Dakota Sophomore Publishes First Novel Through Michigan Company

The idea for Sacrifice: Reporting in Kabul came to Charlie Kadado in the middle of the night.

“I woke up and just had to put it down on paper,” the 15-year-old said. “I’ve been working on it since December, so it took me about four months to write the book.”

Although Kadado is only a sophomore at , he is no stranger to the world of publishing. A teen reporter for Scholastic News and the creator of his own online broadcast, K-Group News, Kadado has been hoping to add the designation of published author to his resume for some time.

The opportunity to do so came when Moore Publishing, a Michigan firm, selected his manuscript for publication.

“To get that first copy in my hands, that was unbelievable,” Kadado said. “Going into the printing shop and taking out one copy and someone saying, ‘This is your book.’ There is a feeling of relief that I’m finally done writing, and a feeling of pride. I’m so proud to have finally completed months of hard work on this book.”

Sacrifice is based on the true story of Michigan journalist Bob Woodruff and his experiences as a correspondent in Iraq. The novel follows fictional correspondent Stephen Cook on his travels to Afghanistan.

“Stephen Cook is an anchor in the Detroit area and a great talent in journalism,” Kadado said. “He gets an opportunity from RBC TV to travel to New York and originally, he is supposed to work as a North American correspondent, but things change and he is asked to go to Afghanistan to report on the ongoing war.”

Cook “follows his heart” and travels to Afghanistan, reporting on the war and the people affected until he is critically injured by a roadside bomb.

But rather than being the tragic end of a promising career, Kadado uses the experience of his character to motivate his readers.

“The idea is, although Stephen has some tough times and he is injured, in the end, he becomes a national anchor for a TV station, similar to Bob Woodruff.”

While Kadado relied on his imagination to craft much of the book, he said significant research was required to “portray a realistic vision.”

“I want to make sure readers of this book have an accurate image of how dangerous places like Afghanstican and Iraq really are.”

For Kadado, Sacrifice is far more than a story of war.

“It is the sacrifices journalists make,” he said. “We all hear about the brave men and women in uniform who sacrifice their lives for freedom, but I wanted to be the writer who took it into a different perspective. Reporters like Woodruff go to places like Iraq and are tragically killed or injured because they are sacrificing their lives to bring the news into our living rooms. They have such a big role in our world.”

Published on May 14, Sacrifice should be available in Barnes and Noble by July.

While Kadado would love everyone to read his book, he truly wants it to land in the hands of his peers.

“The reason I’m targeting middle school is because young people are not reading as much as they should be. My book has larger font and small margins so you can flip through it pretty quickly. This is the kind of book that doesn’t have too limited of an audience.”

The book is currently available online at bookfieldcreativeminds.com for $12.95. Kadado was recently recognized by Bookfield with its Emerging Author Award.