Dawn and Dusk

A solid entry in multicultural literature, Mead (Year of No Rain) once again profiles a country in conflict. Thirteen-year-old Azad lives with his father in the Kurdish town of Sardasht in 1987. He sees his mother whenever he can, but Azad never understood why his parents divorced when he was seven. Azad observes the growing hostility against Kurds in both his country of Iran and in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein has vowed to get rid of the Kurds for good. His neighbor hints that Azad's father is part of SAVAMA-Iran's dreaded secret police. Not until Azad is helping his mother prepare for his cousin Mohammad's wedding does he learn the real reason for his parents' divorce: his mother works to protect the human rights of women and children. His life changes dramatically when a poisonous gas bomb is dropped over Azad's village. Although Azad and his friend escape the worst of the gas, 300 people die in the attack, and Azad grows up quickly after the incident. When it becomes clear they are no longer safe, Azad and his mother undergo a perilous journey to Turkey, eventually making their way to the United States. Mead doesn't overwhelm the story with too many details about the conflict or daily life in Iran, yet young readers will be drawn into Azad's story and come away with an understanding of his fears. Ages 10-up.