Author: Alan Gratz    Published: 2017

Genres: Drama, Realistic Fiction, War, YA

By: Sheri-Moon

Alan Gratz is a 49-year-old American author from Knoxville, TN, but he lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Alan has written several books such; Projekt 1065, Prisoner- B3087, Code of Honor, Grenade Etc. Most of his books are based on real events that have happened in the past and Refugee is one of those books. 

Refugee tells a story about three children from different parts of the world at different times. The first character is Josef. He is a Jewish boy living in the time of the Nazi war known as “Blitzkrieg” (Lighting war or Flash war) in 1938. He lives in Germany with his Mama, Papa, and his little sister Ruth. One silent night at midnight Nazis invaded Josef’s house smashing and throwing things around, but when they left, they also took Josef’s Papa to protective custody. The rest of Josef’s family have been banished from Germany for being Jewish. They board boats and trains that lead out of Germany to different counties and must never return. Read the rest of Josef’s story to see what happens to Josef and his family and what horrible things they must go through.  

The second character is Isabel. She is a Cuban girl, living in 1994 when Cuba was dealing with government, money, medical and food problems. She lives in a small house in Havana, the capital of Cuba, with her pregnant Mama, Papi, Abuelito and a stray kitten. Next door lives Isabel’s family friends Mr. and Mrs. Castillo and their two sons Ivan and Luis, also Luis’s girlfriend Amara. The Castillo’s were building a secret boat in their shed so one day they could get on the boat and run away to Miami, Florida. Little do they know that Isabel’s family is going to join them. Read more of Isabel’s story to see whether they can survive in the cold, violent ocean all the way to the US. 

The last character is Mahmoud. He is a Syrian boy, living in 2015 when the Syrian civil war happened. He lives in an apartment in Aleppo, Syria with his Mama, Papa, little brother Waleed and little sister Hana. Waleed and Mahmoud get bullied horribly at school, which makes them both very quiet in school wearing their hoodies covering their face to look invisible. One afternoon Mahmoud and his family were doing their afternoon prayers, when their apartment got bombed and their only choice was to pack some of their belongings that weren’t destroyed and leave Syria. Read more of Mahmoud’s story and find out if they all survive as a family. 

I think this book is good to read for anyone who is interested in history or survival. It is a book for all ages and isn’t too scary and doesn’t have any bad language.  

Refugee Goodreads details here.