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Displaced
In this gripping and eye-opening novel, two Syrian refugee teens trying to make a living on the street corners of Beirut must decide how far they’re willing to go to make a home for their family in an unwelcoming country.
Thirteen-year-old Hadi Toma and his family are displaced. At least that’s what the Lebanese government calls them and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city don’t think they’re displaced—they think that they don’t belong in this country either. Each day he hears insults, but each day he convinces himself they don’t matter, approaching the cars again and again. He hardly dares to dream anymore that this might change.
But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to school and becoming an engineer. But Malek is new to the streets, and Kamal, the man who oversees many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner…alone. And people who don’t follow Kamal’s orders don’t last long.
Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh realities remain stubbornly out of reach?
Thirteen-year-old Hadi Toma and his family are displaced. At least that’s what the Lebanese government calls them and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city don’t think they’re displaced—they think that they don’t belong in this country either. Each day he hears insults, but each day he convinces himself they don’t matter, approaching the cars again and again. He hardly dares to dream anymore that this might change.
But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to school and becoming an engineer. But Malek is new to the streets, and Kamal, the man who oversees many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner…alone. And people who don’t follow Kamal’s orders don’t last long.
Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh realities remain stubbornly out of reach?
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2020
6 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Dean Hughes
167 books348 followersDean Hughes is the author of more than eighty books for young readers, including the popular sports series Angel Park All-Stars, the Scrappers series, the Nutty series, the widely acclaimed companion novels Family Pose and Team Picture, and Search and Destroy. Soldier Boys was selected for the 2001 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list. Dean Hughes and his wife, Kathleen, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Midway, Utah.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 6, 2020
This is such a timely book. It shines a light on the challenges that Syrian refugees face while trying to survive in the countries that they have fled to. For this book, that means Lebanon. Lebanon which is a small country of around 6 million and has hosted up to 1 million refugees since the Syrian Civil War started.
And that was before the August 4th explosion in Beirut, which hit the Syrian refugee community hard as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
We first meet Hadi, a young Syrian teen, on a rainy intersection in Beirut where his job is to approach cars to see whether he can sell gum to the drivers. The fact that not many drivers purchase gum from him, just highlights how desperate the situation is for him and his family. His dad also works on another intersection. On a good day, they might make enough to feed their family a meager diet and save a little bit each day to pay the monthly rent and electricity bills.
One day Malek, another Syrian refugee, comes to Hadi’s intersection and tells him that he is going to have to clear out because a gang lord has decided that he controls who can sell at this corner. They eventually strike up a friendship.
This book keeps on going from bad to worse and what’s heartbreaking is all the small moments of goodness that provide Hadi with some degree of hope get quickly dashed by the next bad thing that happens. Hadi’s life seems to be in danger in so many different ways. Kahlil Gibran’s book “The Prophet” also significantly figures into this book. What’s most striking about Hadi is the level of dignity that he keeps on trying to uphold in spite of the horrible things that people tell him.
Author Dean Hughes wrote this book after he and his wife Kathy spent a year and a half teaching English to Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Beirut. His source material came from the stories of their students.
And that was before the August 4th explosion in Beirut, which hit the Syrian refugee community hard as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
We first meet Hadi, a young Syrian teen, on a rainy intersection in Beirut where his job is to approach cars to see whether he can sell gum to the drivers. The fact that not many drivers purchase gum from him, just highlights how desperate the situation is for him and his family. His dad also works on another intersection. On a good day, they might make enough to feed their family a meager diet and save a little bit each day to pay the monthly rent and electricity bills.
One day Malek, another Syrian refugee, comes to Hadi’s intersection and tells him that he is going to have to clear out because a gang lord has decided that he controls who can sell at this corner. They eventually strike up a friendship.
This book keeps on going from bad to worse and what’s heartbreaking is all the small moments of goodness that provide Hadi with some degree of hope get quickly dashed by the next bad thing that happens. Hadi’s life seems to be in danger in so many different ways. Kahlil Gibran’s book “The Prophet” also significantly figures into this book. What’s most striking about Hadi is the level of dignity that he keeps on trying to uphold in spite of the horrible things that people tell him.
Author Dean Hughes wrote this book after he and his wife Kathy spent a year and a half teaching English to Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Beirut. His source material came from the stories of their students.
March 8, 2021
Summary: Hadi is a young Syrian refugee in Lebanon selling gum to help his family scrape by. He meets Malak, another refugee forced to sell tissues on the corner by a street gang. The two boys bond over their dreams of a better life.
Response: This isn’t a book I would normally pick up to read but I am glad for the experience. It was painfully clear the impossible situation refugees are in. They leave their homes because it is impossible to stay but there is no place for them to go. This book is just one fictional story and there a millions of people who suffer in real life. It really breaks my heart. One point the author makes at the end of the novel in the author’s note section is that being a refugee is a defining moment in their lives but being a refugee doesn’t define them as people. Hadi struggles to keep his dreams amid seemingly impossible odds but it is through the love of several good friends and neighbors that Hadi can escape to a better life with his family.
Response: This isn’t a book I would normally pick up to read but I am glad for the experience. It was painfully clear the impossible situation refugees are in. They leave their homes because it is impossible to stay but there is no place for them to go. This book is just one fictional story and there a millions of people who suffer in real life. It really breaks my heart. One point the author makes at the end of the novel in the author’s note section is that being a refugee is a defining moment in their lives but being a refugee doesn’t define them as people. Hadi struggles to keep his dreams amid seemingly impossible odds but it is through the love of several good friends and neighbors that Hadi can escape to a better life with his family.
July 31, 2021
Have you ever had a book that you went into almost completely blind? That was me with “Displaced” by Dean Hughes. I’d heard of the author, seen the cover for this book and read the synopsis, but that was all.
“Displaced” follows two young refugees named Hadi and Malek who work on the same street corner to provide for their families, after violence in Syria forced them to resettle in Lebanon.
There was a lot of good about this book. It was very timely and important, and overall, I did enjoy it. That said, I felt like the book was a bit too short and despite it’s impactful subject matter, I found that I had forgotten most of what had happened in the book by the time I got around to writing this review.
So this was just an okay read for me. I do recommend it, but I’ve read so many brilliant books in July that this ended up being my least favourite in terms of star rating. I give this 3 stars.
“Displaced” follows two young refugees named Hadi and Malek who work on the same street corner to provide for their families, after violence in Syria forced them to resettle in Lebanon.
There was a lot of good about this book. It was very timely and important, and overall, I did enjoy it. That said, I felt like the book was a bit too short and despite it’s impactful subject matter, I found that I had forgotten most of what had happened in the book by the time I got around to writing this review.
So this was just an okay read for me. I do recommend it, but I’ve read so many brilliant books in July that this ended up being my least favourite in terms of star rating. I give this 3 stars.
April 25, 2021
This book was a powerful and propelling read but also felt a little problematic. It’s definitely not an OwnVoices narrative and the ending felt a little too Pat in part and a little Savior-esque... I felt the authors meant well and illuminated a problem but I don’t know that the ending was anything more than a treacly savior narrative.
I admire the intent and hope it inspires more to care and give.
I admire the intent and hope it inspires more to care and give.
January 30, 2024
Library copy
Hadi and his family escaped from Syria after their home was bombed out, and made their way to Beirut. The Lebanese aren't thrilled with the immigrant influx, and it's hard for Hadi's father to get a job. He and his son both work on the streets, selling things to people at traffic stop lights. This earns them barely enough to make rent on the one room that all of them occupy. Hadi's mother stays home with his brothers and sisters, but has recently had a badly infected tooth. The neighborhood is not a good one, so the children are cooped up most of the day. When Hadi is selling gum, and new boy, Malek, comes to sell tissues on his corner! He has been sent by Kamal, who seems to be in charge of the boys on the street. This is a crushing blow to Hadi, who with his father spends 4,000 hard earned lira a day just to get the bus back and forth to this better business area. The boys decide that they can work together, and slowly become friends. As the mother's tooth pains her more, Rashid, a local taxi driver, approaches Hadi with a proposition: he can make a lot of money passing packages on to customers. Hadi knows this is probably drug related, but is desperate for money, which does help his family. When Rashid becomes more and more demanding, threatening to implicate Hadi in the drug business, and Kamal starts cracking down on people in "his" area, Hadi is worried. When he is injured, he is told he and his family need to leave Beirut altogether, or he might be killed. Luckily, there are a few good people in Hadi's life who are able to help.
Strengths: Hughes and his wife lived in Lebanon a few years ago, and he interviewed a boy very like Hadi, and was involved in some humanitarian projects, teaching English to people in Beirut. He is able to bring details from that experience to this book and put a face of the problems that Syrian refugees are facing. Hadi is hardworking, but still 13 years old, and the difficulties he faces are well described. I especially like a scene where he wants to know more about a book, and the woman in the book store is initially unkind because he is Syrian. When she sees that he does want to learn to read, she trades him a well worn book for a pack of gum that he is selling. Even people who have prejudiced opinions can have kind moments. I can't wait to hand this to my readers who think that school is a waste of their time!
Weaknesses: This ended a bit neatly, which is a relief, but perhaps not too realistic.
What I really think: I love Hughes' World War II books so much, so was willing to take a chance on this one. I was not disappointed. Until we get more Syrian refugees writing books about their experiences, I'm glad to have well researched accounts like this to help my students understand the plight of immigrants around the world.
Hadi and his family escaped from Syria after their home was bombed out, and made their way to Beirut. The Lebanese aren't thrilled with the immigrant influx, and it's hard for Hadi's father to get a job. He and his son both work on the streets, selling things to people at traffic stop lights. This earns them barely enough to make rent on the one room that all of them occupy. Hadi's mother stays home with his brothers and sisters, but has recently had a badly infected tooth. The neighborhood is not a good one, so the children are cooped up most of the day. When Hadi is selling gum, and new boy, Malek, comes to sell tissues on his corner! He has been sent by Kamal, who seems to be in charge of the boys on the street. This is a crushing blow to Hadi, who with his father spends 4,000 hard earned lira a day just to get the bus back and forth to this better business area. The boys decide that they can work together, and slowly become friends. As the mother's tooth pains her more, Rashid, a local taxi driver, approaches Hadi with a proposition: he can make a lot of money passing packages on to customers. Hadi knows this is probably drug related, but is desperate for money, which does help his family. When Rashid becomes more and more demanding, threatening to implicate Hadi in the drug business, and Kamal starts cracking down on people in "his" area, Hadi is worried. When he is injured, he is told he and his family need to leave Beirut altogether, or he might be killed. Luckily, there are a few good people in Hadi's life who are able to help.
Strengths: Hughes and his wife lived in Lebanon a few years ago, and he interviewed a boy very like Hadi, and was involved in some humanitarian projects, teaching English to people in Beirut. He is able to bring details from that experience to this book and put a face of the problems that Syrian refugees are facing. Hadi is hardworking, but still 13 years old, and the difficulties he faces are well described. I especially like a scene where he wants to know more about a book, and the woman in the book store is initially unkind because he is Syrian. When she sees that he does want to learn to read, she trades him a well worn book for a pack of gum that he is selling. Even people who have prejudiced opinions can have kind moments. I can't wait to hand this to my readers who think that school is a waste of their time!
Weaknesses: This ended a bit neatly, which is a relief, but perhaps not too realistic.
What I really think: I love Hughes' World War II books so much, so was willing to take a chance on this one. I was not disappointed. Until we get more Syrian refugees writing books about their experiences, I'm glad to have well researched accounts like this to help my students understand the plight of immigrants around the world.
December 4, 2020
Like all of Dean Hughes’ books, this one is well written and has compelling characters that you care about. But this book is harder to read because the premise is so heartbreaking. It’s impossible to read this story about Syrian refugees in Lebanon without thinking about all of the people for whom this difficult life is their reality. It feels sad and overwhelming. But I take comfort and hope in knowing that I donate to Latter-day Saint Charities, which works with local partners to help people in places like Syria and Lebanon. The book does end on a hopeful note and I pray that there are indeed brighter days ahead for the many refugees around the world!
February 21, 2024
The message I took away from this book is that it's important to not lose hope. That these often forgotten people (the refugees, displaced people), don't want charity. They just want to live rather then survive. Us (people) must stop generalizing, ignoring, or despising refugees because if it was their choice, they would rather remain in their own countries. For refugees to make a living with minimal help, "It's the world that has to reach out to them, and lift them to the first step on the ladder."
June 25, 2021
A brief but bittersweet novel of a friendship that blooms in the midst of crisis. Dean Hughes uses the displacement of Syrians who have resettled into Lebanon as a powerful testament that kindness, resilience, hope and the will to maintain a sense of humanity instead of mere survival can outweigh anything. Very good book which I would recommend to all adults and adolescents.
March 22, 2025
This is a book of hopes and dreams of two refugee Syrian young men working the streets of Beruit, Lebanon. Terribly sad to know that stories like this unfold everyday in our world. This is totally different from anything I've ever read by Dean Hughes but written very well as all of Mr Hughes books.
February 23, 2021
Refugees looking for a place to call home. Why is everything such a struggle? Hadi tries to help his family only to find himself, his family, and his life uprooted, flipped, and forever changed again. Will this change bring hope for a family looking to survive displaced?
January 31, 2024
i really enjoyed it however the ending felt a little lackluster tbh! someone else said that it didn’t end as powerfully and i completely agree. i think a time jump into what malek & hadi’s lives would be in 10-15 years (or something like that) would’ve really finished this nicely
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2021
A quick read about Syrian refugees and how their families try to survive. Read more like middle grade than YA, and didn't end as powerfully as I had hoped.
October 24, 2021
Multicultural realistic fiction about two refugee Syrian boys and their families who are displaced in Lebanon and trying not just to make a living but to survive and keep hope for a better future.
September 17, 2022
I couldn’t put it down!
December 1, 2024
Well written fast paced story of two street boys in Beirut who are refugees from Syria.
Great for middle grade with just enough grit and moral dilemmas for rich discussions.
Great for middle grade with just enough grit and moral dilemmas for rich discussions.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews