Shannon Hitchcock’s editor Andrea Pinckney said her middle grade novel about a Syrian refugee was missing something when she turned it in, but she offered to read it again. In the meantime, Shannon discovered the book Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai and wondered if the missing piece was a Muslim voice. She contacted Naheed and asked if she would be interested in a collaboration. Naheed, while not Syrian, is Muslim, has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East, and is married to a professor of Middle East politics. She read Shannon’s manuscript and agreed to join in a rewrite. Naheed brings an authentic voice and to be sure of her authenticity, she passed her part of the story by Syrian friends as sensitivity readers. An interesting longer interview with the two authors can be found on the Nerdy Book Club website.
The resulting book rotates between the views of twelve-year-olds Jordyn Johnson, a record-breaking swimmer, who has not swum well since her mother’s miscarriage at one of her swim meets, and Noura Alwan, newly arrived in Tampa with her family as refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War. Through their church, Jordyn’s family becomes friends with the Alwan family as they help them learn to navigate their new home country in 2017.
The chapters rotate seamlessly between the two girls. While bigotry that would be expected is not ignored, that is not the primary focus of the story. It comes into play when vandals trash the prayer room, established in the school first to accommodate the Muslim prayer traditions but open to those of all faiths or none for prayer or meditation. The center of the story follows the girls developing an empathy as Jordyn teaches Noura to overcome her deep-seated fear of the water and Jordyn wrestles with anxiety attacks begun when mother had the miscarriage. Their mothers mirror the girls’ symbiotic help as Mrs. Johnson helps Mrs. Alwan with her English and navigating her new world while Mrs. Alwan’s cooking lessons draw Mrs. Johnson out of the dark world into which she has retreated since the miscarriage.
Back matter includes the story of the authors’ collaboration and is almost as interesting as the novel itself, short bios of three young refugees, and a list of other books for those who have an interest in authentic refugee and immigrant stories.
This book, listed as middle grade, should be read by anyone over the age of ten who would like an understanding of the plight of refugees and immigrants and of those who choose to befriend them.