately helped by many people along the way.

Sisak Kenderian- Vahan's brother who he found nearly dead in the street.

Armenouhi Kenderian- Vahan's sister who eats poison to avoid the possibility of being raped by soldiers.

Oskina Kenderian- Vahan's sister who he becomes separated from but eventually reunites with.

Mummpreh Kenderian- Vahan's uncle who was accused of being a revolutionary and killed by Turk soldiers!