Boy, Everywhere

by A.M. Dassu

BOY, EVERYWHERE is the debut middle grade novel from writer A. M. Dassu. It chronicles the harrowing journey taken from Syria to the UK by Sami and his family. From privilege to poverty, across countries and continents, from a smuggler's den in Turkey to a prison in Manchester, it is a story of survival, of family, of bravery.

Sami is a typical 13 year-old: he loves his friends, football, PlayStation and iPad. But a bombing in a mall changes his life. Sami and his family flee their comfortable home in Damascus to make the perilous and painful journey towards a new life in the U.K. Leaving everything behind, Sami discovers a world he’d never encountered – harsh, dangerous, but also at times unexpectedly kind and hopeful.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Survival, War, Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2020

About the author

A. M. Dassu is a multi award-winning writer of both non-fiction and fiction including the internationally acclaimed novel Boy, Everywhere, one of The Guardian’s, Bookriot’s, Kirkus’s, American Library Association's Booklist's, CLPE's and BookTrust’s Best Children’s Book of the Year. It has coveted starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly and is also an American Library Association's Notable Book. Boy, Everywhere also featured as one of The Guardian’s Children’s Best New Novels on publication in October 2020, is on Amnesty’s Books That Inspire Activism list and has been listed for 25 awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and Carnegie Medal, and is the 2021 winner of The Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction.

A. M. Dassu is former Deputy Editor, now Advisory Board member of Words & Pictures magazine for children's writers and illustrators, and a Director of Inclusive Minds, a unique organisation for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality, and accessibility in children’s literature. A. M. Dassu is patron of The Other Side of Hope, a new literary magazine edited by immigrants and refugees, which serves to celebrate the refugee and immigrant communities worldwide. She is also one of The National Literacy Trust‘s Connecting Stories campaign authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people.

A. M. Dassu grew up in the Midlands dreaming of becoming a writer but studied economics instead and worked in marketing and project management before realising her dream. Her work has been published by The Huffington Post, Times Educational Supplement, SCOOP Magazine, Lee and Low Books, Old Barn Books, Scholastic, DK Books and Harper Collins. She writes books that challenge stereotypes, humanise the “other” and are full of empathy, hope and heart. You can also find her on Twitter @a_reflective or Instagram @a.m.dassu

Reviews

[Camilla Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a personal review as the author and I are in the same writing critique group through SCBWI. This means I have seen this book in its first, very new, very raw state. I have witnessed the amount of work that has gone into this story to make sure it is as authentic, sensitive and accurate as possible.

This is not just any children's book, it is an important story that aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions that are held about refugees that come, not just from Syria, but from all over war torn parts of the globe to the UK.

Sami could be you, or your son - this is something that could happen to any of us. It is powerful stuff and I feel very proud of my friend for sticking with this book and getting it into the world.

[Barbara Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous, detailed, moving and at times heart-breaking story about a Syrian refugee. I particularly liked the way that the main character came from an affluent, open-minded and inclusive background, challenging some of the stereotypes and prejudices which refugees often encounter.
It was an intense, absorbing read, but a necessary one.
You know the books you don't forget? The ones which stay with you and come back to you again and again?
Yep. This is one of them.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A middle-grade read about the Syrian refugee crisis around 2015. Fair warning, the trials that Sami and his family experience, told in his voice, will break your heart. Have the tissues handy!

[Jayne Downes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story gives a real insight into the Syrian refugee situation. Thirteen year old Sami and his family are forced to leave their affluent lives in Syria because of the dangers of the Civil War. They take a perilous journey through Europe with forged passports to England where they ask to be allowed to stay. Life in England is hard because they have to stay with another family who don’t want them living with them. They have no money or possessions and are forced to work in menial jobs even though the parents are a doctor and a teacher. Thought provoking.

[Umama A. Talha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will you do if a refugee turns up on your door to stay for some days? Will you or your family allow them? And what if you are one day forced to leave your land and take refuge?

Sami is a common 13 year old boy surrounded by school activities, sports, friends, iPad etc who comes from a well off family, living a content secured life in Damascus, Syria until one day when the bomb exploded in a mall where his mum and sister happened to be. His sister Sarah gets traumatised and go dumb which forced their family to migrate. Sami is heartbroken to leave his perfect life in Damascus and his best friend Joseph. The family goes through so many hardships while secretly fleeing to England. They had to take routes through Turkey in ship, truck, staying in small rooms full of refugees making it an extremely perilous journey. It reflects on how desperate situations change people and their behaviour, and life takes you where you can never imagine.

‘Boy, Everywhere’, a middle grade fiction sets itself apart from the crowded section of refugee stories by emphasising on the quality of life in Syria comparatively to the challenging and troublesome life as immigrants. The author, being a social activist reminds us again and again throughout the book that anyone of us can be refugee, since we don’t get to chose our destiny. Reading this book was quite a journey which made me reflect on certain aspects of human life and privileges. The storyline is gripping and makes you put down the book at times to acknowledge gratitude as to how fortunate we are. The narrative of the book is heartfelt and compelled me to think of what I would have done in the same situation. Several aspects such as helping people while fleeing when you have quite little for yourself, sacrificing for friends, staying in a house where you’re not welcomed make us re-evaluate our human self.

I love how Sami cares for Aadam, a young boy fleeing from Syria alone in search of livelihood and peace. Sami’s help sometimes caused trouble for his family, who’re generous but can’t afford to look for one more person, again a reflection on how sufferings limit your choices. The treatment they received from their host family in Manchester was awful and manifest how refugees are not seen and welcomed as humans around the world. It’s a beautiful heartbreaking story that stays with you forever. I congratulate A M Dassu for writing such a remarkable debut, not only showing the distress of refugees and but making her readers realise that it can be anyone of us, for making endeavours for diversifying children’s bookshelf. This book needs to be read by every age group specifically children who will be the future of this world.

[Selina Litt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s Full of raw emotion.

Heart wrenching and heartwarming. This book is so refreshing in terms of a Syrian refugee story.

It challenges the refugee stereotype.

[Kirin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a very crowded field of refugee themed books, this 400 page middle grades/early middle school novel sets itself apart by really focussing on the quality of life enjoyed in Syria compared to the life of a refugee on the move and in getting reestablished as an immigrant.  Where other books allude to how things in Syria got worse and then perhaps focus more on the horrific journey desperate individuals are forced to take, this book is very direct in showing the young protagonist's daily life in Damascus and really cementing in the notion for western privileged readers, that loosing everything could happen to anyone. The book does show hardships on the perilous journey by truck and boat as well as showing that life in England isn't immediately better.  Side characters throughout the book show diverse opinions and strengths that for the preteen target demographic would provide starting points for wonderful discussion and dialogue to take place. Overall, the book does a decent job of not falling into the same cliche' narrative even though the book does have a hopeful and happy ending.

SYNOPSIS:

Sami is the 13-year-old son of a surgeon and principal.  He has a little sister, a best friend, a desire to be on the football (soccer) team, the latest Air Jordans, a love of video games, his iPad, and a very comfortable life.  When he orders the newest soccer shoes to wear for tryouts and begs his mom to go pick them up from the mall, the Syrian civil war which has seemed an arm's length away, comes to Damascus and to Sami.  The mall is bombed while his mom and little sister are getting his shoes and while they survive Sara is traumatized and stops speaking.  The family decides immediately and secretly that they have to leave.  Sami is kept slightly in the dark and thus, so is the reader as to how quick everything must be liquidated and how uncertain the future is for the family.  

Sami is forced to turn over his iPad to his parents, he stops going to school, and before he has time to talk to his friends, he is saying good bye to his grandmother and heading to Lebanon with his parents and sister.  The journey is perilous and fraught with danger.  The constant state of fear and silence, the peeing in bottles, the trust in smugglers is all so palpable.  The rooms they are locked in with other refugees and the the bonds and fears and squalor that Sami experiences is such a stark contrast to the life he has known of drivers and maids.  In one smuggler's den in Turkey Sami befriends a boy slightly older than him that is traveling alone, Aadam.  Desperate to help his new friend, Sami tries to steal his father's cell phone and some money to help Aadam ensure his seat on a boat, not a raft, to cross the Mediterranean.  Sami is used to his family helping others, this situation of not being able to help, not being able to help themselves, is very new to him, and causes a lot of stress and strain between Sami and his father.

Sami has a fear of boats and water, having nearly drowned years earlier, the idea of getting on a make shift boat in the night with rough water is not something Sami is mentally prepared to do and when a boat near them capsizes, the reader is made painfully aware that even those that survive this journey are not left unharmed.  The family makes it to England to claim asylum, they are put in a holding area, a prison more or less, to await the next stop in a long process.  Here Sami and his father are assaulted and the threat of physical violence and imprisonment start to really affect Sami.  When they eventually get to a distant family members house in Manchester, their struggles are far from over as the family is unwelcoming.  School brings out the racists, the parents take jobs as factory workers and cleaners and Sara is still not talking.  With the guilt of his family's condition weighing heavily on Sami, the constant bullying by his family in England, and the sad condition of his family's finances, Sami decides he needs to return to Syria to care for his Tete and unburden his family of his presence.  

Yah, sorry, I'm not going to give it all away.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that the book really articulates how Sami's life is in Syria and has him remark multiple times in England how much nicer things were in Damascus.  It doesn't come across as a criticism, but rather a rattling of the paradigm that the west is so much better across the board.  I love that Sami's best friend in Syria is Christian and that they are so respectful of each other's faith and it is a non issue.  I love that some of the refugees in the holding apartment are kind and some in the detention facility in England are criminal.  It allows for the reminder that people are people even when they are refugees and cannot be assumed to be a monolith.  It also opens the door to discuss how desperation changes people.  Sami's family is usually very generous, but with their own futures in turmoil, they cannot afford to be, they also presumable are very social and yet, the silence between strangers and within their own family is very telling of the stress and worry that plagues them.  I like how the process humbles the characters.  Not that I enjoy or feel that the characters needed necessarily to be humbled, but it is a transition that the reader benefits from seeing.  Sami's father is/was a doctor, a surgeon, but is loading boxes in a factory, the desire to take care of ones family trumps degrees and expectation.  The transition is conveyed to the reader and I think will plant a seed of empathy in even the hardest hearts.  

The family in Manchester, particularly the boy Hassan, is awful and the friend, Ali, from school is amazing.  These opposing Muslim characters also help break the stereotype of where bullying comes from, and who is welcoming, allowing for people to be seen more as individuals than they often are in literature and in real life.  Islam is presented as characteristics of the characters when it does appear.  They ask Allah for help and say salam, attend various mosques, but there are not heavy religious overtones.  

At times Sami is annoying, and as an adult reading the book, I had to remind myself that that is probably exactly how a 13 year old boy would behave.  He sees things in black and white and is often singularly focused on contacting his friends.  He doesn't understand the bigger picture, nor is told a lot of the bigger picture.  It is a hard age of being kept from stuff because you are too young, and being expected to rise up and be mature because of the gravity of the situation.  The book is not overly political, it is character driven and very memorable thanks to Sami's perspective and voice.

The book is researched, it is not an OWN voice story, and while it is a compelling and engaging read, that I hope is accurate, the framing of the story is not incredibly original.  Aside from other Syrian refugee focused books, the book reminded me quite a bit of Shooting Kabul, albeit the country being left is different.   Both plots focus on a boy leaving with his family and blaming himself for the tragedy that has befallen a younger sister and the repercussions it is having on the family as they reestablish themselves as immigrants.  In both books the character plans to board an airplane to return "home," as well.  

FLAGS:

The assault is intense as is the fear of physical assault.  There is nothing detailed in the bombing, but the implied stresses of war, the journey of the characters, and the situations that they are in would be best for ten year olds and up.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I am hoping to use this book as a Middle School book club read to start next year off.  The book is not yet out in paperback, otherwise I would do it this year.  There are so many things to discuss: from Sami's unhappiness, his strengths, his desire to help others, to considering life from Aadam's perspective and Hassans.  This book begs to be talked about with young readers and I'm so excited to hear what their thoughts are and who they identify with.  They could be Sami, he is a boy, everywhere, and if we can all remember that, we all will be better humans, period, the end.

[alyerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Made me feel emotional i would definitely recommend ☺

[Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book-it’s so good!! Some parts were pretty sad and had me close to tears but the ending was good.

[Barbara Band · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sami is living with his parents and younger sister in Damascus, Syria. He’s like many other 13 year olds – going to school every day, hoping to get into the football team and playing video games with his friends - until a bombing in a mall causes his family to flee their home in search of safety. With relatives in Manchester, Sami and his family head to the UK but it’s a perilous journey and even when they arrive their troubles aren’t over. Sami’s father can’t work as a doctor, Sami encounters racism at school, and even his relatives don’t want them there. This is a tense and, at times, harrowing story yet is also heart-warming. It illustrates how many refugees lived comfortable lives before they were forced to leave everything behind and seek safety elsewhere, something that is too often forgotten. It details the appalling conditions in detention centres and the struggles refugees encounter when trying to create a new life for themselves and their families. An important and must-read book for teens; one that would not only create a sense of empathy but also engender some great discussions. A fantastic debut.

[Ellen D. Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

If for no other reason you place this book on your middle school and YA classroom shelf, do it to bring awareness of the plight of the young refugee. A.M. Dassu carefully transports us to Damascus, Syria where we see Sami thriving and leading a mostly normal preteen existence. His parents, a surgeon and school principal, provide their family a comfortable and enviable life. Rumblings of rebel forces have been slowly making their way to Sami's city leading to a horrific mall bombing where Sami's mother and five-year sister are shopping. Unwilling to take future chances and gravely concerned with their daughter's reaction to trauma, Sami's parents decide to flee to the United Kingdom. Their family's journey is often inhumane, somber and raw. Sami will relive his haunting journey including overcrowded locked rooms, the perilous icy sea, a lengthy stay at a detention center and cruel family members. This book is important to readers and teachers. What stories do our immigrant children bring to our classrooms?

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an empathetic, immersive book -- the tight POV works with the propulsive plot to make this a good choice for early/middle grade readers to learn more about the world and/or to see themselves reflected in it.

[Steve C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read. Based on stories from Syrian refugees. The novel is very successful at putting the reader in a position to better understand their ordeals and problems. Easy read. Fast moving events and believable plot. Written by a novice which adds to the realism rather than detracts from the book.

[Lauren Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly incredible, honest and hopeful story!

[Nichola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book

[Carli · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Sami lives a good life in Damascus, Syria. Sure, sometimes checkpoints make getting to school a little longer than usual, and he constantly hears about bombings in other cities, but he has a pretty blissful, privileged bubble. But when his mom and little sister are in a mall that is bombed, rendering his sister mute from the trauma, his parents decide to move the family to England. It isn’t like taking a trip, as Sami imagines though: they are officially refugees. As they declared that they are seeking asylum in England, they must go through the legal portals, which include living in a detention center, then finally staying with a family who (aside from the father and daughter) do not want them there at all. I think this is an important book for kids to read, as a negative light is often cast upon refugees. Everyone has a story, and everyone has a past that you can’t possibly know everything about. Hand to readers in grades 5-8.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy, Everywhere is a book about a Syrian refugee named Sami. He is forced to leave his happy and established life in Syria's capital, Damascus, as a bomb goes off and increasing violence is brewing.

This book was a hard-hitting and really told the story and hardships of the journey refugees go on. I thought it was an important story to tell. Politically, it gave me real insight into the immigration laws in the UK and how difficult it makes people fleeing war and violence.

Sami was a really likeable character and the desire for him and his family was really what kept me reading. Their bond and relationship is strong and a real asset to the book. Sami's caring nature really makes you warm to the character and it really helped me.

I think this book is poignant, and I'd recommend reading it. It seems especially hard hitting now considering the Russia Ukraine war too.

[Joana Nogueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro infanto-juvenil, que de infantil não tem nada. A jornada de uma criança e da sua família que se vêm forçadas a sair do seu país por causa da guerra e proucurar asilo num país que lhes é desconhecido. Quebra o preconceito Ocidental de que todos os refugidos “são pobres” e não pessoas com uma vida completamente normal como a nossa, mas que por circunstâncias extremas têm que deixar o seu adorado pais, neste caso a Síria.
Uma dose de humildade e reflexão. É isto que os livros nos trazem . Aliás, isto é muito mais.

[Ms. Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sami lives the typical life of a thirteen-year-old boy; he spends his time playing on his iPad and Playstation, going to school, and playing football with his best friend Joseph. He can't imagine his life being any different, until one day everything changes dramatically after a local mall in Damascus is bombed. As his city becomes damaged by war, his family makes the choice to flee. The family encounters obstacles in each step of their journey; even after reaching their final destination, Sami's life does not return to the way it was before. Sami's story is raw and shows readers the full experience that an individual endures when everything that they know changes at a moment's notice. This novel is a story of acceptance and endurance that all young readers should read.

[Leesdromen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive and it challenges stereotypes and tells an important story.

I recommend this book to everyone and I hope people read it and it reaches people who see refugees as anything bad and that they read it and that it softness their opinion and gain more empathy and understanding towards them.

[liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Not sure why the audiobook narrator was Korean-Australian, but he was good!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sami is such a relatable character, the voice is perfect, and seeing their journey from his perspective really brings to life anything a child reading might have heard about refugees. This carefully researched and empathetic novel will, deservingly, be compared to Elizabeth Laird. I had my heart in my throat for so much of the story but I also smiled, a brilliantly crafted debut.

[Val ! · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a person who isn't into these books, this book showed how people had normal fun lives and people are stereotypical and I enjoyed a lot of this and the adrenaline too🫶🏻

[sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a 13-year-old, Syrian boy, from Damascus, who becomes a refugee as he has to leave his home and travel to England. Sami is like any other boy he hangs out with his friends and plays football and has a PlayStation. But one day his mum and little sister are caught in a bomb in a shopping mall. His family decides that Damascus is not safe anymore and they decide to flee.
This book is about his journey to England and how he settles into his new home and school in Manchester.

My favourite character is Aadam who is a 16-year-old refugee who has lost his whole family and is determined to get to England. Sami meets him along his journey in Turkey and becomes good friends with him. It is very sad when they say goodbye to each other when they have to split paths, but Sami reunites with him once again in Manchester and Aadam is welcomed into Sami's family where they live together.

My conclusion is this book is a very gripping novel and I would recommend it for people 10+ who enjoy realistic fiction.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this rather a harrowing read. I put it down many times & read something else as I was empathic to poor Sami & his family, his feelings I found hard to take for a child who should have been allowed to return to being a child but his surroundings & horrible people about would not let him be.

Sami is playing on his PlayStation, going to school & thinking of meeting Leila at ice skating when the school is suddenly put into evacuation.

He lives in Damascus, Syria. But they are safe here, it's only places like Aleppo where the war is isn't it?
Suddenly Sami realises because of his pleads, his Mother & sister may have been caught in the explosion. From then on he promises he will never ask for anything so stupid as new football boots if they are just OK.

His Baba is a surgeon at the hospital. This read shows us the community ties and friendships like any other. What would you do if home was no longer a place you could call safe?

Sami suddenly finds hinself & his family packed up from their big mansion & in secret they make their escape.

The journey then got scary. Seen through the eyes of Sami, the dark rooms where many people too are trying to get out of Syria wait at the Turkish boarder. Those with money get a better chance.
Leaving they are ferried to another waiting room until a boat is ready. It is sturdy and they have life jackets. They other boat further up us inflatable. Between the two small boats must be at least 100 people.

This was well written but I was upset reading as I know this is a fictional work, but it is happening, has been happening fir a long time out in the real world.

Lucky for Sami & his family they have contacts who are able to get them from the next stage of their journey in the bottom of a truck to an airport. With their passports they are able to get to Manchester Airport where Baba claims asylum for them. He has evidence it is no longer safe in their country.

This is not it. There is the detention centre they must stay in where Sami is witness to violence.
His clothes are dirty. They have only what they bought with him and his confidence is low. All this is his fault.

They are lucky to have enough evidence & a place to stay with a friend. His wife & son are not happy about the arrangement though. Sami is subjected to racist comments from his new school & just wants to go back home.

This turns out to be a story of friendship and family in times of crisis & struggle.

A. M. Dassu has researched, interviewed & seen what things have been like for refugees & asylum seekers. I was surprised to find she was a woman as Sami's point of view & that of his father was so well done.

This was not an easy read, a call for all children to be allowed to be children, regardless of where they might come from. We must be better, do better when we can to make a difference, even just a kind gesture.
That is what I found the most harrowing about Sami's story. Even when they should have been safe, people looking down on them could not let them be.

I hope this book finds itself in hands of those who want to feel moved to talk about these things.

Thank you so much Old Barn Books for my gifted copy.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointing to me. I want to know more about Syria and Syrian migrants in Britain. But this novel is written in the choppiest words and sentences possible. It impedes the flow of reading comprehension. I think the sentences were written and words used to achieve lower lexile scores, not because the author can’t write better. The beginning is shocking not because a bomb went off but the kid’s in English reading To Kill a Mockingbird in 8th grade middle school. I really doubt no matter how well educated a kid is in English that they’re reading To Kill A Mockingbird in 8th grade. They’re learning English as a foreign language and would be much more fluent in Arabic and perhaps Kurdish. Middle schools also an American phenomenon, Syria is most likely using the European school model. The book does embrace more British words and norms as the book goes in. But this could be a great story kids would live to read, instead it’s choppy, laborious to read and doesn’t let them get into the culture. It takes a long time before the author mentions a mosque and more personal Arabic terms. Many migrants have been harassed in the EU and UK. That’s an important topic. The journey, the reason why people migrate is a really interesting topic for a novel. I wish it was written to be absorbing and interesting to read. The author also spends too much time with minutiae such as a getting iPads, MacBooks and hitting the home button. What does this have to prove? That Syrians are smart and not backward? Of course they’re not and that’s not the way to prove it. Well written, insightful writing that absorbs the reader in the story provides the best example of that if it needs to be proved at all.

[Jenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of an 8th grade Syrian boy who must flee to England with his family after bombings and instability in Syria. Sami is used to a life full of soccer, FIFA video games, and close friends. Sami goes from a well-supported living situation with his parents as a doctor and school admin to homeless within a matter of days. Sami and his family never wanted to leave but the upheaval leaves them with no choice.

As the International We Need Diverse Books 2017 mentorship awardee and the author, A.M Dassu, explains, “how that could have been me.” Inspiring and a window into an account that could turn help people connect and turn their hearts around though the empathy of Sami’s story. Great for MS level.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute must read. Took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I do not previously recall having such strong reactions to a story. In parts it made me so angry that I wanted to put the book down and couldn’t. Other times my heart physically ached with sadness. Incredible insight to how the war in Syria has devastated families and the terrible plight of the Syrian refugees. Most suitable for age 10+ as could be considered a little traumatic for sensitive readers but a book that should be read by everyone and one that will stay with you long after it’s finished.

[Graine Milner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sami's comfortable life in Damascus is turned upside down when a bomb explodes in a shopping mall - just as his mother and younger sister are there, collecting his new football boots. Overnight, everything changes. His parents decide that Syria isn't safe any more, and they begin the long and dangerous journey to England, hoping for safety and some help for Sara, who has stopped talking after seeing a man blown up.

This book follows their journey every step of the way, and a gruelling journey it is, including a dangerous sea crossing, the back of a lorry and 'safe' houses on the way. The tension is almost unbearable and their arrival in England is far from the end of their difficulties.

Boy, Everywhere does an amazing job of so many things all at once - how Sami's life was so very ordinary and happy - right up until the moment that it wasn't - really showing how easily this could happen to anybody. And England is not the welcoming place they hope it will be; there are any number of hurtful racist comments, and Sami really misses his home and his grandmother.

A story that has real heart and really needed to be told. Everyone should read this book.

[Justine Laismith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This older middle-grade book is about a Syrian boy's journey to UK seeking asylum.

Our protagonist was very settled in his school in Damascus. His life was thrown into chaos when his local shopping mall was bombed. His mother and younger sister were there getting his football boots for him when the bomb went off. His parents decided to leave the country for the safety of the family and they begin their harrowing journey for a safer life in the UK.

The author has captured much of what we've heard in the news, and more. I learnt a lot from this book, not just the journey, but what happens when refugees arrive in the UK. If you are looking for similar books, I can also recommend The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle and The Bone Sparrow