The Bitter Side of Sweet

Tara Sullivan’s young adult novel, The Bitter Side of Sweet, provides an account of modern-day child slavery in Ivory Coast, Africa. Although fictional, the story highlights the dark reality of the cacao industry as Sullivan chronicles the journey of three children to freedom. Sullivan’s adventure-filled survival story was published in 2016, and this guide refers to the 2016 edition of the book.

Plot Summary

Fifteen-year-old Amadou and his little brother, eight-year-old Seydou, work without pay on a cacao plantation in Ivory Coast, Africa. Amadou’s only focus each day is survival: They must harvest enough cacao pods to meet quota and avoid a beating. One day, a girl named Khadija comes to the farm. The only girl there, she quickly earns the nickname “wildcat” because of her fiery spirit and constant escape attempts. When she tricks Seydou into helping her escape, Amadou takes the blame for his mistake and helps one of the bosses, Moussa, recapture her. As a punishment, Amadou is badly beaten and is not allowed to work in the fields the next day, meaning Seydou will not have the protection of his older brother. Amadou and Khadija must work together seeding cacao pods all day, and when Moussa unlocks Khadija’s chains, she tries to run again.