Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh, 360 pages. Roaring Brook Press, 2018. $17.
Content:
Language: PG (1 swear); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13.
BUYING ADVISORY: MS – ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Max is upset that his family is temporarily
living in Brussels, Belgium. He feels
stupid at his new school, that speaks mostly French, and he feels out of
place. Ahmed is also new to living in
Brussels as he is a Syrian refugee, who has recently lost his family. When the doors to refugees are closed, Ahmed,
who is only fourteen, doesn’t know what to do, so he finds a hidden cellar in
Max’s apartment and begins to live there.
Eventually Max and Ahmed’s paths cross and they find true
friendship.
This book helps readers to
see refugees as individuals and consider their backstory and needs. I loved Max and Ahmed and felt that their
friendship was realistic. I also liked
the comparison to hiding Jews during World War II. The ending didn’t feel as realistic as the
rest of the book, but overall it was a good read. The only reason I wouldn’t put it in an
elementary school is that there are references to Ahmed’s family being killed
and of children’s bodies washing up on the shore after they drowned trying to
escape Syria.
Reviewer, C. Peterson
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