Book Review: Refugee by Alan Gratz

Hello! I decided to write my first post about Refugee, a book by Alan Gratz.  I think that this is a really good book to review first, because it is one of my favorites.  As of now, I am re-reading it with a group of friends for a class project, and I am almost done.

Why did I even read this book in the first place?

My teacher, who has, like, 200 books that he keeps in our classroom, recommended this book to me, because he knows that I love books about WWII that are historical fiction.

Summary

This book consists of 3 stories in three different time periods. One is Isabel, a girl from Cuba in 1994, and the story of how she and her family set off to America to find freedom in el norte, the north.  Another is Josef, a Jew living in Germany during the time of the Nazis, who embarks  on a journey to escape on the MS St. Louis, on its way to Cuba, on the other side of the world.  The third story is about Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 trying to flee his country and go to Germany.

Why do I like/dislike this book?

The author provided plenty of real facts about what actually happened to Jews in Nazi Germany, Cubans in the 1990s, and Syrians during the war in 2015, so I actually learned quite a bit while being captivated by this great book!  Plus, it was extremely well-written, and I couldn’t put it down.  So, if you love historical fiction as much as I do, you will really enjoy this book!

Recommended for fans of  war books, books about refugees, and, obviously,  Alan Gratz.

To learn more about the author, check out his website, alangratz.com.

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