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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Jude lives in Syria with her mom, dad, and older brother, Issa. The country is undergoing some violence. Issa wants to speak out (he’s a college student). Jude’s dad decides things are getting too dangerous and sends Jude and mom who’s pregnant to live with mom’s family in the states. Dad’s going to stay to run the shop while Issa has run off to Aleppo to help those caught in the fighting.
Jude must deal with her American cousin, an uncle who works all the time plus a new school.
Told in poetry format. Good at describing the lost feeling and the anxiety of the new country and the racism people have to deal with.
Jude must deal with her American cousin, an uncle who works all the time plus a new school.
Told in poetry format. Good at describing the lost feeling and the anxiety of the new country and the racism people have to deal with.
a beautiful look into the lives of immigrant children and the challenges they face. Even as an adult, I recommend this book for all readers (despite it being a middle-grades book).
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was immediately captured by this book and enjoyed it all the way through. The writing in prose was very interesting and Warga created beautiful visualization of the main character’s experiences. Warga created a window for me into world that I know little about and that is relevant to our current world. Starting with Jude in her home in Syria, then moving across the world with her to the US created a strong relationship between the reader and main character. I think students could related to and become invested in Jude’s story.
Favorite quotes:
“Someday
Favorite quotes:
“Someday
I hope I will be a movie star
and some other little girl will look at me and say I have her eyes her nose
her hair
her laugh
and she will feel beautiful.”
“Sometimes it feels like when I boarded that plane to fly to America
I left my heart behind,
beating and lonely on the other side of the ocean.”
“Americans love labels.
They help them know what to expect
Sometimes, though.
I think labels stop them from thinking.”
I enjoyed this story about a Syrian refugee girl who comes to Cincinnati to live with her pregnant mother at her uncle's house. I was expecting a harrowing tale and it's not that, which may be a relief to younger readers, though it also won't set the world on fire. She is a relatively privileged child but we do hear about a little bit about the fighting in Syria and the harsher aspects of the war through the experiences of her brother, who has run away and joined the rebels. I thought the writer did a good job explaining how and why a young girl might want to wear a hijab and conveying the pain and difficulty of being an immigrant outsider in an American public school. It's nicely written, in free verse. A quick read. All in all, I liked it, didn't love it.
I read this book at my 10 year old's instance and I am so glad I did! What a beautiful book. So well written and hopeful. It was easy to feel the love and the struggles in the story. I can't wait to read more by Warga!
3.5 rounding up to 4.
Cincinnati, OH & Syria
immigration, diversity, ESL,
Cincinnati, OH & Syria
immigration, diversity, ESL,
A powerful story told in verse about a young Syrian girl who sought refuge in the US with her mother when they were not warmly welcomed. Every refugee story is different, yet somehow they’re the same. Filled with emotions, heartaches, fears, prejudices, belonging, family, community, and hope, this is a necessary read.
“LUCKY. I am learning how to say it
over and over again in English.
I am learning how it tastes—
sweet with promise
and bitter with responsibility.”
“I wonder if it is exhausting
to be a tree.
To lose something,
year after year,
only to trust that it will
someday grow back.”
“LUCKY. I am learning how to say it
over and over again in English.
I am learning how it tastes—
sweet with promise
and bitter with responsibility.”
“I wonder if it is exhausting
to be a tree.
To lose something,
year after year,
only to trust that it will
someday grow back.”
I started this book in audiobook format and that was the wrong choice. Sometimes poetry is meant to be read. The audiobook didn't translate the quiet spaces, the language barrier, the emotion the way reading it did. I couldn't get through the audiobook.
But reading this is a treat that you sneak on your cheat day. Maybe because I've felt like "other" before but it most assuredly is because of Jasmine's writing. A non-native speaker choosing to write in prose makes so much sense to me. She doesn't have the words so why make so many.
I think so many Muslim girls will be able to see themselves in this book. It is so important to have. I don't care for the audiobook, but the book was a joy.
But reading this is a treat that you sneak on your cheat day. Maybe because I've felt like "other" before but it most assuredly is because of Jasmine's writing. A non-native speaker choosing to write in prose makes so much sense to me. She doesn't have the words so why make so many.
I think so many Muslim girls will be able to see themselves in this book. It is so important to have. I don't care for the audiobook, but the book was a joy.