Reporter’s Notebook:

The book’s tagline “The true story of three Lost Boys from Sudan,” promises to be a sad tale of young boys becoming separated from their families and enduring the tragedies of war while losing their innocence. And it is.

“They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky,” this year’s selection for the HB Reads program, details the pain, both physical and emotional, the boys went through as they tried to find a safe place in the world, while showing how much a human can endure and still come out the other side.

The book chronicles the journey of authors Benson and Alephonsion Deng, and their cousin Benjamin Ajak after fleeing for their lives through Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya while trying to survive against insurmountable odds with thousands of other Lost Boys.

The story ends with the plane ride more than a decade later that takes them to America.

The three lost boys tell their sad story to an audience a world apart.

Their accounts of being stalked by lions, the fear of dying of dehydration and starvation and the brutal suffering they endured at the hands of the Sudanese government and their own people are unimaginable realities to most Americans.

The innocent viewpoint allows readers to get lost in the story without questioning its authenticity.

The writers were 5 and 6 years old when they had to flee their village in southern Sudan and try to survive in the desert against the elements, wild animals and people trying to kill them and take advantage of them in their desperate situation.

The writers knew little about the situation when it was happening and were probably too young to understand it.

Throughout the book, the boys show what people can survive, but also what it takes to live beyond just food, water and shelter.

The boys’ desire for any member of their family and the littlest bit of love and friendship is heartbreaking.

Following the boys’ journey is a roller-coaster with more lows than highs. Tears and anger are more prevalent than laughs, but the boys’ naivete on American ways still inspires a few.

The book never really explains what is going on in Sudan, why such horrible atrocities happened or the fact that people are still being exterminated. The reasons for the war are complicated and the violence unforgivable, but the authors never try to explain the situation — only tell their stories.

Reporter BRITNEY BARNES can be reached at (714) 966-4627 or britney.barnes@latimes.com.