Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Sophie (Grade 9)
4.5/5
Refugee by Alan Gratz is about Isabel, Mahmoud, and Joseph, who are all refugees trying to flee their country and into a new one. They come across many difficulties trying to reach a new country and will have to make many sacrifices along the way.
The book is written with the different stories of each of the children in each chapter. I enjoyed how it switched perspectives and each chapter would end with a cliffhanger. It's three separate refugee stories all put into one book with all their similarities and differences. The unique way the story is laid out was one of the most intriguing parts of reading this novel.
There were also some moments when each story connected. Each story was set in a different time, some happening years before another one. Because of that, there would be a few details in one story linking it up to another one. This was my favourite part of reading this book because of all the connections between each character's journey.
I also liked how this book was very accurate to the real-life crisis that refugees must endure to go to a new country. The author didn't sugar-coat their troubles. Some things were hard to read about but it was comforting to know that I'm not just reading something made up when they're people experiencing these things.
The only part of this book that I found boring was some of Mahmoud's story because it was uninteresting to read about how they just walked and walked and walked. But, as I said, I appreciated that it was real to what people have to face when fleeing from their country.
I'd recommend this book to grades 6 or 7 and above. It does deal with a few mature topics and it's more suited to older children.
Overall, this book was an eye-opener to me personally since I didn't know about a lot of the things that happened to refugees. I also found it very educational and interesting to read.
Happy reading!