Hidden

by Miriam Halahmy

Overview

What if someone's future was entirely in your hands?

For fourteen-year-old Alix, life on Hayling Island off the coast of England seems insulated from problems such as war, terrorism and refugees. But then, one day at the beach, Alix and her friend Samir pull a drowning man out of the incoming tide.

Mohammed, an illegal immigrant and student, has been tortured by rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces and has spent all his money to escape. Desperate not to be deported, Mohammed's destiny now lies in Alix's hands, and she is faced with the biggest moral dilemma of her life. Should she notify the authorities or try to protect Mohammed? How can she keep him safe?

Exciting and thought-provoking, this novel provides a compelling, personal look at a contemporary issue, inspired by true stories and informed by the author's work with refugees and asylum seekers.

Nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823437238
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/15/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	224
File size:	777 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Miriam Halahmy lives in London where she is a poet, special needs educator and novelist. She has worked with refugees in schools as well as in workshops she led for PEN and the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture. Published in England to wide acclaim, Hidden was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. The novel was inspired by stories she heard from members of the Iraqi family into which she married.

Editorial Reviews

"An engaging, fast-paced story that pushes teens to consider all sides of the immigration issue, this is a great choice for middle school libraries or for struggling readers."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

08/01/2016
Gr 6–9—When teenager Alix and her new friend, Samir, see a man tossed out of a speeding boat into the churning waters off the coast of their small English island, they leap into the strong current to pull out the battered man. When they realize he's an Iraqi refugee seeking asylum, Alix is hesitant to help him, but Samir—who himself was once a refugee fleeing Iraq—begs Alix to help harbor the stranger. Over the course of the novel, Alix confronts her own perceptions and prejudices, as well as those of her friends, family, and neighbors. Her development from a self-involved child to a broad-thinking and selfless young adult is gradual and realistic, with Alix making plenty of mistakes—and actually learning from them—along the way. The writing is simple and straightforward, and though it won't challenge strong readers, this novel will appeal to younger teens as well as to reluctant readers. VERDICT An engaging, fast-paced story that pushes teens to consider all sides of the immigration issue, this is a great choice for middle school libraries or for struggling readers.—Leighanne Law, Scriber Lake High School, WA

School Library Journal

Aug. 30, 2016
A British teen comes face to face with anti-immigrant xenophobia. It’s 2007. Alexandra “Alix” Miller is nearly 15 and admittedly “Number One Nerd in Year 10” when she diverts town bully Terrence Bellows from harassing Samir, an Iraqi refugee new to her school. But Terrence isn’t alone: many people on Hayling Island say and do Islamophobic things, from Alix’s classmates and her boss to her best friend; even Alix herself thinks of Samir and his brother, Naazim, as “foreign,” worries they might be “terrorists,” and jokes that Samir’s a “suicide bomber.” Alix’s opinions—and Samir’s affection—shift as they rescue Mohammed, an undocumented Iraqi immigrant escaping torture and seeking asylum, from drowning and hypothermia, then strive to keep him safe. Unfortunately, in her efforts to bring understanding to Britain’s immigrant crisis and the country’s role in the Iraq War, Halahmy (whose husband is Iraqi) indulges in other stereotypes, such as the broken English of Samir’s Chinese neighbor. Even more unfortunate in a book specifically about cultural awakening, only people of color are described explicitly; all other characters, including narrator Alix, are assumed to be white, an assumption that undercuts the book’s effectiveness and limits its reach. While Alix eventually works to address her cultural cluelessness, her proprietary actions with Mohammed have a whiff of the white savior about them. This all-too-timely book means well, but it may not be the age-of-Brexit corrective it clearly wishes to be. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Review

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