The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

"I don't think any of us had ever heard a story like it before. And as sad and as scary as it was, it was even sadder and scarier because it wasn't just a made up story from one of our reading books. It was all real. Ahmet had survived everything his pictures had shown us and was here. With us. Knowing that made me feel sorry and proud and scared for him all at once; but most of all, it made me want to tell him he was definitely the bravest person the bravest person I knew."

The Boy At The Back Of The Class is a sweet story about acceptance, friendship, kindness and refugees. 

****Spoiler Alert: the identity of the narrator is not revealed until the last chapter, but I've decided to use the narrator's name in my post.

A young student, Alexa who is nine-years-old lives with her mom, a librarian in a flat in London, England. Alexa lost her father three years earlier in a car crash and now worries the memory of her beloved father is slipping away.

On the third Tuesday, after school has started again, a new student arrives in Alexa's class. Although her teacher, Mrs. Khan introduces the boy as Ahmet, she doesn't tell the class anything about him. Alexa notes that Ahmet, quiet and shy, has eyes like those of a lion, and she notices his tattered red backpack.

Almost immediately, Alexa, who has three best friends, Tom, Josie and Michael, decides to befriend Ahmet, but there are few opportunities to actually talk to him as he's not out for recess and he isn't around at lunch.

After school rumours abound, with Alexa's classmate, Jennie stating that Ahmet was likely dangerous and couldn't come out during break. But when he reappears at the end of the day, Alexa can't resist in running over to Ahmet and offering him a candy she's been saving for him. 

Rumours continue to swirl; he has a contagious disease, his family are super-rich and have sent him to the school for protection. But it is from two parents gossiping that Alexa overhears that Ahmet is a "refugee kid". That night she tells her mother what she's overheard and wants to know what being a refugee kid means. Alexa's mother explains that refugees are people who are forced to flee from their homes, often leaving everything they own and even the people they love, behind. 

The next day in school Ahmet has Ms. Hemsi to help him. After school, Alexa and friends approach Ahmet with treats. They learn from Ms. Hemsi that Ahmet is from Syria and speaks Kurdish. Alexa is thrilled when she sees Ahmet taking a bite from the apple she's given him. But she's also very worried, because Brendan-the-bully has been watching Ahmet. And the very next day, Brendan does bully Alexa and her friends as they play football with Ahmet. Fortunately Ms. Khan comes to their rescue. 

Ahmet experiences more bullying at school and gets into a fight with Brendan, when Alexa attempts to give him a pomegranate at lunch hour. In an attempt to help his classmates understand what he's been through, Ahmet gives a little presentation before the half term holiday. He tells the class that he is a refugee from Syria, whose family fled because of war. Ahmet reveals that his family travelled over mountains and rivers, carrying their cat, suitcases and his little sister. However, in a drawing of the boat they used to cross a big sea, the cat and his sister are missing. Ahmet's drawing of their life in Greece, living in a tent with people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Eritrea show only himself and his father. Alexa figures his mother is sleeping in one of the tents. His journey continued to France and finally to England. 

After hearing Ahmet's story and seeing the pictures he drew, Alexa has many questions. She wonders where his sister and mother are and what happened to his cat.When Alexa brings Ahmet one of her Tintin books to read, she discovers they have a similar love of the character. This prompts Ahmet to share that he doesn't know where his dad is, that he might be in France and that his sister Syrah is "in the sea" and that his mum is sick somewhere. This information deeply upsets Alexa and she's unable to sleep that night.

However that changes when Alexa overhears a man and woman talking on the bus on her way to school the next morning. The man indicates that the government is planning to close the border by the end of the month. Alexa is upset because she believes that this means unless Ahmet can find his mother and father before the border closes, he will never see them again. At school she tells her friends what she overheard, breaking her promise to Ahmet to keep the details of his family a secret. They decide to tell their teachers, Mrs.Khan and Ms. Hemsi. Although their teachers attempt to reassure them that everything is being done to help Ahmet, Alexa and her friends remain unconvinced. Together they begin to brainstorm ideas and form plans. Then Alexa has the "Greatest Idea In the World", a plan that involves skipping school, taking the train, and the Queen! But will it work? Can they help Ahmet find his parents and be reunited?

Discussion

 The Boy At The Back Of The Class tackles the difficult and complex issue of refugees. Since the author Onjali Q. Rauf resides in England, this topic is approached from a British point of view.

The novel is based on the Syrian refugee crisis which began in March of 2011, when the government of Bashar al-Assad attempted to put down peaceful demonstrations - called the Arab spring- against his government. Millions of Syrians fled the country, to neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Many fled further, across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe and the United Kingdom. This journey was dangerous and thousands of refugees are known to have perished, including little three-year-old Alan Kurdi, whose body was photographed on a beach in Turkey. With the overwhelming number of refugees, many people in Europe were not welcoming and calls came to close borders.

In The Boy At The Back Of The Class, Ahmet is young refugee from Syria who has arrived in England without his family. While many of his classmates are curious about him, they remain distant. But one young girl decides to reach out and be his friend. When she learns his story, Alexa decides to try and help. Through the various characters in the novel, author Onjali Q. Rauf portrays how people view refugees.

The character of Alexa is open-minded, compassionate and empathetic. She immediately wants to befriend Ahmet, knowing that her friends will do the same.  "After all, having four new friends would be much better than having none. Especially for a boy who looked as scared and as sad as the one now sitting at the back of our class." Alexa, who we learn is of mixed heritage with her mum being born in Indonesia and her father from Austria, is puzzled over people who don't like those who are different.

"The Deep Thought my brain had found was wondering how anyone could be scared of me just because I didn't look like them.Everyone in school looks different and likes different things --and has parents who come from all kinds of different places...I like looking like I have a suntan, and I like everyone being different. It would be too boring if everyone was exactly the same as each other."

The novel is populated with plenty of characters who are not friendly towards the refugees. There is Brendan-the Bully who torments Ahmet at school, Mr. Irons an upper level teacher who doesn't intervene to help Ahmet when he's being bullied, Alexa's Aunt Christina who complains about the benefits refugees receive and even neighbours who are not happy about Alexa's actions in helping Ahmet. The author highlights some of the objections towards refugees and repudiates them through her characters. For example, best friend and classmate Josie tells Alexa and their friends, " 'But my dad said Refugee Kids are dangerous, and that they lie and steal things,' said Josie, looking confused. He told me to stay away from the new boy and not to talk to him, because he was probably a criminal."  However Alexa and Josie's friends, Michael and Tom reveal that their parents told them to be nice to the new boy. This causes Josie to rethink what her father has told her. "She didn't say anything, but I knew she was thinking that her dad must have made a mistake. There was no way the new boy could be dangerous or a criminal -- not when he was the same size as us and had just run away from bullies and a real war."

Through the character of Ahmet, the author shows the humanity of refugees. As Alexa and her classmates get to know Ahmet better, they see he is a kid just like them, one who likes to play football and who has a favourite food. The author also invites her readers to consider what it might be like to lose everything, your home, clothing, a favourite pet and a beloved sibling while fleeing from people trying to kill you. Rauf also points out, through Alexa's family history, that many of us were once refugees or newcomers to countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and America.

The Boy At The Back Of The Class is a thoughtful treatment of the refugee situation, encouraging young readers to think about what it might be like for someone like themselves to lose everything and have to flee their home. This novel is a good starting point for younger readers to learn about Syria, Middle Eastern culture and the conditions that brought about the refugee crisis. Readers don't know the identity of the narrator until the very end of the novel, although there are hints that it is a girl, but her name is never mentioned.

Since the author is British, young readers may also encounter an entire vocabulary they are not familiar with, for example,  jumper for sweater, rubber for eraser and "takes the register" is a phrase for taking attendance. There are a few quirks in the novel, for example Alexa and her mother do not own a home computer and use an atlas to look up the location of Syria, and pomegranates are a fruit that can be found in any large grocery store in Canada but apparently not so in London.

Book Details:

The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Q. Rauf
London, England: Orion Children's Books     2018
297 pp.

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose

Blue Birds is a historical novel-in-verse that tells the story of the English who come to settle on Roanoke Island in Virginia in the 1500's. Written for nine to twelve year olds, the story is told from alternate points of view: twelve year old English settler Alis and thirteen year old Roanoke native, Kimi.

The novel begins in July 1587 with Alis, her family part of a group of 117 English settlers having arrived off the coast of North America after a three month journey. She's left behind her best friend, Joan, and the suffocating smells of rot and filth of London. The pilot of their ship, Simon Ferdinando has taken them to the island of Roanoke, miles from where they were supposed to land. Governor John White has done nothing about it, angering many of the settlers. As Alis, her heavily pregnant mother and her father board the pinnace to travel from the ship to shore, she holds the wooden blue bird her Uncle Samuel carved and gave her years before. Alis expects her uncle to be on shore to greet them.

The English settlers are accompanied to the land which they have named Virginia in honour of the English Queen Elizabeth, by Manteo, a member of the Croatoan tribe. No one greets them, not even Alis's Uncle Samuel. After George Howe Sr. and Roger Bailie investigate, the Governor reveals that the settlement has been abandoned for some time and that they have found a building burned to the ground and the bones of a man. He decides that they will stay at the settlement through the fall and winter and in the spring sail to Chesapeake to establish the City of Raleigh. Arlis's uncle is no where to be found and eventually her father tells her that it's likely he has been killed by the Indians.

The arrival of the English is watched by Kimi a young girl belonging to the Roanoke tribe. She remembers the first white people who came, men only bearing gifts and tools and who took Wanchese and Manteo back to their country. The second group brought illness and drought, beheading Kimi's father, Wingina who was the weroance or leader of the Roanoke. The third group was killed by Wanchese. Kimi is surprised to see women and children with the English men. She quickly notices a girl her own age. Kimi tells Wanchese about the women and children but he tells her it is not her concern. Kimi reveals that she misses her sister Alawa intensely. She knows the presence of women mean the English mean to stay and that they must force them to leave "before their roots take hold."

The English set about restoring the settlement which contains a few cottages, animal pens, a barracks which were used by the English soldiers, a jail, a chapel, an armory and a forge surrounded by four earthen walls.  The few women, Mrs. Archard and Mrs. Dare, who is the daughter of Governor White and who is also pregnant, want the Governor to sail to Chesapeake.

One day Kimi comes upon Alis who has stolen away from the settlement, in the forest. Seeing Kimi and the spiral markings on her bare arms, Alis flees in fear, dropping the bird carving of her Uncle Samuel which Kimi finds and considers to be Alis's montoac. George Dare, son of George Dare Sr. tells Alis he has seen the girl in the forest but Alis refuses to admit seeing her. Alis and Kimi meet again in the forest and this time they study each other before Kimi speaks angrily to Alis in a language she cannot understand. This causes Alis to run away a second time.

In the settlement Alis is assigned to care for Tommy and Ambrose, Mrs. Archard's children. Alis cannot trust anyone with her secret - meeting the girl in the forest. Meanwhile Kimi decides to bury Alis's montoac but later finds she needs to dig it up. After five days Alis manages to return to the forest and meet Kimi. Just as their friendship begins to grow, Mr. Howe is killed by the Roanoke Indians while digging clams on the shore. Can Alis and Kimi overcome the hatred and fear their people have for one another and develop the bonds of friendship?

Discussion

Caroline Starr Rose has written a beautiful, touching story based on the tragedy that is known to history as the Lost Colony. The story centers around the disastrous attempts by the English to establish a colony on the east coast of America in the late 1500's. The land the English named Virginia was inhabited by Native Americans who at first found the English friendly. However, the cultural differences between the two races proved to be almost impossible to surmount. Murders by both sides created mistrust and hatred. Into this world stepped one hundred and seventeen colonists in 1587. The author, using the known details of this historical event, has created a poignant story about two girls from two very different cultures meeting and forming a bond of friendship so strong that they both try to save the other from what appears to be the inevitable war between their peoples.

Starr Rose noted in her research that there were no girls listed in the names of the passengers from the 1587 voyage, so she decided to write about one girl who might have made the journey. That character, Alis Harvie is completely fictional as is the character of Kimi. Using these two characters, the author explores the events that are known from Governor John White who returned to England with Ferdinando and creates a plausible account of what the colonist's may have done after his departure.

Alis and Kimi are caught in the war between their two peoples. Both girls are deeply lonely and have lost someone dear to them. Alis's beloved Uncle Samuel was likely killed by the Croatoans while Kimi's much loved older sister Alawa was killed by an English soldier. Each has a gift from their lost beloved relative; Alis a carved blue bird and Kimi a piece of ribbon her sister was given by the English.

The author's free verse focuses on showing how each race, the Roanoke and the English misunderstand one another, leading to a bitter cycle of mistrust and murder. Eventually the two races can no longer coexist and the English must leave.

At first Kimi feels that she has been tainted by Alis's presence.
I walk to the stream,
stoop to cleanse my feet,
wash off her strangeness
as an outsider does
before entering the village.

And she wonders why she feels like the stranger in her own land. But when they meet a third time Kimi feels Alis is daring and Alis believes Kimi to be beautiful. Alis admits "Something fascinating, fragile grows between us." They touch and Kimi realizes that Alis feels like any person would.
The two girls eventually talk in their own way about what happened before Alis and her family came to Kimi's land. Alis realizes,
The English,
my countrymen,
have brought upon the Roanoke
the same fear and horror 
we feel for them.

And Kimi realizes,
The English 
have wronged us.
But there is suffering
we have also waged.

Kimi knows Alis warned the Roanoke of the impending attack by the settlers. She also recognizes that the attack by the English need not destroy her budding friendship with Alis.

While weeding she notes the bean and the corn grow together.
I pat the soil around the bean
trace its growth from roots
to spindly stalk interwoven with the corn

These two plants thrive together
make my people strong.
There is no reason to let my anger
uproot something good.

This beautifully crafted novel is about friendship and openness to learn about those whose way of life may be very different. The author doesn't take sides and shows how both sides contributed to a situation that made life full of fear and intolerance.

Caroline Starr Rose has included a map of Roanoke Island 1587 and provides a Glossary of the now extinct dialect of the Croatoan and Roanoke peoples as well as a detailed Author's Note explaining the history of the attempted settlement of Roanoke Island by the English.

Book Details:

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose
New York: G.P. Putnam's Son's   2015
393 pp. 

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Seventeen year old, overachiever, Cara Sweeney, has been chosen over thousands of applicants to participate in the Leihr Exchange Ambassador Program (LEAP). The L'eihr's are an alien race who made contact with Earth two years ago and the program was developed to help humans and L'eihrs get to know one another better. Students from America, France and China will each get a student ambassador. 

Cara will host a L'eihr named Aelyx, in her home for eight months and then she will travel to L'eihr to live on their planet for period of time. Cara will be helping Aelyx take soil and water samples so the L'eihr scientists can analyze them for contaminants. Cara is completely overwhelmed but she eagerly agrees to participate. After all, the L'eihr scientists cured her mother of cancer, saving her life. This was a way to show her gratitude.

Meanwhile eighteen-year-old Aelyx, along with fellow L'eihr clones, Syrine who will go to France, and Eron who will stay in China, discuss their assignments to families on Earth. They also allude to their plans to sabotage their mission which is to begin work towards an alliance with humans.

This alien exchange story is told by Cara and Aelyx. When Cara sees Aelyx for the first time she is immediately attracted to his unusual appearance;  Aelyx is tall, with honey brown hair and strange silvery gray eyes. Despite his good looks, predictably Cara finds Aelyx extremely strange; he refuses to eat or drink, only speaks when he's asked a question, avoids physical contact and his gorgeous eyes have an unsettling emptiness to them.

For Aelyx, Earth is shockingly vibrant; it strong colours and smells overwhelming in comparison to  L'eihr's muted greys and browns and its quiet, organized lifestyle. He finds Cara's actions puzzling - her penchant for singing and listening to loud music. Both Cara and Aelyx must learn to put aside their assumptions about each other and to develop a mutual understanding of each others culture.

The mission of the L'eihrs is gradually revealed throughout the story. The L'eihrs who are an ancient and advanced people, want to form an alliance with the humans. It is revealed later on in the novel that the L'eihrs were once like humans, violent and passionate. The Way, a group of the wisest leaders,  eventually came to rule L'eihr. In an effort to control and eliminate the violent and stronger tendencies, The Way began a selective breeding program where only the most intelligent and emotionally stable citizens were allowed to breed. As technology improved, natural breeding was replaced by technology that combined genetic material from male and females, with embryos grown in artificial wombs. For the past 900 years the L'eihrs have bred in this manner. Sexual interaction was avoided by the use of hormone regulators.  However, the result of all this is that the passion and creativity which drives innovation and makes life interesting was gradually bred out of the L'eihrs resulting in a people who are lethargic, depressed and who live shorter lives. In an attempt to reverse this, the Way began cloning people using material from the archives. Aelyx is one such clone. Soon the Way realized that this was not enough. They needed the stimulation provided by another species to help them recover what they lost so they began searching the galaxy. They discovered Earth and have set up this exchange program which they hope will help the three clones recover some of their emotion and passion. Eventually they hope the two races will interbreed. In exchange for recovering their passion for life, the L'eihrs could provide Earth with advanced technology.

However, Aelyx's generation does not want an alliance with Earth. To thwart this alliance they have brought along the sh'alear, a parasitic tree that robs the soil of nutrients, to plant in the three locations the student ambassadors will be living. The three L'eihr ambassadors are afraid that the humans, with their uncontrolled breeding, would soon overrun L'eihr if they were to colonize their planet, destroying it.

Gradually Aelyx begins to adapt to life on Earth, especially with Cara's help. Although he has judged Cara and her family as wanting, he begins to recognize in Cara a caring ally who is very loyal. Cara is determined to make Aelyx's experience on Earth a positive one. She tries to learn how to make larun for Aelyx and eventually she discovers foods he can eat.  She also stands up for him at school as the opposition to his presence on Earth grows. Gradually Aelyx and Cara's relationship moves from one of friendship to a blossoming romance.

Despite the increasing opposition to the L'eihrs on Earth, Aelyx begins to find himself becoming conflicted over having planted the sh'alear tree. Eron, who has been sent to Japan also begins to doubt their attempt to sabotage the alliance, because of the kindness of his host family. Only Syrine remains committed to their mission. Aelyx is further convinced it is wrong when he makes the discovery that Earth's water supply is gradually being destroyed and that only the L'eihr technology can save the planet. As racial tensions and paranoia increase on Earth Aelyx must decide who his loyalties lie with; his people or the human girl whom he loves.

Discussion

Alienated is a refreshing new addition to young adult literature, with an interesting premise and two likeable, realistic characters. Landers draws out her story well, pacing both the human's gradual disillusionment and paranoia over the alien L'eihr race with the blossoming love between Aelyx and Cara. Woven into all this is Aelyx's increasing conflict over what he considers his duty to protect his planet from humans and his growing attraction to Cara. Destroying the alliance between humans and L'eihrs means he will  never see Cara again. In addition to this, the discovery that Earth is irreparably damaged and will die without the intervention of the L'eihr, means that he has doomed Cara too.

One of the novel's strongest themes is that of tolerance. It is human nature to be afraid of those who are different. But this is seen in both humans and the L'eihr ambassadors. The humans believe the worst of the L'eihrs probably because the balance of power lies in the alien's favour. The L'eihrs are prideful and dismiss the human's emotionalism as primitive and a sign of weakness. But they have forgotten how to truly experience life.

Cara is a strong female character, not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She is tolerant as she struggles to understand Aelyx's perspective. It is her open-mindedness and courage that wins Aelyx over to the humans, just as it was Eron's little brother's love and compassion that changed his views. The lesson here is that acceptance and compassion win the day over hate and bigotry.

Perhaps the only thing that appears to mar this novel are the occasional strange statements that seep into the storytelling from time to time. For example, this piece of commentary by Aelyx: "The child bore a slight resemblance to the girl, but considering China's population restrictions, he probably wasn't a sibling. Too bad Earth's other nations hadn't implemented similar policies. With their limited resources, humans were mating themselves into extinction." Perhaps Melissa Landers is unfamiliar with the problems China's one child policy has created in terms of gender imbalance, the trafficking of women in China, and the inverted population pyramid that will see many elderly without the children to support them. Advanced aliens like the L'eihrs who are struggling with what they've done to their society, especially by restricting just who could reproduce, would likely be very aware of the problems inherent in China's one child policy. They would also be aware that vast areas of Earth are not yet populated and that the problem is not too many people but poor distribution and use of our planet's resources.

Despite this, Alienated is a fun, light read, with plenty of typical teenage drama and a dash of romance all blended into a neat science fiction story. These are the aliens we want to contact Earth, needing us as much as we need them.

The next book in the Alienated series is due out next year.

Book Details:
Alienated by Melissa Landers
New York: Hyperion     2014
344pp.