This was a good read for a children’s/middle grade book. The pace of the book was just right, keeping the reader engaged and interested as the story progressed. I can honestly say that I was not aware of the main character’s gender until the middle of the story when the description of “daughter” was used. However, this did not affect the story for me.

I did feel that the ending may have been a little abrupt, but understand the importance of the ending and keeping the intended audience in mind. The author, Onjali Q. Raúf, did a good job at portraying a sensitive subject on a level all will understand and possibly make a connection with,

Not for me, personally, but I think most readers will be very moved by this elementary school level novel.

When I was in the fourth grade, a new girl came to our class, a refugee from Lebanon. We didn’t understand quite what that meant, when we were first told, just as Alexa and her friends don’t quite understand either.

I remember asking her, when we were a little older, if she was happy living in the states, where there was no war. She told me that if the war ever stopped, she and her family would return, because that was their home, and they missed it.

I lost touch with her, but in my life, I met other refugees including my wife, who escaped from Cuba after the Bay of Pigs.

No one, as my wife likes to say, leaves their home because they want to. No one wants to be a refugee. And in this book, it is clear that Ahmet would have loved to stay in Syria. His sister died in the crossing of the Mediterranean and his mother and father are missing.

This is not a downer of a book, however. Alexa, who is narrating, has some funny observations, and is curious about Ahmet, and wants to help him, to the point of trying to find a treat that he used to have in his homeland.

<blockquote>Sometimes I think people like to believe a lie even when they know it’s a lie, because it is more exciting than the truth. </blockquote>

Alexa makes it her mission to be a friend to Ahmet, and in doing so, she tries to find a way to help him find his parents.

This is a fun engaging book, and it breaks down the refugee crisis for middle-grade readers. Very compassionate, and well written.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.