Book Review:
Bibliography-
ISBN 1646140001
Plot Summary-
In
an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in
front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling the tales of his family's
history, stretching back years, decades, and centuries. At the core is Daniel's
story of how they became refugees, starting with his mother's vocal embrace of
Christianity in a country that made such a thing a capital offense, and
continuing through their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their
way onto a plane to anywhere. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of
Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S. Implementing a distinct literary
style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri deftly weaves
through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding
a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore. Like Scheherazade of One
Thousand and One Nights in a hostile classroom, Daniel spins a tale to save his
own life, to stake his claim to the truth. It is a tale of heartbreak and
resilience and urges readers to speak their truth and be heard.
Critical Analysis-
The
story-telling style is unusual with the narrator often speaking directly to the
reader. It proves to be highly effective in my opinion because it helps the
author to build a close personal connection with the reader. The storyline maneuvers
among stream-of-consciousness, flashbacks and snapshot and myth, similar to the
way memory works. It would make an excellent read-aloud. Oddly enough, there
are no chapter breaks throughout this story. This deeply touching story is of Nayeri's childhood in Oklahoma. He is an
Iranian refugee who lives with his mother and sister, and because he is the
only Persian student his classmates know, he is the butt of jokes, the target
of bullies, and he concocts layers of strategies to escape their abuse. These
indignities he faces at school are some of the lighter moments in this memoir. Nayeri
also delves deeper and illustrates what it feels like to part ways with your
home country, and with your father. The story, told through the eyes of a young boy,
is tender, tough, sad, and sweet. In the end, the reader along with Daniel, realizes why everything sad
is ultimately untrue. There is a bigger truth beyond it, and that life here is
certainly messy.
Winner
of the Michael L. Printz Award, Christopher Award, Walter Awards Honor Book, and a Booklist
editor’s choice book
"At
once beautiful and painful."—School Library Journal, starred review
"Raises
the literary bar in children's lit."—Booklist, starred review
Connections-
-Many life lessons are taught throughout this book. Students
can pick one lesson that stands out for them and create an infographic to present
to the rest of the class. Include the life lesson and events in the book that support
the teaching. Prezi or Canva can be used to create.
-Students create a One Pager by choosing an overarching theme
from the story and utilizing one page to display and represent their
understandings from the book. Students can draw, use colors, words, and quotes to
bring their ideas together. Canva or Glogster can also be used.
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