Refugee 87

Shif, 14, has lived in poverty with his mother and little sister, and under the constant threat of political danger, since losing his father more than seven years earlier. Narrated in Shif’s unadorned, present-tense voice and set in a nameless country under military control, Fountain’s debut depicts the boy’s strong friendship and good-natured rivalry with neighbor Bini, with whom he shares a passion for studying and ambitions for a professional future. After the two are unexpectedly taken by soldiers and imprisoned in the desert with a group of older men, all unjustly captured by the military government, the prisoners choose the boys to escape and spread word of their detention and conditions. They do escape, but only Shif makes it across the border and into a precarious existence as a refugee. Opening with the dramatic closing scene, the book builds up to that climactic moment, eventually relieving the growing tension over Shif’s fate. The story’s grim aspects (relentless hunger and thirst, extreme temperature shifts, the guards’ brutality) may overwhelm more sensitive readers, but Shif’s blunt and sympathetic voice turns today’s headlines into one compassionate and resilient boy’s experience. Ages 8–12. Agent: Allison Hellegers, Rights People, on behalf of Sarah Odedina and Adam Freudenheim, Pushkin Press. [em](June) [/em]