Common Sense Media Review
Harrowing fictionalization of the war in Kosovo.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Meli Lleshi is an Albanian girl growing up in Kosovo, going to school and helping her family. Her dad owns a grocery store. When her 13-year-old brother is abducted by the Servbian police and beaten, Meli is afraid it is her fault. When he returns to them, the family must flee. The Serbs are killing whole families just for being Albanian. Meli's parents, her siblings, grandmother, cousins, and aunt and uncle survive with little food and water. Life in the hills is like camping at first, but the danger grows, and winter cold sets in. Meli's brother now wants to join the Albanian freedom fighters and kill Serbs, and his parents know that to save him, they will have to take him far away.
Is It Any Good?
This historical drama is too harrowing for younger readers. This time the author's tale of loss centers on war and all the violence of war as it affects a very real-seeming family and others they know who are slaughtered and threatened. Meli makes a strong and resilient heroine who does her best to help hold her family together, but there's no "happily ever after" feeling when they reach the United States; the family loses everything and is still very poor and adjusting to American life.
One bright spot is that despite all that this family has seen and experienced, Meli's father still holds firm to the belief that hate is never right, and keeping his family together is worth all kinds of sacrifices. His resolve seems to have a positive impact on his son who was close to becoming a freedom fighter. An important book, but not an easy read.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the role of religion and ethnicity in this story. The Lleshi family is not religious, and yet they are persecuted along with the other Albanians. Was religion really the cause?
What role did the United States and NATO play in this war?
Meli's family came to the United States to be safe. They had to be "sponsored" by American citizens before they could come. What does that mean?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Clarion Books
- Publication date : October 19, 2009
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 14
- Number of pages : 160
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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