I have enjoyed so many incredible books thanks to my kids’ literature and social studies teachers. The most recent was Refugee by Alan Gratz. This was required reading for John over the summer and had us both captivated chapter by chapter and page by page. It is a powerful story of three teens seeking refuge from three countries in three different decades. Some parts had me biting my nails, while others had me weeping with the faith, courage and tenacity of these children. I recommend this book for anyone from ages 11 to 111.
JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .
ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .
MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .
All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers — from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.
In a world that can seem so dark and sad right now, it was an important reminder of how very fortunate we are. While John is sad he can’t go to school in person, his high school football games, lacrosse conditioning, etc. he has a home, food, freedom of worship, vast support system, and so much more. It was a timely read with important perspective for both of us. <3
I’d love to know… what’s on your bedside?
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I’ve just finished Harry’s Trees and am currently reading Our Kind of Cruelty. xo
My 10 loved Allies and Project 1065 by the same author. He loves historical and historical fictions novels, especially anything WW2. He has asked to get Refugee but I hadn’t yet since school (virtual) has now started and he now has assigned reading. Have you read any of the other novels?
Thank you for this review. This is on my son’s 7th grade Battle of the Books list. We will order this book next. He really enjoyed The Boys who Challenged Hitler and Chains, also on the list. Your boys may like them as well.
We are reading this book right now with our 2 girls that are 10 and 13. We live in Germany and my kids distinctly remember the refugee crisis in 2015. My younger daughter had a little girl in her class whose family had recently arrived from Syria as refugees so between those memories and learning about WWII and the Holicaust in their schools, this book is especially meaningful. I had a moment myself when the little girl from Cuba mentioned the US policy of “wet foot, dry foot”. I was in high school at the time and remember watching on the nightly news people jumping out of rafts and making a run for the dry land while agents (the Coast Guard? Customs and Border Control agents?) chased them down. I had not thought about that in 25 years, but at one mention of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, all the memories came flooding back and I cried while reading the rest of that chapter.