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piyali's review against another edition
3.0
The author not only tells the story of Samira, a girl from the Rohingya community, who had to seek refuge in Bangladesh with her family to flee violence in Burma but she does a good job of conveying the hardships that Rohingya refugees face to this day due to the complicated politics in the region.
kmess59's review against another edition
4.0
The reader is introduced to Samira, the daughter of a refugee family, who longs for friendship and something else aside from selling eggs at the beach. Eventually Samira befriends other girls and is introduced to surfing, which Samira was avoiding at first for a fear of the water. At the story unfolds, the reader finds out that while they were migrating to a new country, Samira's Nani and Nana never made it through the journey, and Samira is afraid of what the water will do to her. Eventually, with some help from the girls, and her brother Khalid, she realizes that she needs to face her fears to become her true self.
jenniferorr's review against another edition
5.0
This book is told from the perspective of a young Rohingya refugee girl in Bangladesh. I no very little about the Rohingya people and this book did a wonderful job of showing their challenges while also allowing the main character to be a young girl with the joys and challenges involved. It’s a novel in poetry form and the language is beautiful. At times I felt it could have been a bit shorter but that’s a small complaint about a lovely, powerful story.
rusereviews's review against another edition
3.5
This is a middle grade novel about an eleven-year-old refugee living in Bangladesh, so it’s heavy topics. I really liked that it was written in verse. I learned a lot from this book.
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
4.0
Samira's voice is really strong and an important edition to middle grade fiction. I learned so much about the Rohingya people and their continued struggle to find a home. Set on the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangledesh, Samira and her family have fled their native homeland of Burma (now Mynmar) due of violence. She want's to go to school and learn to read and later, to learn to surf. The pacing is a bit slow but I hope that readers will stick with it to learn more about this part of the world.
hollyxbear's review against another edition
5.0
I received an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review. This novel was wonderful. There is a great lack of books about refugees, let alone Rohingya refugees. The lives of the characters are relatable in some ways and seem so bizarre or out of place in others. This book reads like its from another time with the situations they are in along with the lack of technology when it really take place in current times. Seeing a cell phone mentioned is what showed me that this was modern. This fact can be very eye opening for children. They way this novel is written also stands out to me since it is written in prose. This writing style will reach more children I believe since the words are so digestible. Overall I loved this book and cannot wait to show my library patrons.
woodiefrog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Death and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide
emily_claire11's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ahpotts's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely middle grade. Introduction to ideas of refugees without too much violence - discussion of Rohingya and more - but I didn't feel deeply connected to the characters & wonder if, perhaps, the writing in verse kept me at arm's length? Not sure - it's a good book & I would give it to my younger students for sure, but it didn't move me deeply.