Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)

In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.

Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war.  After one day with the children he had no idea how he would be able to stay there for the next few weeks.  But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life’s work.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

Ok.  Seriously.  Can you love a book?  Of course you can… can you LOVE LOVE a book? 

You bet.

Conor’s story touched my heart.  When he speaks of his first experience in Nepal of just going for “the adventure”  I could relate with that.  When I first went to Honduras, I can not honestly say I went for the children…. much like Conor, I wanted the adventure.  AND much like Conor, when I first walked into the children’s home in Honduras, the kids ran up to me hugging me like we were life long friends…. how was I to know we would be?  I too thought that my time in Honduras would be a one time deal…. now I have been there nine times.

While Conor’s story seemed to collide with my own…. I think anyone would be touched by the experience of Nepal that Conor relays in these pages.  I appreciated his sense of humor and his honesty.  In the end, I felt I was right there with him.

I found it wonderful that Conor not only worked with  these kids, helping them find food, a safe home, and be surrounded by people who loved them – but he also ventured out on foot, sometimes gone for weeks…. searching for these childrens parents trying to reunite families.  In many cases, the parents thought their child was dead and they never expected to be reunited. 

I am always amazed at people’s stories and the strength they find in themselves that they never knew was there.  Conor never planned to spend years of his life in Nepal.  he never dreamed that we would work hard between Nepal and the United States raising funds and jumping through hoops to get a school opened for trafficked children…. but that is what he did, and this has forever changed who he was.


I hope in the future Conor writes another book about the little Princes and the school as I would for one would love to know “the rest of the story”. 

To learn more about Nepal and the work being done to reconnect children with families, please check out Next Generation Nepal

Amazon rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Little Princes


I received this book for review from FSB Associates

(I have to say I was beyond excited when they offered this book to me!)

40 thoughts on “Little Princes by Conor Grennan”

  1. I’m reading this one today. I’m in the middle of the book but it looks as if Conor’s found not only a bunch of children to love but also about to find himself a wife. Not sure since (in the book) they haven’t actually met in person yet.

    Reply

  4. I have heard so much good about this book. I first saw it mentioned on the Nate Berkus show wherein he stated this book kept him up all night reading. Curiosity peaked, I looked up reviews for the book and have been waiting for yours! I am so glad you enjoyed it! I simply must get a copy and perhaps one for my friend for her birthday too!!

    Reply

    1. Laura this is so much better than Three Cups Of Tea (I think anyway…) I felt this was so much more real and in three cups of tea I felt the book was a little about the author (look what I have done!) and I did not get that in Little Princes. I hope you read it. 😀

      Reply
  9. Pingback: Spotlight on the Wordpress Book Bloggers! « Randomize ME

  11. I also loved this book, but a couple of my book group members didn’t (can you believe it?). I loved the story, the adventure, and the people

    Reply

  14. I’ve got this one sitting on my TBR shelf and I’ve been debating whether or not to pick it up. I don’t usually read non-fiction, but think I might give this one a chance after reading your review, Thanks Sheila!

    Reply

  15. I’m so glad this one lived up to your initial excitement, I thought it sounded wonderful just from the synopsis so I’m thrilled to read that it was. Definitely on my wishlist 🙂

    Reply

  19. I just finished writing my review of Little Princes (which will publish tomorrow) so I had to stop over and see what you thought of the book too. I wasn’t surprised to see that you liked it as much as I did! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a reply to The Book Whisperer Cancel reply