The Garden
The Garden
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Paperback ©2018--
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Red Deer College Press
Annotation: Inspired by stories from her students and their families, follow the journey of fifteen-year-old Elias and his family, as they are caught in the middle of the international conflict in Syria, and after facing the tragedies of war and the indignities of a refugee camp, they face culture shock, bullying and racism when they migrate to North America.
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #6615967
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2018
Edition Date: 2019 Release Date: 02/21/19
Pages: 119 pages
ISBN: 0-88995-568-9
ISBN 13: 978-0-88995-568-4
Dewey: Fic
Dimensions: 19 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

This is the story of Elias, a Damascene boy whose family escapes the horrors of the Syrian civil war. Elias is only a kid when he and his younger brother, Moussa, are kidnapped and held captive in their father's medical clinic. Moussa is killed when an explosion hits the building, but Elias is freed in the chaos. As a consequence of this loss and the mounting insecurity in their neighborhood, Elias' family decides it is time to abandon everything they possess and leave their country. They find refuge in a tent village in neighboring Lebanon, where they are surrounded by other traumatized families, before their application for asylum to Canada is accepted. Once again, they leave their world behind them and head toward a new life, where the culture shock and challenges of a new reality set in. The author is largely successful in conveying the sense of trauma and loss typical to all refugees' journeys. Chapters that end with cliffhangers that will hook the attention of reluctant readers alternate between the Middle East and Canada, offering some respite between emotion-charged scenes. Notwithstanding some unnecessary clichés, this brief novel is a powerful testimony—inspiring and tear-jerking at times—to the plight of refugees looking forward to a new life while attempting not to forget those they met in the journey and had to leave behind.Poignant. (author interview) (Fiction. 12-17)

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Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 7.0
Interest Level: 6-8

Fifteen-year-old Elias and his family are caught in the middle of an international conflict -- the deadly crossfire between the Syrian Army and government-opposed Rebels. Dangers mount, conditions worsen, and after witnessing the tragedy of war and the indignities of a refugee camp, Elias finds himself a newcomer in North America where he comes face to face with completely new battles -- culture shock, racism, and bullying.

Inspired by the stories of her newcomer students and their families, The Garden is a poignant yet inspiring young adult novel that sheds light on the social impact of modern military conflict and the plight of innocent victims displaced by it. It will also provide young readers with empathy, respect, and a new understanding of our new neighbors who have been uprooted by war.


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