MMGM: Refugee/All the Greys on Greene Street
ABOUT THE BOOK
Three different kids.
One mission in common: ESCAPE.
Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world…
Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America…
Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe…
All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers–from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But for each of them, there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end.
REVIEW
I knew going in that Refugee was likely to be a tearjerker just because of the themes involved. But that didn't make some parts any easier to read. Reading about the three children around whom this book revolves broke my heart. And what made it worse was knowing that while this book is fiction, the stories are based on the experiences of real people, real refugees who had lost everything, often through no fault of their own. Each of the three stories focuses on a different historical period. Josef and his family are fleeing the Nazis in 1939. Isabel is fleeing Castro's Cuba in 1994 with her family and neighbors. And Mahmoud flees the Syrian War that continues to this day. While each story focuses on some of the unique aspects of each situation, there are common elements and themes that cross the story boundaries, and the three children are connected to each other in surprising ways. Josef faces severe prejudice and a father suffering severe PTSD as his family seeks refuge in Cuba, only to discover that Cuba doesn't want them. Isabel and her family and neighbors set off in a boat that is barely seaworthy forced to face storms, other ships, and sharks, not to mention tensions within the group. Mahmoud and his family flee after their apartment is destroyed by a bomb, seeking refuge in Europe, only to discover that people are more than willing to take advantage of their desperation. Each character faces physical and emotional challenges including a devastating loss. While I didn't find this the easiest book to read emotionally, I found it a powerful book in terms of understanding something I've never experienced. Like most Alan Gratz books, I read this quickly because of the compelling nature of each of the stories, and I cried with each character as they faced unimaginable losses and heartbreaking decisions. A great book for middle grade readers who are emotionally mature and ready for the emotional punch the book offers.
ABOUT THE BOOK
SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist—and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye.
Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . . .
Olympia knows her dad is the key--but first, she has to find him, and time is running out.
REVIEW
There are more books being written for a middle grade audience revolving around mental illness. This is one. This one interestingly takes place in 1981 in SoHo, New York City. I found the setting especially interesting since I knew little about SoHo in the 1980s. That Olympia and her family lived in a large, open room in an old factory was fascinating to me. The details about art and the creation of it were new to me as well. The details about how different paint colors are made was especially fascinating to me. However, the story is not a particularly happy one, which I didn't enjoy so much.
Olympia finds herself in a pickle. Her father has run off with his girlfriend to return a piece of art that doesn't belong to him (he stole it), leaving her and her depressed mother in the lurch. With her mother unable to get out of bed, Olympia is left to take care of herself. And she doesn't want to tell anyone because it feels like betraying her family. But finally she tells one of her friends. Eventually, her friend, Alex tells her father's business partner, Apollo, about her mother. Olympia feels betrayed, even though she knows that her mother needs help. Spending some time with Alex and his family on vacation helps her deal with some of her feelings. But an additional tragedy leaves her reeling once again, wondering what's going to happen to her.
The story is very well written and plotted, the characters are appealing and interesting in their differences. Young readers who enjoy thoughtful, issue stories will likely enjoy this one. It does have a hopeful ending despite the ongoing challenges in Olympia's life. I picked up the book because it was billed as a bit of a mystery, but it isn't really. The mystery of Olympia's father's disappearance is fairly easy to figure out fairly early in the story (at least for me). The main story line focuses on Olympia and her mother's condition. A thoughtful, historical story revolving around the challenges that come with mental illness and the power of having an outlet for one's fears.
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