Refugee 87

by Ele Fountain, Damian Lynch (Read by)

Overview

A young refugee crosses continents in this timely, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel of survival.



Shif has a happy life, unfamiliar with the horrors of his country's regime. He is one of the smartest boys in school, and feels safe and loved in the home he shares with his mother and little sister, right next door to his best friend. But the day that soldiers arrive at his door, Shif knows that he will never be safe again — his only choice is to run. Facing both unthinkable cruelty and boundless kindness, Shif bravely makes his way towards a future he can barely imagine.


Based on real experiences and written in spare, powerful prose, this gripping debut illustrates the realities faced by countless young refugees across the world today. Refugee 87 is a story of friendship, kindness, hardship, survival, and — above all — hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781549126093
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Edition description:	Library ed.
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.50(h) x 5.00(d)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Ele Fountain worked for many years as a children's book editor before turning to writing. She lives outside London with her family. Refugee 87 is her debut novel.

Damian Lynch is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning narrator.

Editorial Reviews

A remarkable debut novel...While being an incredibly timely read, above all, [Refugee 87] is about friendship and hope.

iNews (UK)

Exceptional...vivid, convincing and empathetic...a tale of our time, imparting understanding and sympathy...powerfully told, without sentimentality.

Sunday Times (UK)

Full of tension, fear, heartbreak and hope, it conveys both the bitterness of having family, home and identity stolen away piecemeal, and a courageous determination to survive.

The Guardian (UK)

Exceptional…Vivid, convincing, and empathetic…A tale of our time, imparting understanding and sympathy…Powerfully told, without sentimentality.”

Sunday Times (London)

A suspenseful debut novel about the forces of greed and love that shape a refugee's fate.

Kirkus Reviews

Shif's blunt and sympathetic voice turns today's headlines into one compassionate and resilient boy's experience.

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Refugee 87:

* "A gripping novel that leaves you on the edge of your seat rooting for Shif's survival."—School Library Connection (starred review)

"A suspenseful debut novel about the forces of greed and love that shape a refugee's fate."—Kirkus Reviews

"Shif's blunt and sympathetic voice turns today's headlines into one compassionate and resilient boy's experience."—Publishers Weekly

"Exceptional...vivid, convincing and empathetic...a tale of our time, imparting understanding and sympathy...powerfully told, without sentimentality."—Sunday Times (UK)

"Full of tension, fear, heartbreak and hope, it conveys both the bitterness of having family, home and identity stolen away piecemeal, and a courageous determination to survive."—The Guardian (UK)

"A remarkable debut novel...While being an incredibly timely read, above all, [Refugee 87] is about friendship and hope."—iNews (UK)

From the Publisher

2019-03-17
After a family secret reveals that his freedom might be in danger, the life of Shif, a 14-year-old African boy who excels at school, takes an unexpected turn.

Shif needs to leave his home country (not named but probably Eritrea) to escape military service by being smuggled to Europe. But plans to escape are cut short, and he is rounded up with his best friend, Bini, to a prison where dissidents are often kept for life without trial. As the older inmates help the young boys plot an escape, Shif and Bini learn that their stories are not unique in a country where no one is allowed to criticize the government and there is always something someone could be punished for. Escaping the prison that's in the middle of the desert comes at a huge price. When Shif arrives at a town where he does not know the language, he is thirsty, hungry, dirty, and almost dead. A door opens when he meets the family of Almaz, a young girl from his country, and finds out that they are on the run too, but new forms of danger loom en route to Europe via the desert and then the sea. Shif's present-tense narration pins readers to his side throughout his ordeal. The publisher's suggested age range is 8 to 12, but the narrative feel, all-too-realistic violence, and relentless grimness of Shif's circumstances suggest an older audience.

A suspenseful debut novel about the forces of greed and love that shape a refugee's fate. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews