Gratz, Alan. Refugee. Scholastic Press 2017 338p. $16.99 ISBN 978-0-545-88083-1 ms/jr Historical Fiction VG-BN
Isabel
(Cuban), Mahmoud (Syrian) and Josef (Jewish) tell the stories of their families’ harrowing escapes from a dictator, a civil war, and Nazi Germany. Each child is deeply torn by the adult
decisions forced on them, the dangers of the journey and the devastating loss
felt by all three. Three perspectives, each depicting an
escape from a real-life political quagmire, combine to tell the story of
children who suffer untold horrors as they navigate their journeys to a new
life. Author Alan Gratz weaves the three
perspectives together, always ending a chapter with a transition that keeps the
reader guessing what might happen when, three chapters later, the story
continues. Josef and his family are the
first refugees, German Jews who escape Nazi Germany, but not before Father
experiences the horrors of Dachau. When
the family embarks on a lifesaving journey to Cuba, it continues to experience
the same prejudice that almost destroyed the family back in Germany. Move forward to the second perspective, to
Cuba circa 1994 when Cubans attempted to come to mainland U. S. in boats, rafts
or any device that permitted them to escape Castro’s regime, which was characterized by a lack of simple necessities to
survive. Isabel tells this story, and it
is as tragic as Josef’s, with loss,
emotional turmoil and obstacles too numerous to mention. The final perspective is that of a young
Syrian, Mahmoud, who escapes Syria with his family only to find country after
country that will not accept Syrians.
The
strength in Gratz’s story is that these
children tell real stories, all based on factual accounts that he includes at
the end of the book. Empathetic readers
will come out of this reading having experienced the devastating emotions felt
by the families involved in the escapes.
Gratz uses conflict at every turn of the page, which might be a bit much
for the reader who finds too much action and not enough time to recuperate,
take a breath and think about what transpired.
When Josef’s mother has to
choose which of her children will go to the concentration camp (a Sophie’s Choice kind of
decision), a younger reader could struggle to fully comprehend the impact of
that action taken by the Nazis to psychologically torture a fellow human
being. However, many older teen readers
will find the action-packed, often violent, dangerous and traumatic situations
to be enticing, and they will quickly become engrossed in what happens next to
each of the three protagonists. Young
teens will, by and large, appreciate the way Gratz ties the three families
together in the end. The commonalities
shared by the three protagonists are strong: each child suffers loss; each
child watches a parent’s near demise during
the journey; each child is empowered to help the family reach its destination;
each child faces incredible obstacles, and so much more. Gratz is an accomplished storyteller who
knows how to write characterizations and plot that appeal to his targeted age
group.
Summary:
Isabel (Cuban), Mahmoud (Syrian) and Josef (Jewish) tell the stories of their
families’ harrowing escapes from a dictator, a civil war, and
Nazi Germany. Each child is deeply torn
by the adult decisions forced on them, the dangers of the journey and the
devastating loss felt by all three.
Cuban,
Syrian, Jewish refugees-Fiction --Martha Squaresky
