Sadia by Colleen Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
No one wants to be a refugee. No one wants to leave their homeland to live somewhere far away, away from friends, away, from family, away from things that aren’t familiar.
And Sadia isn’t technically a refugee. Her family emigrated to Canada when her father decided Syria had gotten too dangerous, so while she had seen some bad things, they left before it got really bad. Sadia is interested in basketball, and her friends and family. She does not want to be reminded about coming to Canada, and having to fit in. It is hard enough to fit in with her hijab, without having to help a new refugee from Syria, who just came to Canada, and speaks little to no English.
I liked how this story is told from Sadia’s point of view. Although she is the “other” for most readers of this book, those who are not emegrants, and are not muslim, because she has lived her long enough to know the customs, she brings the reader into her world, so we can see what is going on with her, from racial rules that say she can’t play basketball with a hijab, to her mother being sworn at the bus stop.
Good story for all kids. Good for muslim kids who need to see themselves in books, so they know they have a place in Western society. Good for everyone else to see the same.
And the underlying them, of helping others, that runs very strongly through this book, but does not hit you over the had with a two-by-four. These kids are very human, and make mistakes, but when they see a problem, they try to solve it.
Great book. Good additon to any library, or school, or home.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
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