4.35 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
emotional hopeful inspiring

Took me a long time to get through. A mix of many cultures and histories (which I think was the point), but I didn’t really grow to love one character or another. 2015. Ahmed fled from Syria, losing his family along the way. Max (American in Belgium) decides he can keep Ahmed hidden in his cellar. It just seemed way to easy for Max to get Ahmed into school, and then too easy (again) for him to reunite with family. The refugee crisis was alluded to many times, but the reader was only able to glimpse at some of the conditions in which they lived.
adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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: Complicated

I loved this book. I don’t even care if it’s supposed to be a teen book or not, books can be for anyone. it was an adventure of a lifetime and although some parts were a bit cliche -
Ahmed’s father not being dead
- i still thoroughly enjoyed the book and the writing. 
emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense 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: Yes
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Wonderful. Just wonderful. Touching and even humorous.

A timely tale of immigration, friendship, and standing up for what's right. A great read - very exciting and engaging throughout, with some terrific writing. Marsh has some moving poetic moments in what could have been a straightforward adventure story. Students who are interested in the refugee situation (in the US or abroad) would find a lot to digest here, and Marsh weaves historical events into the narrative in an unforced, thoughtful way. I highly recommend!

Compelling, beautiful and important. Would recommend for kids 10 and up who like realistic fiction and can handle heavier topics. Honestly, would recommend for adults too.

Empecé este libro imaginándome lo que iba a encontrar debido a la temática de la historia. Teniendo como punto en común la ciudad de Bruselas, conocemos a Ahmed, un chico de 14 años que logró escapar de la guerra en Siria, y a Max, de 13 años, que viene de Estados Unidos y que parece no encajar en la escuela. Solo me bastó eso para saber que este libro me iba a dejar con el corazón apretado, y claramente lo hizo.
Es una historia que se siente como un grito de empatía, de dejar de creer en los estereotipos que por mucho tiempo se mantuvieron y que parecen no querer irse del todo. Se genera un contraste enorme entre inocencia y la forma de ver el mundo de Ahmed y Max y el estilo de vida de los adultos y sus creencias, y cómo a veces nos vemos cegados por lo que nos enseñaron a pensar.
Reí, lloré (bastante) y por sobre todo, aprendí. Aprendí mucho sobre religión, sobre cultura, y recordé con más fuerza lo importante que es el respeto, que todas las personas somos distintas y que cuando algo está mal, tenemos que alzar la voz y generar cambios.
Recomiendo 100% este libro.