Sami is a typical teen, he like to play football with his friends and relax on the Playstation. When a bomb destroys a mall near his home in Syria, it's the final straw for his parents. They make the fateful decision to try and make the voyage to the UK. What follows is a harrowing trip with Turkish smugglers, deadly sea trips and eventually an immigration prison. Along the way Sami witnesses extreme poverty, racism, madness but also hope and generosity. Boy, Everywhere should be required reading in secondary schools. It hits with a tidal wave like force, bringing the plight of refugees to the forefront in a nuanced way that is subtle and shocking at the same time. Sami, dealing with not only the physical dangers of being a refugee, also has to cope with the psychological torture he endures on a daily basis. He blames himself for a lot of what has happened to his family. He sees his father withering away, his sister stops speaking after witnessing the horrors in the shopping mall and his mother is left frayed and despondent. The reality of what refugees have to go through is much more than what we're told and what we think they go through. This novel brings it home, it's an important read that deserves all of the attention it's getting. Ages 11+.
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