I’ve been immersed in reading war-related books for the past year or more trying to heal through words and other people’s shared wounds. I was really impressed to find out that new books around the same topic are being created for the younger generation who needs to understand this complicated issue in simple words.
Boy, Everywhere by A.M Dassu
This is the story of Sami, a 13-year-old boy who fled his privileged life in Syria and had to go through the smuggling route to reach the UK. The story goes through this harsh reality from the perspective of a young boy that lost everything over a night. It also continues to explain his struggles to fit in a new unfamiliar world that’s complicated with bureaucracy and endless paperwork.
The book is published Oct 2020 by Old Barn Books
The New Girl by Sinead Moriarty
This is the story of Safaa, a fifth-grader who was also smuggled from war-torn Syria to Greece where she was resettled to Ireland with her mother after having to leave her father behind until his paperwork is processed. The story’s timeline starts with Safaa’s new life in Ireland and gives some flashbacks to the past but focuses more on the integration struggles for a new girl (especially for Safaa as a Muslim girl who wears the hijab). It also portrays a beautiful friendship with Ruby, an Irish girl, and shows how we all, refugees or not, have our own share of problems and weird cultural traditions. I liked how the narrative is switched between Safaa and Ruby between the chapters to take us into the thoughts and worries of both characters.
This book is published Sept 2021 by Gill Books
💕Both stories are important
They discuss misconceptions about refugees and bullies. They both encourage the western young generation to be kind towards refugees and help them integrate and stand up to bullies. Highly recommend them as gifts to young readers to build empathy and understanding.
For suggestions on similar books for adults: https://suadarra.medium.com/7-inspiring-books-to-read-on-world-refugees-day-fbd9fa36be8f
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