The must read book of the upcoming school year is Refugee by Alan Gratz. Three refugee stories are woven together across time and through location in an artistic and empathetic tale: Nazi Germany in 1936, Castro's Cuba in 1994, and Assad's Syria in 2015.
Refugee is an important book, and should be read as soon as possible. It is haunting and hopeful, grave and inspiring. After reading this book, you will see those displaced by war through the eyes of empathy.
Give this book to every young adult reader you know. Gift it to a classroom or Little Free Library. Use it as your next read aloud.
"They had to keep moving forward. Always forward. Even if it killed them."
Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end. Alan Gratz does an excellent job of providing the historical footnotes to each story, and gives suggestions on "what you can do".
“I wanted to make individual refugees visible and turn statistics into names and faces that kids could relate to,” Mr. Gratz said.
