Finding Home

Secrets of the Blue Hill Library Book #20

by Emily Dugan

Award-winning reporter Emily Dugan’s Finding Home follows the tumultuous lives of a group of immigrants, all facing intense challenges in their quest to live in the UK.

Syrian refugee Emad set up the Free Syrian League and worked illegally in the UK to pay for his mother to be smuggled across the Mediterranean on a perilous trip from Turkey. Even if she survives the journey, Emad knows it will be an uphill struggle to get her into Britain.

Australian therapist Harley risks deportation despite serving the NHS for ten years and being told by the Home Office she could stay. Teaching assistant Klaudia is one of thousands of Polish people now living in Boston, Lincolnshire – a microcosm of poorly managed migration. Aderonke, a leading Manchester LGBT activist, lives in a tiny B&B room in Salford with her girlfriend, Happiness, and faces deportation and persecution.

Dugan’s timely and acutely observed book reveals the intense personal dramas of ordinary men and women as they struggle to find somewhere to call home. It shows that migration is not about numbers, votes or opinions: it is about people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cozy Mystery

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars

Did I really enjoy this book because of all the adoption content? Yes. Was more enjoyment added when Korean traditions were mentioned? Also yes. I’m biased, what can I say? 😉 Truly, though, this is probably one of my favorites in this series thus far. I really enjoyed many different aspects of it and the mystery kept me interesting to see who was taking the money.


{{Official Content Review to Come.}}

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has completely changed my perception of immigration. Having only been fed media and highly prejudice perceptions of immigration before it was so refreshing to read something that treated immigrants as people. Dugan's interviews make for compelling reading and it really opens your eyes to how it feels to battle with reality as an immigrant.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne’s boyfriend Alex brings a notice from the bank of an overdraft on his sister’s account. His sister has been dead 4 years and he was told the account had been closed. Anne and Alex start looking into the account from a place that helps people afford adoption, where his sister worked. He also found his sister had been planning on adopting and he goes looking for the child. Anne has a bad health scar and it is hard for her to do research while worried about her health and her children.

[Jacquie Stricklind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so riveting, I could hardly put it down! Alex finds out that an account that was closed after his sister died four years ago is overdrawn, so Anne is determined to find out what is going on. This will lead Anne to find out that her Aunt Edie went to India and met Mother Theresa and decided to start an adoption business that would help people adopt children from places like India less expensively. Meanwhile, Alex finds out that the account his sister managed at Heaven Child's is still open and someone is using to embezzle money from. Also, Alex finds out that his sister and husband wanted to adopt a child, and he wants to find out what happened to the child. A husband and wife who grew up in Blue Hill return for a visit and are teaching a camp that Ben and Liddie are attending learning about different cultures. So who is taking the money and why, read the book to find out. Really, really, good book!

[Flora Camille Lynette Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome 👌 👏 👍 😍

[Han Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focusing on ten individuals, Dugan really manages to focus on the individual, human aspect of migration, rather than the media's blanket generalisation of "swarms" of migrants. Although each person is only given a chapter to tell their story, you really feel like you know them after reading about their plight. Through the compelling narratives, Dugan details ten very different stories and perspectives about migrants living in Britain. She does so without preaching or shaming. This book made me really question a lot of the preconceptions I had and has really changed the way I now read and hear stories of migrants and refugees.

[Josh Tipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, loved having the individual stories from people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the immigration crisis that has been affecting Europe.

Would highly recommend reading if you are interested in how this is affecting the people who chose to try and come to Britain rather than all the statistics surrounding them.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne discovers that someone has been stealing money from a foundation her Aunt set up to help finance foreign adoptions & sets out to discover who would do that.

[Anastasija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and eye opening true stories to remind you that all this world needs is a little bit more compassion:)

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very different look at immigrants - everyone should read

[Idgaf · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@25%

[Hinna Ghafoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read on stories of migration and asylum in the UK. The stories and characters are so powerful and show real strength and determination. Beautifully written and researched.