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 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.
MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by 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.
Book Club Questions:
- Hiding your religion/ culture
- Didn’t talk to people on street or call attention to each other
- All got the manana
- Mahmoud saves his baby sister Hanna
- Josef saves his mother from having to make a “Sophie’s choice”
- Losing their culture
- Job
- Friends
- Language
- Some local towns have a network and others don’t.
People:
Fidel Castro
Adolph Hitler
Bashar al-Assad
Places
Aleppo
Dachau
Havana
Mecca
Miami (specifically the Cuban American history and culture)
Moments
Kristallnacht
The St. Louis (ship)
bar mitzvah
Fidel Castro
Adolph Hitler
Bashar al-Assad
Places
Aleppo
Dachau
Havana
Mecca
Miami (specifically the Cuban American history and culture)
Moments
Kristallnacht
The St. Louis (ship)
bar mitzvah