Kid reviews for Refugee

This is a very harrowing page-turner that sheds light on child refugees. It's based on true stories and is a very intense book that I recommend.

I love reading war books, especially Alan Gratz's. With his writing I am staying up all night reading. This book was great and I loved how there was more than 1 character and some mystery. I learnt a lot about these wars and crisis and this book made me read all of his other wonderful books. I didn't find this book scary, more gripping and nerve racking. But I do tend to get connected to the characters... I believe that 10 and maybe even 9 year olds can read this. My brother read this and now he is addicted to Stalin and Animal Farm and that area of history. *Spolier Alert* The only part I found a bit worrying was when the dad of Josef shared his experience in the camp.

I like it about the adventure

it was kind of violent and had a lot of killing. one character commits suicide.

I read this book after reading the summary and thought it was going to be a great story that would teach me about the lives of refugees. First off it was not realistic at all, I say this because the story contained many different events and actions that led the story on, but were in no way realistic. Many times in the book something very absurd would happen and I would cringe and would have to take a break from reading because I thought it was so ill-considered (to put it kindly) to even write these events. Examples from each story that were very dumb: In Josef's story there is one specific part were the "Nazi Firefighters" on the ship come in to there room and purposely destroy anything the room. The author purposely makes it so that the bad guys break everything of value to there family these grown man even cut the head off the little girls stuffed animal to make a point of how much they hate Jewish people. When the Nazi men leave Josef accidentally knocks off the only untouched thing in the room shattering it, I thought that was just stupid. Another thing I thought was crazy is how are the Jewish people who have not been able to work and have been stolen from able to afford a lengthy trip on a luxurious cruise in 1939. I googled and looked into the average cost of a cruise like the one the author describes and at that time it would cost 220 U.S. dollars or around 1,980 Deutsche marks. In Isabel's story which I liked a lot more than the others, Ivan her best friend is bitten by a shark about an hour or two from Miami while this isn't impossible this is very unlikely and from the 826 shark attacks since the 1900s only 36 have been fatal which if you look at that is a 4% mortality rate. Now lets get to Mahmoud's story which I believe is the most unrealistic refugee story anyone could even think up. First off Mahmoud and his family live in Aleppo a nice sized city in Syria. The author wrote that Mahmoud and his family who must be pretty wealthy because over the course of their journey they had to pay some major expenses which I can imagine not every refugee family can afford. My problem with this story is multiple things but i'll focus on one 1 Why are did the author make it so that the dad is obsessed with his phone? Lets look at the first question, over the course of the story we see Mahmoud's father risk his life for his phone in gun battles, we see him pull it out and look for routes in jail which shouldn't be possible because they would've taken it and lastly his phone survived a boat crash in a storm in the middle of an ocean for hours. What makes the phone thing even more crazy is that from statistics 0.2% of the Syrian population has access to phones or wireless data which makes this story very probable. Now that I have wasted your time and gave you a much needed warning have a great day and choose your books wisely.

Refugee is a real page-turner, and made me feel like I was actually one of the refugees. What also makes this book awesome is that it shows the perspective of of not one, but three refugees, which is, in my opinion, keeps this book unique.

I read this book at age ten and loved its portrayal of the plight of refugees. The kids are between ages 11-13 so older kids (10+) might enjoy it. However if your kid is not very mature I would wait until they're 11 or 12. Don't let your kid read it at under 10 though. It was quite violent and might be scary for 9 and under.

Honestly The Best Historic Book In My Opinion . The Characters Are Easy To Get Attached To And It's Really Such A Interesting Adventure! Fictional Characters With REAL Events That Transpired. Josef is a Jewish boy in The 1930's 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… SPOILERS! The Ending Feels Kinda Wholesome

This is an incredible, touching story I love how 3 stories from different time periods all link together at the end. My favourite story was Josef's story. I am a big fan of non fiction, world war ll books I just find them so fascinating. It is crazy hearing about these peoples stories! I would say ages 13 and up because there is a lot of killing and scary things involved but for a teen who loves history this book is amazing. 10/10! This book is up there with my all time favourite books!

I love this book sooo much, it has a special place in my heart. I love how all of the characters are children of different places and times but all are struggling to find refugee. Mahmoud, Isabel, and Josef are all amazing main characters and I really recommend reading this. It made me cry a couple times just because of how realistic it is. AN UNDERRATED MUST READ!! There is lots of violence and mature topics though so 11+ is the best age to read this book. Also the beginning is a little slow but keep reading because it really takes off!