Nobody's Child

Armenian Genocide

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Commended for the 2004 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Selection, short-listed for the 2005 Red Maple Award and Rocky Mountain Book Award

When the Armenians of Turkey are marched into the desert to die in 1915, Mariam is rescued by her Turkish friend Rustem, and lives with mixed acceptance as a guest in his father's harem. Kevork is shot and left for dead in a mass grave in the desert, but is rescued by nomadic Arabs and nurtured back to health.

Both teens must choose between the security of an adopted home or the risk of death in search of family.

A sequel to the highly successful The Hunger, Nobody's Child is a stirring and engaging account of one of the twentieth century's most significant events.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Middle East, Canada, Childrens

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Marsha Skrypuch is an internationally bestselling children’s author whose books span a century of wars from a kid’s view, concentrating on those stories that have been erased by oppressive regimes. Her best-known book is Making Bombs for Hitler. Her most recent is the Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy. She has received death threats and honors for her writing. Marsha lives in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and you can visit her online at calla.com

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story describes what happens to Mariam and her family and Kevork and his aunt as they try to survive the massacre of the Armenians in Turkey before and during World War I. Not much has been written for children and young adults on this subject, yet many of the survivors came to the U.S. and Canada to start new lives. The author states in the acknowledgements that she interviewed survivors as part of her research for this book; events depicted in the book actually happened to real people. The story of these teens is riveting and hard to put down. The one fault I found with it was that it ended too abruptly, obviously priming for a sequel, which I'm anxious to read. I've ordered the sequel, Daughter of War, for the library where I work. Hope it comes in soon-- I'm on the edge of my seat!

[Elaine Clyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart wrenching and thought provoking!

[jennika 🐞 · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book I read that wasn’t about fairies and princesses and the usual stuff a 12 year old would read. It changed my life. It’s been 7 years and I still think about this book on a regular basis.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prequel to "Daughter of War" about the Armenian massacres in Turkey prior to and during WWI. Brutal subject matter, masterfully written. I had no idea.

[T. Isajanyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story opened up a world to me that I had never considered at the age of 15. It was so painful to get through, but so well portrayed, it was impossible to put down. Love it!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting tale of survival.

[katnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I averaged my feelings to get a rating for this book. While I was reading, my opinion rose from three stars to four, then fell to two at the end due to unresolved plot threads. As a middle novel, it can stand without its predecessor, but not without its sequel. If you have Daughter of War on hand you might not mind the ending as much as I did. I should also note that the official Goodreads blurb describes events that don't happen until three quarters of the way through the book – the story starts when a group of children are orphaned and follows their journey to relative safety in an orphanage. About halfway through, we jump forward six years and the deportations begin.

The simple, direct writing style and the fact that the perspective does not delve deeply into the thoughts and feelings of a single character make Nobody's Child feel like a middle grade novel. However the heavy subject matter and the fact that the narrative doesn't gloss over the more disturbing aspects of the Genocide make it feel young adult. The amount of research and care that went into this book are impressive. It provides a surprisingly balanced overview of a very dark time in history that isn't often discussed in fiction for young people.

I would recommend Nobody's Child to anyone (teen or adult) who is not familiar with Turkish/Armenian history or who has read Holocaust fiction and is looking to broaden their horizons.

[Cathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody's Child, a book about the Armenian Genocide is eye opening. The book follows the story of two young kids that survived an attack in their home city where their parents died. With their aunt and other family members, they travel to turkey. A few years later, they get deported from turkey and are separated. The whole time they are trying to find each other trying to survive the Armenian genocide in Turkey.

This book is a really interesting and eye opening read. It shows you history of a country that history is not thought much. Having read this, it gives me curiosity to learn more on what happened during that time and why it happened. It is hart wrenching to see a (fake) perspective from that time. Even though it might be fake there are several aspects that are real, and people have endured.

[Nalani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched novel with an easy-to-read delivery. Characters are unique and develop as the story goes along. It follows the story of both Miriam and Kevork and alternate between the two. Marta's story begins in the first novel The Hunger and will continue in the third novel Daughter of War. Can't wait to dive in to the final book.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch writes a fictional tragic novel called Nobodys Child. This suspenseful story talks about the rivalry between the Turkish and Armenian people. A young Armenian girl, Miriam, takes full responsibility upon the care of her younger siblings due to the death of her parents because of the war the Turks had with the Armenians. The orphans wander the streets looking for shelter and happiness. When the war ends, they eventually come across an orphanage center with welcoming arms and a family they never want to leave. Little do they know that their peace and stability was going to be interrupted again by Turkish taking over the Armenian village, especially the orphanage center. Miriam is sold to slavery while her siblings also come across to other challenges and struggles. Will the siblings stick together? I Would recommend this novel to people interested in realistic and hear touching dramas.

[Jayshree]

i love it

[Kawaii Potato]

I really love this book all Marsha Forchuk are the best & their awesome