2018 Newbery Buzz #3: Refugee

Janie and Pamela continue our Newbery discussions with Refugee, a novel that carries political significance as well as literary value.  Ages 12-15.

Janie: Alan Gratz wrote the World War II thriller Projekt 1065,  which we reviewed a couple of years ago.   Refugee is more thoughtful and also more emotionally compelling.  We follow the journey of three children during three time periods, with one thing in common: they are all fleeing the threat of violence from oppressive governments.  Josef is a Jew taking advantage of one opportunity to get out of Nazi Germany with his parents and sister shortly before WWII.  Isabel is escaping Cuba in 1993 with her family so her father can avoid prison.  And Mahmoud’s father quickly decides it’s time to flee Aleppo, Syria, when the bombs start falling on their home.  All will face danger, frustration, duplicity, and kindness on their respective journeys, and their stories will converge in surprising ways.

I think the great strength of Refugee is its emotional impact.  What did you see as its most outstanding quality, Pamela?

Pamela: I agree; this is a book that quickly draws you in!  I also thought the author did an excellent job of balancing the tenseness of one refugee’s situation with a less frightening stretch in that of the next, as he rotated telling each child’s story with one chapter at a time.  For instance, the first chapter recounts a middle of the night break-in by Nazi storm troopers into Josef’s apartment, setting the reader’s adrenaline racing.  But the next chapter opens with Isabel (near Havana, Cuba) coaxing a kitten out from under a house.  Most chapters end with cliffhangers because these stories realistically portray the typical refugee experience of one dangerous situation followed closely by another.  Still, it helps the reader to emotionally handle the book.

Janie:  Dittoes on the skillful plotting—as I was reading the book, I got so caught up in the tension it was a relief to occasionally step back and take a breath!  I also really liked the way the stories came together at the end.  But what did you think of the three central characters?

Pamela: I appreciated how the preteens weren’t alike in the ways they handled the dangers they faced. For example, early in Josef’s story, he briefly rebels against the unfair requirement of wearing the yellow armband that identifies him as a Jew.  Tired of being treated as subhuman, he takes it off.  His family comes very close to paying the ultimate price for his foolishness.  Mahmoud, on the other hand, has settled on the strategy of being as invisible as possible.  He always chooses what will keep him from being noticed by the Syrian army, or the rebels fighting them, or bullies at school.  He always wears his hoodie pulled down over his face, and doesn’t have friends anymore–“it was easier to stay invisible that way.”  Both boys have a younger sibling whom they are always trying to protect; but the siblings, a sister for Josef and a brother for Mahmoud, respond very differently to their life-and-death experiences.  The author explains in his Author’s Note at the end of the book that many of the incidents he builds into these fictional stories really happened to real people, and for each family member, there are historical counterparts who responded as they do.  Before reading this book, I don’t think I appreciated how differently people could be affected by being refugees.

Janie: Those are real strengths, Pamela—and I would add that the kids all experience a definite arc as their stories progress.  Josef learns to be more circumspect, Mahmoud learns to speak up for himself, and Isobel learns to treasure her family in spite of their shortcomings.  In my review, I cautioned parents that some of these situations are very intense–sensitive readers may be affected by them.  But that was the author’s intention, I think, and as you noted everything that happens in the book is true to life.

Pamela: I second your cautions to parents.  But while I would expect young readers to find this book lands somewhere between unsettling to unforgettably disturbing, there is a place for books that move us believers to care about the pain of others.

Janie:  True.  I’ve been thinking that Refugee has a very good chance of getting on the Newbery slate this year—probably even winning the gold.  The reason would be not primarily its literary quality, but even more its political significance.  The refugee crises in Syria and elsewhere have focused the world’s attention on the issue.  The ALA is (let’s say) not insensitive to the political winds.  That why I think Refugee has a good shot.  What do you think?

Pamela: I think there’s a very strong chance your guess will prove to be spot on, for the reasons you stated.  As a former children’s librarian, I frequently have found myself disagreeing with ALA stances; but if Refugee gets some attention at Newbery Award time, I will not chafe at that choice.

Janie:  Interestingly, there’s another book on a similar theme that’s getting some favorable Newbery buzz.  We just reviewed it this week: Her Right Foot.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see either or both of these on the honors list, even though Her Right Foot is a picture book.  Two years ago the Newbery committee surprised everybody by awarding the coveted gold medal to a picture book, Last Stop on Market Street.  I doubt this year’s committee would repeat that move, but I’d give it a 50/50 chance that Her Right Foot will win an honor, and equal odds of Refugee getting the gold.  You heard it here first!