One compelling story amid millions, delivered in a strong, steadfast voice.
Driven from her homeland by civil war, a Syrian refugee describes her experiences and delivers a pointed message.
Effectively recapturing a child’s perspective, Almellehan recalls her safe world of street soccer, close family ties, and olive harvests as a 12-year-old in 2010 that is gradually overshadowed by news of violent events and, at last, transformed by a 2013 move to a refugee camp in Jordan—a planned 10-day sojourn that turns to months, then years and further moves, until at last she and her family wind up in Newcastle, England, far from everything familiar. What gets her through many hardships is a strong, stubborn dedication to the importance of education, particularly for girls. She not only keeps up her own classwork and starts working with UNICEF to persuade others in the rough refugee camps to stay in school, but later battles her way through the British educational system in the face of low expectations. Meanwhile, she becomes, particularly after meeting and bonding with Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for education with an international reputation. She opens with a reminder that “a refugee is not a type of person” but “someone in a kind of situation that could happen to anyone,” closes on her first day of university, and in between challenges readers to pay attention to her story: “I don’t want people to know about refugees,” she tells an interviewer. “I want them to listen to refugees.”
One compelling story amid millions, delivered in a strong, steadfast voice. (Memoir. 10-14)Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-984851-98-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Full of laughter and sentiment, this is a nudge for readers to dare to try new things.
A 1989 summer trip to Europe changes Caldecott Medal winner Santat’s life in this graphic memoir.
Young Dan hasn’t experienced much beyond the small Southern California town he grew up in. He stays out of trouble, helps his parents, and tries to go unnoticed in middle school. That plan gets thwarted when he is made to recite poetry at a school assembly and is humiliated by his peers. When eighth grade is over and his parents send him on a three-week study abroad program, Dan isn’t excited at first. He’s traveling with girls from school whom he has awkward relationships with, his camera breaks, and he feels completely out of place. But with the help of some new friends, a crush, and an encouraging teacher, Dan begins to appreciate and enjoy the journey. Through experiences like his first taste of Fanta, first time hearing French rap, and first time getting lost on his own in a foreign country in the middle of the night, he finally begins to feel comfortable just being himself and embracing the unexpected. This entertaining graphic memoir is a relatable story of self-discovery. Flashbacks to awkward memories are presented in tones of blue that contrast with the full-color artwork through which Santat creates the perfect balance of humor and poignancy. The author’s note and photos offer readers more fun glimpses into his pivotal adventure.
Full of laughter and sentiment, this is a nudge for readers to dare to try new things. (Graphic memoir. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85104-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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