Muzoon: A Syrian Refugee Speaks Out

With Pearlman (We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled, for adults), debut author Almellehan documents events that led her family to leave Izraa, their home in southwest Syria, while offering insight into “a kind of situation that could happen to anyone.” Twelve years old “before the war began,” Almellehan plays soccer with cousins, helps with harvesting olives from the family’s trees, and attends school. As Arab Spring protests occur in Tunisia in 2011, the news shows “people wanting better lives... realizing that they have the power to demand freedom.” When the protests reach her hometown, “a burst of heavy machine-gun fire ripped through the air” as she and her brother sell fresh-picked almonds door-to-door, and further violence follows. In 2013, the family leaves Syria for a refugee camp in Jordan—but it takes nearly another three years before the family can emigrate to the U.K. Throughout, Almellehan’s insistence on continuing her own education extends to her encouraging other children, especially girls; working with UNICEF and Save the Children; and meeting Malala Yousafzai. Vivid descriptions prove immersive throughout this powerful experiential telling that’s situated as both “my story” and “a window into many other stories.” Ages 10–up. (May)