JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence … violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers — from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home.
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Love this book. I gave all my friends for present choice. I am Hungarian and I have to say I wasn’t as sensitive at the time as I should be. I came across to somehow I become ignorant. Make it much worse when I was only placed my experience being an immigrant not really thinking the difference being a refugee. I believe everyone should read your book. Cause I loved you writing style I read almost all of your book and I really love all. Thank you. You are definitely my choice to buy your book for presents giving time. Sorry about my incorrect English but rather difficult to learn English grammar correctly.
I loved this book! I think that it is so fascinating that an author can write about three different people and their different lives and still have them connect! This is a wonderful book and read so many times, and every time I cry! Sometimes more than once! Now if your not into a book that makes you emotional than I don’t think this is the book of you, but if you are I think it would be a mistake not to read it!
Refugee follows three families in three different countries going though the painful decisions to leave their homeland and seek a better life due to major problems there. The author beautiful interweaves the three as they go on their r journey towards a better life. You quickly get drawn in wondering what is going to happen next and if they will make it. This is a must read for anyone interested in what is happening to millions of people around are world today and in the past.
I love this book
I think that it is a great way to bring back history
This book…it had me in tears on multiple occasions. It follows three different refugee stories: Josef, a Jewish boy in 1939 Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl in 1994 Havana; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015, but the stories are all strikingly similar. This story is so topical and relevant, not to mention well-written. “See us. Hear us. Help us.”
Everyone should read this book and listen to the realism in Gratz’s words.
Great book! I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Great ending!
This story is told in alternating chapters between three different kids with three different backgrounds from three different points in time, and somehow it couldn’t be more current. When it was written a couple years ago it was timely, but here in America this lesson is even more important in today’s political climate.
Okay, I hope that first paragraph didn’t scare you away. This is a wonderful story with many ups and downs. It’s not a dry political read or preachy like you may have started thinking from my first few sentences. Although the first 25% is very interesting and needed for set-up, it doesn’t really take off until after that point. So keep on reading.
While this story is a middle grade story, I have some notes that go along with that. For the adult reader, you will very quickly forget its original audience was meant to be that age group. For the parents of middle grade kids, please read this story before your child does so you are ready to answer any questions they may have. While written for middle grade, this is a very heavy subject matter.
Don’t be fooled the few times in the first half of the book where you are able to stop yourself from crying. You will not get through this one without tears in the end. Tears of woe, but also tears of hope. One thing I hope everyone takes away from this story is this line from Isabella’s grandfather, “…a funny thing happened while I was waiting for the world to change, Chabela: It didn’t. Because I didn’t change it.”
This is an incredible novel. I’ve had it on my shelf for a while now, a rare book that I preordered so that I could get an autograph by the author to put on the title page. The story rotates between three different stories: Josef and his Jewish family escaping from the Nazis in 1939, Isabel and her family escaping from Cuba in 1994, and Mahmoud and his family escaping from Syria in 2015. All three stories are fraught with danger and terrifying circumstances. There is also love and joy at rare moments when the families can appreciate each other. If anyone says middle grade books are fluff, I challenge you to read this book. It’s dramatic and brave. With regard to Isabel and Mahmoud, these are refugee scenarios that I knew little about, and it was very interesting to learn more about their plight. As far as Josef’s story, I had no idea that there were ships that attempted to take Jewish refugees across the ocean to Cuba for safety. I think this book should be used by teachers in social studies classes in elementary and middle schools. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Oh my godgi berries. This book is just- I have no words. (and that’s making a statement if I have no words) Amazing and true and keeps you coming back for more.
Refugee is one of those books that immediately engages the reader and holds them through emotional scenes and descriptive writing. This is truly a very important story for our time. In Refugee, you follow three young teenage children and their families as they flee the devastation and destruction under totalitarian rule. Josef and his family are fleeing the Hitler regime in 1939. Isabel and her family are fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba during the mid-nineties. Mahmoud and his family are fleeing war-torn Syria and the terror of ISIS in 2015. Other than the circumstances of the abusive power of the government, you think that these stories are unrelated. You may or may not be wrong.
i just need it for schoool
It was hands down the best book Alan has made
Gratz cleverly weaves three stories together. Different eras, different ethnicities, people fleeing their countries for different reasons – yet they are all the same. People wanting to get their families to safety against all odds. It is a heartbreaking, important read based on a few historical stories spliced together in a believable historical (and modern day) realistic fiction.
This is a timely read as we consider our current political situation. As the granddaughter of immigrants, I easily related to the three stories that were developed in Refugee by Alan Gratz. It is a young-adult novel, but I recently recommended it for my book group and it received a universal thumb’s up. Although sad, it was satisfying.
Good
most awesome book ever because its about kids around the world that have this problem and its not good. But there are 3 people that are in this story. I think they all end up alone but i have to finish with my classmates and my teacher bye for now hopely you guys like refugee like me and my classmates and teacher do bye
Isabels bsf /ivan dies by sharks
We got to see Alan Gratz at a Children’s Literature Festival and he mentioned this book and the three stories it tells. I did like this book and maybe it was just me, but at first I had trouble keeping the stories and timelines straight. I cannot imagine writing a book like this, but he’s an artiste! He even gives you a surprise in there, which I definitely appreciate. We read this book and “Ban This Book” and I have read several others of Gratz’. For some reason, this one was not my favorite but most of the others I rated five stars! Great author; you should definitely read this one as well as all of his others.
This is an incredible story of three children whose lives ultimately intertwine. They are very strong people who are “wronged” at almost every turn they make. If we can all learn a little peace from reading this book, the world may be a better place.