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Bairdston
Karim and Salima Kufdani have survived the streets of Tangier on their own. Orphaned and alone they’ve found their own way, until a fateful night and a cafe brawl see them shipped away from everything they’ve ever known. Now in the cold, barren expanse of Scotland, Karim and Salima must learn to navigate the waters of the exclusive Bairdston School and cross a cultural divide neither ever expected to face.
Can Karim overcome the vendetta of a coach who doesn’t want him on the team? Will anyone ever accept uneducated Salima for the prodigy she really is?
A story of love, acceptance and perseverance, Bairdston asks if the principles of peace and the virtues of intelligence can ever truly light the darkest of all places.
Award-winning novelist, Robert Cook paints an irresistible portrait of teen life in a Muslim meets Western world. Bairdston is a triumphant tale that will capture readers and leave them breathless with every exhilarating page.
Can Karim overcome the vendetta of a coach who doesn’t want him on the team? Will anyone ever accept uneducated Salima for the prodigy she really is?
A story of love, acceptance and perseverance, Bairdston asks if the principles of peace and the virtues of intelligence can ever truly light the darkest of all places.
Award-winning novelist, Robert Cook paints an irresistible portrait of teen life in a Muslim meets Western world. Bairdston is a triumphant tale that will capture readers and leave them breathless with every exhilarating page.
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First published December 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 20, 2018
I thought the synopsis sounded really interesting so I decided to give it a try. But this story felt very dry - more of a detailed list and less of a story. It was a list of what these 2 kids did and how it all went down and never seemed to pull me in and get me interested. It also felt too short, not really giving me a full story.
I also found some of the writing to be choppy. In many spots, I wanted to mark sentences that either felt like they didn't make sense or were worded in ways that didn't make complete sense. All in all, I thought the idea sounded great but somehow this story just didn't work for me.
I also found some of the writing to be choppy. In many spots, I wanted to mark sentences that either felt like they didn't make sense or were worded in ways that didn't make complete sense. All in all, I thought the idea sounded great but somehow this story just didn't work for me.
February 24, 2016
First of all... WHY THERE WAS NO WARNING THAT THIS BOOK HAS A BACKSTORY?? I found that this book is a development of two orphan characters in Robert Cook's another book, Pulse, in the author's note, in the last page of the book. That's why the plot is so weird! The blurb of this book promising me. Two Muslims orphanage, Karim and Salima Kufdani, sent to the boarding house at Aberdeen, Scotland. Before that, they've got some proper education (includinh martial arts for Karim) through home-schooling in Tangier. Well,until 80% of the book, I still didn't get why the author should brought Islam in this story. But in the end, I'm glad that there was a reason for it, even though it has nothing to do with any events in this book.
There were lots of things that confused me:
1. Why the Kufdani's sent to Bairdston at Scotland? There was no explanation for that. Cooch (or Alex. The nicknames in this book confused me) said that he wanted the kids to learn about Westerners. But, why Bairdston? Why Scotland?
2. What's the plot of this book? There were some real problems that Kufdani's should face, like bullying, both from students and teachers. Then they had to compete in school league, solved some mathematics in traditional ways, even got threatened by teacher who hated them. But what after that? Nothing. I just found it some kind of Cooch's experiments to those kids.
3. The ending. Is that all??
The eARC copy of this book provided free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
There were lots of things that confused me:
1. Why the Kufdani's sent to Bairdston at Scotland? There was no explanation for that. Cooch (or Alex. The nicknames in this book confused me) said that he wanted the kids to learn about Westerners. But, why Bairdston? Why Scotland?
2. What's the plot of this book? There were some real problems that Kufdani's should face, like bullying, both from students and teachers. Then they had to compete in school league, solved some mathematics in traditional ways, even got threatened by teacher who hated them. But what after that? Nothing. I just found it some kind of Cooch's experiments to those kids.
3. The ending. Is that all??
The eARC copy of this book provided free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
December 8, 2015
Karim and Salima Kufdani are two orphaned street kids from Tangier, Morocco. They are rescued from anonymity by Alejandro Muhammad Cuchulain (Cooch) and educated by his team, which include a martial arts expert and a mathematical genius. After spending some time with them, they are shipped off to a Scottish boarding school called Bairdston to receive a more rounded Western education. But will they be able to survive this new climate, in the face of racism and bullying? Recommended for ages 14+, 2-1/2 stars.
I originally picked this book because I thought the subject matter was interesting. Two Muslim kids from Africa trying to adapt to life in the bitter cold of a Scottish boarding school. What I did not know until I read someone else’s review and the author’s note at the end of the book (which really should’ve been in the beginning), was that this story came from a brief mention in the author’s last book Pulse, an adult thriller. That book is all about Cooch, a half-American/half-Bedouin former CIA agent who becomes the guardian for the teens in this book. You could tell that the author had never written a book for teens before as the writing was pretty dry and didn’t really draw you into the lives of the characters, but kept things mostly on the surface. I didn’t feel like this book had an ending; the story just sort of stopped. Karim and Salima are pretty viciously bullied by teachers and students alike, but nobody seems to want to help them, with the exception of their caregivers and that response is pretty brutal. The only time Islam is really mentioned is at the end when Karim tries to “educate” his teammates on what Islam is and really means. Honestly, the only part I found really fascinating is when Karim joins the soccer team and the author vividly describes a soccer game that the team has with a rival team, and really puts you in the minds of the players.
I originally picked this book because I thought the subject matter was interesting. Two Muslim kids from Africa trying to adapt to life in the bitter cold of a Scottish boarding school. What I did not know until I read someone else’s review and the author’s note at the end of the book (which really should’ve been in the beginning), was that this story came from a brief mention in the author’s last book Pulse, an adult thriller. That book is all about Cooch, a half-American/half-Bedouin former CIA agent who becomes the guardian for the teens in this book. You could tell that the author had never written a book for teens before as the writing was pretty dry and didn’t really draw you into the lives of the characters, but kept things mostly on the surface. I didn’t feel like this book had an ending; the story just sort of stopped. Karim and Salima are pretty viciously bullied by teachers and students alike, but nobody seems to want to help them, with the exception of their caregivers and that response is pretty brutal. The only time Islam is really mentioned is at the end when Karim tries to “educate” his teammates on what Islam is and really means. Honestly, the only part I found really fascinating is when Karim joins the soccer team and the author vividly describes a soccer game that the team has with a rival team, and really puts you in the minds of the players.
April 23, 2016
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!!
In general, I liked the premise of this book- the Muslim meets Western world and can their philosophy of peace and their intelligence overcome how the Western world views Muslims. However, I think this book falls short.
When we first meet Karim and Salima, they are in a cafe courtyard in Tangier performing to earn money. They get into some trouble, are saved by a man named Cooch who then educates them. Eventually he sends them to Scotland to the Bairdston school for formal education and to get accustomed to the Western world. In order for this to work you really need a sense of Karim and Salima's life on the streets of Tangier, a sense of their life with Cooch, and a sense of Bairdston and it's Western world. You don't truly get any sense of all these things. I understand they are orphans and struggling to survive on the streets. I get that this is dangerous, more so for Salima being a girl than it would be for Karim. It will only get more dangerous for Salima as she gets older. There is a slight sense of this. We do get an idea. However, we really don't truly get how their life is with Cooch and we definitely don't get a sense of who Cooch is. Why would he do this? Why these two particular kids instead of any of the other orphans on the streets of Tangier? Did Salima and Karim happen to be in the right place at the right time for Cooch? We have no true idea.
We get that Cooch educates them and it's done in a different way. But how truly different is this? Math is taught in pictures instead of the formal way taught in school. Supposedly the pictures are easier for one to understand math. You don't understand this until almost the end of the book when Salima finally gives an example. You just have to take it at face value before then. Then they are taught movement which is basically fighting skills. Other than that they exercise (running and swimming) and are taught religion and philosophy. During this whole time you do not get a sense of who Cooch is. You also truly don;t see how educating kids this way is truly different or beneficial.
At the end of the book it says Cooch is a dour guy that doesn't show emotion yet how exactly do you know this throughout the rest of the book? You don't. You do get that he probably likes fighting- he kinda set up Hobbes for a fight and was completely ready to incapacitate Beake, but you don't see how he doesn't show emotion. Then, why would he hire Beake at the end? Because he takes pity on him or for some other reason? You don't know.
Once at Bairdston, you don't see how the culture is and how Karim and Salima do not fit. All you get is the kids calling them wogs or occasionally camel jockey. You also truly do not get the sense of how very different these kids are in this Western culture. If you did get this sense, then the book would have been more powerful. Since you don't, it falls flat and you wonder- how exactly are they having trouble fitting in, am I missing something???
Then there is a switch in points of view throughout the book. A lot of these were very awkward and clunky. This could be because this was a copy that was not formatted. If this is the reason why, I hope the formatting was corrected before publication. Anyway, the beginning of the story is really just Karim's point of view. Once at Bairdston, we suddenly start getting Salima's point of view. Then we suddenly get a third person point of view when it involves Cooch and Doctor. Then we also get the Dean's point of view- 1st person at that. I don't get why we needed this. I think instead of doing this, it should have stuck to one person's point of view or just a third person one. It should not switch back and forth. The message was not as succinct in doing it this way as it could have been just sticking to one. Since most of the book was from Karim's point of view, maybe the whole thing should have been written this way. Everyone else's view of things could have been deciphered through Karim's interaction with them. There was no need to switch points of view.
Also, when reading, the character will be referred to by different names within the same paragraph. For example Cooch will be known as Cooch but within the same paragraph be referred to as Alex. The same with Doctor and Caitlin. If that part of the story is being told from one person's point of view, then the other characters should be referred to as that person knows them. For example, if we are reading from Karim's point of view, then Cooch should just be Cooch not Alex. He didn't interact with Cooch as Alex and so would not think of him this with that name.
Also, when there is a chapter and it says Salima, then that chapter should really only be her point of view. This is what we as readers expect when we see this. It shouldn't just switch mid chapter to someone else's point of view.
I also do not see the need for a couple of characters- for example Sayed. What did he bring to the story? Whatever happened to him? He disappeared after playing the game with Karim and Namadi and never appeared again. He stomped off because he was getting frustrated with the game but we never found out if or how it affected his friendship with Karim. Apparently Sayed just fell off the face of the Earth and that's it. Character gone.
I did like how we learn a little, but very little, about the Muslim culture. That being said, it happened to late in the story. It happened once Karim was on the football, or soccer, team and it was on the bus to and from games. This was only at the end of the book. We are looking at about 3/4 of the way through and we finally get around to hearing something about the Muslim religion/culture. What??!! If the book is to show the differences in culture between the Western world and Muslim one, why wait so long to get into it??? Actually, we could have been shown this from the beginning had the worlds been developed better and the sense of each world developed so we can see the differences this way.
In the end I wanted to know who Cooch, Doctor, Karim, Salima, and even Beake were. When reading the Author's Note at the end of the book, he refers you to his previous books to get Cooch's and Doctor's backgrounds. He does make a point to say they are adult books whereas Bairdston is a book for kids. What?! Really?! In order to get background info I should let my kid read an adult book. How does this make sense? The background on these characters should have been in THIS book and written in a way for kids since this is a KIDS book. This book is not part of series and even if it was the characters should be developed in the first book! As it is, this is a stand alone book and we don't know who these people are and we should. We should not have go to completely different books to get this information!! Then lets look at this in another realistic way- how many kids are actually going to read an author's note to even get this information? Ummm....... none to very little. Kids don't actually read that stuff.
This book had a lot of promise but fell short on many levels. This is a shame because it could have been a powerful book otherwise.
In general, I liked the premise of this book- the Muslim meets Western world and can their philosophy of peace and their intelligence overcome how the Western world views Muslims. However, I think this book falls short.
When we first meet Karim and Salima, they are in a cafe courtyard in Tangier performing to earn money. They get into some trouble, are saved by a man named Cooch who then educates them. Eventually he sends them to Scotland to the Bairdston school for formal education and to get accustomed to the Western world. In order for this to work you really need a sense of Karim and Salima's life on the streets of Tangier, a sense of their life with Cooch, and a sense of Bairdston and it's Western world. You don't truly get any sense of all these things. I understand they are orphans and struggling to survive on the streets. I get that this is dangerous, more so for Salima being a girl than it would be for Karim. It will only get more dangerous for Salima as she gets older. There is a slight sense of this. We do get an idea. However, we really don't truly get how their life is with Cooch and we definitely don't get a sense of who Cooch is. Why would he do this? Why these two particular kids instead of any of the other orphans on the streets of Tangier? Did Salima and Karim happen to be in the right place at the right time for Cooch? We have no true idea.
We get that Cooch educates them and it's done in a different way. But how truly different is this? Math is taught in pictures instead of the formal way taught in school. Supposedly the pictures are easier for one to understand math. You don't understand this until almost the end of the book when Salima finally gives an example. You just have to take it at face value before then. Then they are taught movement which is basically fighting skills. Other than that they exercise (running and swimming) and are taught religion and philosophy. During this whole time you do not get a sense of who Cooch is. You also truly don;t see how educating kids this way is truly different or beneficial.
At the end of the book it says Cooch is a dour guy that doesn't show emotion yet how exactly do you know this throughout the rest of the book? You don't. You do get that he probably likes fighting- he kinda set up Hobbes for a fight and was completely ready to incapacitate Beake, but you don't see how he doesn't show emotion. Then, why would he hire Beake at the end? Because he takes pity on him or for some other reason? You don't know.
Once at Bairdston, you don't see how the culture is and how Karim and Salima do not fit. All you get is the kids calling them wogs or occasionally camel jockey. You also truly do not get the sense of how very different these kids are in this Western culture. If you did get this sense, then the book would have been more powerful. Since you don't, it falls flat and you wonder- how exactly are they having trouble fitting in, am I missing something???
Then there is a switch in points of view throughout the book. A lot of these were very awkward and clunky. This could be because this was a copy that was not formatted. If this is the reason why, I hope the formatting was corrected before publication. Anyway, the beginning of the story is really just Karim's point of view. Once at Bairdston, we suddenly start getting Salima's point of view. Then we suddenly get a third person point of view when it involves Cooch and Doctor. Then we also get the Dean's point of view- 1st person at that. I don't get why we needed this. I think instead of doing this, it should have stuck to one person's point of view or just a third person one. It should not switch back and forth. The message was not as succinct in doing it this way as it could have been just sticking to one. Since most of the book was from Karim's point of view, maybe the whole thing should have been written this way. Everyone else's view of things could have been deciphered through Karim's interaction with them. There was no need to switch points of view.
Also, when reading, the character will be referred to by different names within the same paragraph. For example Cooch will be known as Cooch but within the same paragraph be referred to as Alex. The same with Doctor and Caitlin. If that part of the story is being told from one person's point of view, then the other characters should be referred to as that person knows them. For example, if we are reading from Karim's point of view, then Cooch should just be Cooch not Alex. He didn't interact with Cooch as Alex and so would not think of him this with that name.
Also, when there is a chapter and it says Salima, then that chapter should really only be her point of view. This is what we as readers expect when we see this. It shouldn't just switch mid chapter to someone else's point of view.
I also do not see the need for a couple of characters- for example Sayed. What did he bring to the story? Whatever happened to him? He disappeared after playing the game with Karim and Namadi and never appeared again. He stomped off because he was getting frustrated with the game but we never found out if or how it affected his friendship with Karim. Apparently Sayed just fell off the face of the Earth and that's it. Character gone.
I did like how we learn a little, but very little, about the Muslim culture. That being said, it happened to late in the story. It happened once Karim was on the football, or soccer, team and it was on the bus to and from games. This was only at the end of the book. We are looking at about 3/4 of the way through and we finally get around to hearing something about the Muslim religion/culture. What??!! If the book is to show the differences in culture between the Western world and Muslim one, why wait so long to get into it??? Actually, we could have been shown this from the beginning had the worlds been developed better and the sense of each world developed so we can see the differences this way.
In the end I wanted to know who Cooch, Doctor, Karim, Salima, and even Beake were. When reading the Author's Note at the end of the book, he refers you to his previous books to get Cooch's and Doctor's backgrounds. He does make a point to say they are adult books whereas Bairdston is a book for kids. What?! Really?! In order to get background info I should let my kid read an adult book. How does this make sense? The background on these characters should have been in THIS book and written in a way for kids since this is a KIDS book. This book is not part of series and even if it was the characters should be developed in the first book! As it is, this is a stand alone book and we don't know who these people are and we should. We should not have go to completely different books to get this information!! Then lets look at this in another realistic way- how many kids are actually going to read an author's note to even get this information? Ummm....... none to very little. Kids don't actually read that stuff.
This book had a lot of promise but fell short on many levels. This is a shame because it could have been a powerful book otherwise.
February 16, 2016
Bairdston is about two young kids named Karim and Salima Kufdani who were living on the streets of Tangier when they come across a man who takes care of them in exchange they have to do something for him in return. After learning several things from the man named Alejandro Mohammed Cuchulain known as Cooch, Dr. Caitlin O'Connor known as Doctor and Tang, Karim and Salima are sent to Bairdston in Scotland to learn and acclimate with the kids there.
The author touches on subjects such as bullying and racism in children and in adults. We learn more about the cultural divide between the Westerners and the Middle Easterners. I wanted to care about the characters and the story but unfortunately, I could not. I admit it was tough to finish this book and only did so because of the review. Note, I did appreciate the details that went into writing the the boxing scenes as well as the football scenes.
Considering this is for teens and young adults, I'm not quite sure the author hit the mark on this one.
Review is also posted here: http://wp.me/p4Pp9O-74
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
The author touches on subjects such as bullying and racism in children and in adults. We learn more about the cultural divide between the Westerners and the Middle Easterners. I wanted to care about the characters and the story but unfortunately, I could not. I admit it was tough to finish this book and only did so because of the review. Note, I did appreciate the details that went into writing the the boxing scenes as well as the football scenes.
Considering this is for teens and young adults, I'm not quite sure the author hit the mark on this one.
Review is also posted here: http://wp.me/p4Pp9O-74
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
January 9, 2016
I requested to read this book through Netgalley as I thought the cover looked interesting and I love to read young adult novels from time to time.
I'm not sure where to start with this book. It is rather strange!
Two Muslim teens, brother and sister Karim and Salima Kufdani are saved from the rough and dangerous streets of Morocco by Cooch and his team. They want to educate the siblings in subjects such as Martial Arts and Maths. After they have learned the basics they are shipped off to a boarding school in Scotland called Bairdston, where Cooch wants them to learn to live in a Westernised world. Learn to live, eat and play with others.
I think the book lacked a plot and all the way through I wasn't quite sure where it was leading. I would have loved to have heard more about the siblings background, but this seemed to have been missed out.
I did however like the way the story was told from each of the brother's and sister's eyes and how they saw the Western world and people around them.
I have given Bairdston by Robert Cook 3 out of 5 stars
I'm not sure where to start with this book. It is rather strange!
Two Muslim teens, brother and sister Karim and Salima Kufdani are saved from the rough and dangerous streets of Morocco by Cooch and his team. They want to educate the siblings in subjects such as Martial Arts and Maths. After they have learned the basics they are shipped off to a boarding school in Scotland called Bairdston, where Cooch wants them to learn to live in a Westernised world. Learn to live, eat and play with others.
I think the book lacked a plot and all the way through I wasn't quite sure where it was leading. I would have loved to have heard more about the siblings background, but this seemed to have been missed out.
I did however like the way the story was told from each of the brother's and sister's eyes and how they saw the Western world and people around them.
I have given Bairdston by Robert Cook 3 out of 5 stars
February 19, 2016
I just finished Bairdston by Robert Cook. I have got to say I absolutely didn't care for this book. The cover of the book had me so enticed that I had to know what it was bout then when I read about it, I thought it may be a good book. I was thoroughly let down by this book. Mid way through it I started researching the author and found out this book was pretty much a spin off to one of Robert's other books Pulse, and I haven't read that so I'm not sure if it helps with the story or anything but lets hope it explains more than this book. I was more confused and wondering if I missed something while reading this book than I was enjoying it. I do not feel like this story is over, it should be rewriting and give more clear explanations and a better plot to it. seriously what was going on in this story. One and a half stars!!!
December 29, 2015
An enjoyable spin-off featuring two of the minor characters from Robert Cook's "Cooch" thriller series. The book explores more of Cook's ideas about improving education told through the story of Karim and Salima, Moroccan orphans, attending a boarding school in Scotland, where their previous "unconventional" tutoring/education causes some issues, but also gains some converts.
March 20, 2016
DNF at 22%.
The writing is terrible. The characterization is basic and shallow. Sentences are short just like those in Carry On, except this one is worse (imagine that). The premise and the synopsis are interesting enough but it can't make up for everything. I've never been so bored in my life reading a book. I don't think I'll be coming back to this. Ever.
The writing is terrible. The characterization is basic and shallow. Sentences are short just like those in Carry On, except this one is worse (imagine that). The premise and the synopsis are interesting enough but it can't make up for everything. I've never been so bored in my life reading a book. I don't think I'll be coming back to this. Ever.
April 8, 2016
This book had no plot whatsoever. For being so short, it certainly dragged on. The characters were one dimensional and the prose oversimplified at some times and tediously overworked in others. I'm baffled by this book and sorry I wasted my time.
Want to Read
October 15, 2015So excited to read this book! I love ARCS!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews