A House Without Walls

by Elizabeth Laird

A House Without Walls is a powerful story of family, hope and redemption amidst the refugee crisis in Syria from the award-winning Elizabeth Laird, illustrated by Lucy Eldridge. Thirteen-year-old Safiya and her family have been driven out of Syria by civil war. Safiya knows how lucky she is – lucky not to be living in a refugee camp, lucky to be alive. But it's hard to feel grateful when she's forced to look after her father and brother rather than go back to school, and now that she's lost her home, she's lonelier than ever. As they struggle to rebuild their lives, Safiya realizes that her family has always been incomplete and with her own future in the balance, it's time to uncover the secrets that war has kept buried.

Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Young Adult

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 8, 2019

About the author

Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943, the fourth of five children. Her father was a ship's surgeon; both he and Laird's mother were Scottish. In 1945, Laird and her family returned to Britain and she grew up in South London, where she was educated at Croydon High School.
When she was eighteen, Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid.

After attending the university in Bristol, Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays.

After a while at Edinburgh University, Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she met her future husband, David McDowall, who she said was very kind to her when she was airsick on a plane. The couple were married in 1975 and have two sons, Angus and William.

Laird has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. She claims to dislike snakes, porridge and being cold but enjoys very dark chocolate, Mozart, reading and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra.

She currently lives in Richmond, London with her husband.

Reviews

[Fawzia Kanji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written from the eyes of a 12/13 year old girl. So many eye opening life lessons in there for the younger reader without being overly sad/emotional/traumatic. And for an adult reader... it’s heartwarming to see how she develops all the qualities we wish for in our own children...

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warnings: refugee experiences, death of a parent (in the past), postnatal depression, hospitalisation of a parent, classism, car accident, war

3.5 stars

This was definitely harder hitting than I anticipated, but at the same time it didn't hit quite as hard as I wanted it to, if that makes sense?? I did like the idea of twins being separated and having vastly different experiences, but to tack that onto a refugee story that's already hard hitting meant that their reunion felt a little surface-level.

The ending was a tad rushed for my liking, and there were a few too many unanswered questions and unfinalised plot threads. But despite that, I did like this story and the characters therein.

[tripswithbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a heartbreaking story told through the view of a little girl.
After living in Dublin with people from different
parts of the world, heart different points of view
from different cultural backgrounds, my thoughts
about being an immigrant, refugee, etc. changed
completely.
Feeling of being a foreigner in a society where you
did not grow up with the same social values is
difficult even if we describe ourselves as open-
minded and global citizens.

[Nivayah Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A house without walls
by the prize - winning authour Elizabeth Laird
non- fiction

The book is all about a syrian family who became refugees because of the war. It all starts of tremedously depressing because the mother died when the daughters Safiya and Saba were born. But Safiya was sadly seperated from her "other self" for thirteen years. One day her fathers long lost younger brother came to stay with them Safiya made a scary dissision and asked her uncle about her mother and sister. That day she had found out she was lied to all these years and that her mother has serious depression and left with her sister and died while her mother was with her brother and now Saba believes her uncle and aunt are her parents.


My favorite charactar is defently Safiya because she is so strong emotionally and mentally she has been so much and has got treated so poorly they treat her like a slave. She has alot of couroge to travel all that way by herself and is so desperet to find her twin sister when she found out her twin is nothing like her and is spoiled and mean.


In my opinion I would give this a five star rating because it tells the importants not to be so spoiled and to teach a lesson to children that they should be luckey to have a home and food because some people dont even get food and dont have a home.


written by Nivayah Tyak

[joana Ejiofor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice because of how good it is it reminded me of the struggle people from less fortunate countries live and it showed us the bonding of 2 sisters which was lovely and I also enjoyed reading this book and I felt like I could relate to this book in real life events because i hadn't fleed my country because of the fear of being arrested but I could relate to how awful it is losing yur mother at merely the age of a 1 year old and your twin sister been taken by your uncle and auntie who does notwant her to know anything about her real family or want to give her back and I felt a real connection with the main protagonist Safiya a 13 year old child forced not to study anymore and forced to stay at home and look after 3 grown males whole finding out new things for the first time like her period and other things like that and forced to survive on refugee boxes it was just a lovely heart warming storing and is targeted at 11+

[Lil_Jynx · Rating 3 out of 5]

A House Without Walls is much like 'Welcome to Nowhere' in the sense that it conveys unique moral messages about the harsh reality of living life in the dregs of society. The main character, Safiya must face multiple hardships as she adapts to her new life as a refugee, living in a tent outside with her brother, Tariq, and her Baba. I like the special mystery that is interwoven within the plotline and how Safiya aims to find her long-lost twin, Saba, who was taken by her mother when she was born. Throughout the course of the story, you begin to realise the gradual slope upward in Safiya's life, in which she manages to acquire more money and eventually gets a job for a short while. However, like 'Welcome to Nowhere' it still leaves loose threads hanging and leaves questions unanswered. Although Elizabeth Laird may be going for a cliffhanger, I feel she hasn't pulled it off well enough for the reader to understand it without closer inspection, That is why I'm giving this book a 3/5.

[Ramona Parkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book ,and have chosen it for our Whole School Read 2020.
I choose it for many reasons- its current- it is teaching us of the personal horrors children face by civil war. The story is told by our protagonist, Safiya, who is 13. She is immediately relatable as a character, one that we suffer with as she loses her home and her school and her best friend. Finding her self living on the mercy of relatives who soon tire of her , she and her family are then subjected to a deeper level of humiliation- living in a tent and all that it entails. There is more to come but Safiya's spirit is strong, and another story is unfolding which gives her hope. Highly recommend this book for young teens and anyone who loves a good story.

[Suzanne Bhargava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an engaging, emotional and uplifting story for Middle Grade readers, about a 13 year old girl and her family fleeing Syria for safety in Jordan. The main character, Safiya, possesses both resilience and vulnerability, and while her family are by no means perfect (some are downright unlikeable), they are supportive, and so important to her survival and happiness. Elizabeth Laird presents a deeply complex and terrifying real-life situation with sensitivity, spinning a story that will allow tweens around the world to connect with the characters and empathise with them. Highly recommended.

[Yvonne Mendy-Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although an easy read this book gets inside the head and heart of a child who has had their life turned upside down. Has had to grow up too quickly, felt too much fear and uncertainty. The book gives hope and warns one to never rest on ones laurels because who knows what tomorrow may bring, that there is a great deal of kindness out in the world and that adversity can sometimes bring out skills we never knew we had. We never truly know our futures but this gives a positive lift to the grit of a refugee. They had a place, a family , a life before they fled war and this book makes anyone remember this.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible story around the Syrian atrocities in a package suitable for I’d say around 8/9+ year old readers. My daughter read it quickly and said it was sad but good. I’ve read another young adult book about Syria that was much scarier.

Agree with other reviewers who say that adult readers can get a lot out of this book too: that kids are strong and resilient and it’s worth it to help out in conflicts. And that adults actions towards kids are more important than we might assume. The downside is it might make it seem like many refugees will struggle but prevail, when for many, it’s a much sadder story.

[April Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really moving and particularly eye opening into the lives of refugees. The story line is intriguing although not always fast paced at times, only really at the end. I personally like the short chapters which make this book easy to read. I also enjoyed the occasional addition of the pages with illustrations which helped your imagination whilst reading. The ending is very sweet and satisfying.

[LushDuck Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, in my opinion, was very well written as the imagery was very clear for how I interpreted it. The book conveys a sense of emotion and uses emotive language in the story. I would rate this book 5 stars but I wanted to know what happened. Did Safiya go live with Saba? Did she get into a good school? I would like to know what happened after and for that, I would rate it 4 stars.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in one settling. it was well written with characters you can relate well to. She describes the difficult situations and how people would live in this times.

I am drawn to the Syrian refugees situation and wonder how would my family survive if this was happening in UK.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got really absorbed in this story and didn't want to put it down!

[Violet Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5

[Caoimhe Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little simplistic - perhaps because it's a children's book - but 'une histoire marquante'.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story that makes you appreciate the little things in life.

[Yasmin Marsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking, eye opening read! Saifya, a Syrian refugee, tells her story of struggle, triumph and an unbreakable family bond. Could not put this down!

[Lost Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommend to all children specially girls.
The perspective of life changes with hardships we go through in our lives. Awesome story from a little kiddos eyes.

[Sam Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry so hard. Its so emotionally devastating.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few months ago and it was so enjoyable to read! It showed he struggles living without a mother or someone to take care of her.I loved the book.Definitely would recommend!

[Sahar Sukeik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book

[Kelsey Cottam-Bamford · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down! Absolutely amazing, so touching! Definitely recommend to beginner readers, but it’s good for all types!

[Anne Hillion]

Saffronettes

[Tiffany Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars only because I didn’t want it to end. I definitely needed more of Safiya’s story!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is really sad but sweet at the same time - it was a quick and easy read because it’s aimed at younger teens but deals with some serious issues

[Imogen Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This definetly captured the way refugees have to live and I was entranced and my heart was aching for these characters. It was written beautifully

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book which is about a thirteen year old girl called Safiya who is driven out of her home in Syria by the civil war and ends up living in nearby Jordan in a tent. She knows that she should be grateful to be living near family (the tent is in the land of her Uncle) and not in a refugee camp but is forced to grow up fast missing school and having to cook for her depressed Father and her older brother. The story has some twists and turns and plenty of action as well as descriptions about how she feels about everything from learning to cook to the cold damp living conditions she finds herself in. I really loved Safiya. She was a very honest character and well written as a thirteen year old. The book shows both funny moments for her, angry and sad and clever moments when she really is quite sneeky. I am off to find another by this author I enjoyed this book so much. If you liked The Boy at the back of the class you are sure to love this one

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found some of the characters to be irritable but overall it was a good book.