Reviews

An intensely sad and moving book but so important. Will be passing this onto a year 6 class for their book corner as we already have one in our library

modernathos's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

missoliviareadsbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

I don't think I have ever read a book that has destroyed every one of my emotions in the way this book did. The story of Sami and his family, who try to escape war torn Syria for a new safer life in the UK, will fill you with hope, fear, dread, horror, anger and joy and is a must read for all ages.

coops456's review against another edition

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5.0

A wonderful book that should be in every school library and read by kids and adults alike.

Sami is a typical 13 year-old: he loves his friends, football, PlayStation and iPad. It took me a few pages to actually realise that the story starts with him in Syria and not the UK. When the civil war comes close to home, his parents make the decision to leave their home - and almost everything they own - to seek safety in England.

How anyone could read this and not have greater empathy for refugees is beyond me. It's just geography and geopolitical luck that separates "us" from "them".

bardicbramley's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

laffi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

"Boy, Everywhere" is an interesting story about a young boy from Damascus, who has to leave Syria with his family due to the civil war. The first part of the book is about

them travelling from Syria to England

, the second part is about

them settling there

. Everything is written from the perspective of 13 year old Sami, including descriptions of the journey and his thoughts about it.

For me the book was a perfect introduction to books about the war in Syria on the one hand and an emotional and heartwarming story on the other hand.

What I didn't quite get were some of the character's actions/motives. For example

how racist the majority of kids at the 'multi-ethnic' school were

how Samis parents often seemed to lack empathy for him in comparison to his sister. He is still a child, and they blame him for asking questions, making friends and acting human

.

Aside from that, I had a good time reading and can recommend the book to anyone interested in Syria or looking for an heartwarming story about a family escaping war.

Content Warnings

aishareadsalot's review against another edition

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4.0

My heart hurts just thinking about how this book is not just fiction for so many people

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