A Long Way From Home

by Alice Walsh

Thirteen-year-old Rabia, along with her mother and younger brother, flees Afghanistan and the brutal Taliban for Pakistan. Some months later, they take part in a program that is relocating refugee widows and orphans to America. However, their flight falls on the fateful morning of 9/11. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, their plane is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Also on the plane is a boy named Colin, who struggles with his prejudices against Rabia and her family after they are all stuck in Gander. The people in the small community open their hearts and their homes to the stranded passengers, and their kindness might be the bridge to bring Rabia and Colin's families together.

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade

188 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come from Away is a musical on Broadway, which won the Best Direction Tony Award, is the story of Gandor, Newfoundland, on 9-11, when 36 plains had to be diverted to the small community, which was, as they say in the musical, the furthest point Form Disneyland in North America.

This middle-school novel is based on this same incident, of all these people coming to Gander for almost a week, when their planes got diverted. The author said she based the story on people interviewed about the incident, and their experiences. The story follows a boy from New York and a girl from Afganistan, who end up in Gandar, and what happens to them, and the people they meet.

Very realistic, interesting take, as seen from the kids' point of view. A good book to offer to middle-school kids, who this is now ancient history to them, as it happened before they were even born.



Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Melissa Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for Newfoundland's children to read to understand what happened in our province during 9\11.

[N Flanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the topic of this book. It is about a girl and her mom and brother who has lost everything living in Afghanistan including the Taliban taking away her father and her other brother being killed in a rocket strike. She has a flight headed towards New York on September 11, 2001. Her plane gets diverted to Newfoundland in Canada where strangers welcome her and her mom and brother into their homes and she discovers that not everybody in this world is cruel. It is different than most because it shows that endings aren't always great

[Sarah Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happened to the other flights on 9/11?

[Branchsuper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the events of 9/11 and the mass landing of civilian aircraft in Gander, NL.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourteen-year-old Rabia is on her way from Afghanistan to California with her mother and younger brother on September 11, 2001 when terrorists destroy two buildings in New York, and her plane and 37 others are diverted to Canada. Another passenger on the plane, a boy named Colin is heading home to New York after visiting his maternal grandmother. His initial friendliness toward Rabia while on the plane turns to mistrust after he learns news of the terrorist attacks. While he worries about his father's whereabouts and his family's future, Rabia has similar concerns. The author describes the kindly and heroic efforts of the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland, as they try to make their involuntary visitors feel at home. I was pleased to find this book since it explores experiences from that infamous day that are not often discussed even though it does tend to romanticize the western countries. Although Rabia was uncomfortable under the Taliban's restrictions, it's doubtful that she would have embraced her new culture quite so fully and so quickly.

[Ani Ghazaryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i choose this book because i wanted to get a persons point of view during the 9/11 attack.The plot of the story is that there are two children named Collin and Rabia and they both are on the plain that gets attacked by the terrorists. the authors point of view is very interesting because it not only in just one persons view but two.i would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the 9/11 attack.