I didn’t do a Thanksgiving post. I am fortunate to have many things for which I am thankful and the Thanksgiving Break was one of them. I feel refreshed and ready for the next month of school.
Over the five-day break from school, I read a couple of books. One that really moved me, and reminded me of how fortunate I am, was Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh.
Publisher’s Summary: Fourteen-year-old Ahmed is stuck in a city that wants nothing to do with him. Newly arrived in Brussels, Belgium, Ahmed fled a life of uncertainty and suffering in Aleppo, Syria, only to lose his father on the perilous journey to the shores of Europe. Now Ahmed’s struggling to get by on his own, but with no one left to trust and nowhere to go, he’s starting to lose hope.
Then he meets Max, a thirteen-year-old American boy from Washington, D.C. Lonely and homesick, Max is struggling at his new school and just can’t seem to do anything right. But with one startling discovery, Max and Ahmed’s lives collide and a friendship begins to grow. Together, Max and Ahmed will defy the odds, learning from each other what it means to be brave and how hope can change your destiny.
If I didn’t already have a read aloud with a female protagonist lined up, I’d choose this for my next read aloud. It really speaks to the idea that individuals can’t necessarily change the world, but we can change the world for one person. It goes back, too, to the idea I shared a the beginning of summer, that we are saved by saving others.
Max is pretty miserable in Brussels, but, once he befriends Ahmed, his life turns around. He has found a purpose and, in doing so, has found a place in his strange new world. If you are looking for a great gift book for the holidays for a reader in grades 4-7, consider Nowhere Boy. But read it before you give it, so that you, and the recipient can have a marvelous book discussion.
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