The bone sparrow – Zana Fraillon

Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, Subhi has only ever known life behind the fences. But his world is far bigger than that—every night, the magical Night Sea from his mother’s stories brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. And as he grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of his containment.
The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie—a scruffy, impatient girl who appears on the other side of the wire fence and brings with her a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it herself, she relies on Subhi to unravel her family’s love songs and tragedies.
Subhi and Jimmie might both find comfort—and maybe even freedom—as their tales unfold. But not until each has been braver than ever before.

Good Reads

Secrets in the fire – Henning Mankell

Although a work of fiction, Secrets in the fire is based on the real-life experiences of Sofia Alface, a friend of the author.

The story takes place in Mozambique, which is in the midst of a civil war (1975-1992). One night, most of the village population, including Sofia’s father, are murdered by ax-wielding bandits. Sofia, her sister Maria, her mother, and her brother survive the attack and travel by foot to a faraway village.

Just as they seem to be recovering from the trauma, disaster strikes again. Maria and Sofia are playing on a path when Sofia steps on a landmine. In that second, life is altered permanently. Maria dies, and Sofia loses both legs.

This is one child’s story of survival, strength, determination, and triumph.

heningmankell.com

 

You must be Layla – Yassmin Abdel Magied

“With her long skirt and headscarf Layla certainly stands out at her new high school. Everyone thinks they know her, just from a glance. But do they? And does Layla really know herself?”

Layla’s mind goes a million miles a minute, so does her mouth – unfortunately her better judgement can take a while to catch up! Although she believes she was justified for doing what she did, a suspension certainly isn’t the way she would have wished to begin her time at her fancy new high school. Despite the setback, Layla’s determined to show everyone that she does deserve her scholarship and sets her sights on winning a big invention competition. But where to begin?

Looking outside and in, Layla will need to come to terms with who she is and who she wants to be if she has any chance of succeeding.

Good Reads

Whale rider (movie)

The arrival – Shaun Tan

The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time.

A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages.

With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope.

Boy overboard: The play

Adapted for the stage by Patricia Cornelius from Morris Gleitzman’s best-selling novel, Boy Overboard depicts a deeply human side of the ‘asylum seekers’ issue by following the journey of Jamal and Bibi from Afghanistan to Australia.
Their dream is to play soccer for Australia in the next World Cup. Before they reach Australia though, they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins.
Based on real life events, this is a moving play about young people overcoming the confusion of war, politics and the search for a safe haven.

Crazy rich Asians (movie)

I am Malala – Malala Yousafzai

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world.

Amazon

Hachette

Refugee boy – Benjamin Zephaniah

Two countries at war – Ethiopia and Eritrea. Alem’s father is Ethiopian and his mother is Eritrean. Caught in the middle, they are enemies of both sides. To celebrate Alem’s birthday his father takes him on holiday for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days together until one morning when Alem wakes up in the Bed and Breakfast they are staying at to find the unthinkable. His father has left him.

It is only when the owner of the bed and breakfast hands him a letter that Alem is given an explanation.  Alem’s father admits that because of the political problems in Ethiopia both he and Alem’s mother felt Alem would be safer in London – even though it is breaking their hearts to do this.

Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. He lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear from his father, and in particular about his mother, who has now gone missing.

Boy overboard – Morris Gleitzman

Jamal loves playing football, which isn’t easy is your goalie only has one leg

and you keep having to dodge landmines to get your ball back.

Jamal’s stubborn little sister, Bibi, is even better at football than Jamal.

But girls playing football is against the law in Afghanistan.

When it is discovered that Jamal’s mother has been secretly running a school,

the family must leave their home immediately and begin a long and dangerous journey to Australia.

The children survive separation from their parents, hunger, and violent smugglers

only to find that Australia isn’t as welcoming as they had thought but, even though they face an uncertain future,

Jamal, Bibi and their parents know that as long as they are together, that is all that matters.

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