Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed

15 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

Title: When Stars Are Scattered
Author: Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: April 14, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intimate • Heartbreaking • Compelling

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was looking for moving graphic novel with depth and after doing a little research I managed to compile a short list of options. List in hand I made a trip to my local library and surprisingly they had a copy of When Stars Are Scattered on the shelf, which made my choice easy.

This graphic novel is based on Omar Mohamed and his brother's time spent in a refugee camp in Kenya. It details the day-to-day life of a child refugee through direct dialogue and thought and stunning artwork. Intended for younger readers, this is an important read for readers of all ages. While this is one single story out of millions of stories, it is brought to light in a sensitive manner without shying away from the difficult truths.

Overall, When Stars Are Scattered opened my eyes to everyday life in refugee camps. Omar story is one of resiliency and hope, while I know this isn't always the case. It is also a reminder life isn't all bad even in the most harsh of circumstances. For instance, Omar found hope through friendship, education, and responsibility.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers of all ages
• social studies teachers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Be like a star. Shine your light. Shine your story. For stories will lead us home."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Sexism, Xenophobia, War, Abandonment, Death, Bullying, Violence, Child death, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use, Pregnancy, Addiction, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

parasihir's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

My heart breaks when I read this book. The part about stars really took my breath away and I would never see them the same ever again. When the Stars are Scattered is the best title for this book. Please read it to understand more about refugee's life, hope, education, and dreams. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Pregnancy, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Suicide

kshertz's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Wow. This book just reminds you of life happening worlds away and helps to understand others lives. It puts into perspective refugee camps and stories. The things that people have been through even while being in these large camps. It’s even more amazing to remember this is a true story. There’s so much to take away from this book. I hope everyone reads it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Gun violence

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4.5 stars
Art: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Ableism, War, Animal death, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Violence, Gun violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship

stories's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

3.5

Engaging and accessible retelling of co-author Omar Mohamed’s experience growing up in a refugee camp. 

Certainly worth watching for a copy for the classroom, because it does a lovely job of telling the bare bones while leaving darker tragedies between the lines. 

Make sure you read the after notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Addiction and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Death of parent, War, Grief, Pregnancy, Animal death, Misogyny, Death, and Gun violence

Minor forced arranged marriage

shelbyl's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

The most beautiful, difficult, heart wrenching, heart warming story told in a concise, accessible, and beautiful way. Every person should read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Medical trauma

morganperks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal death, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

sarahreads2222's review against another edition

4.75

This was an incredible story. My heart was in it, especially with Hassan. It made me want to do more research and care better for refugees. (.25 taken away for the very slow pacing, although one could argue that it fit the waiting Omar and Hassan had to do) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, War, Violence, Sexism, Gun violence, and Animal death

rain08's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, War, Sexism, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

tinytrashqueen's review

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Animal death

Minor: Suicide