From Publishers Weekly
Zephaniah, a London-based performance poet, sends a strong political message in his realistic account of a young refugee's struggles. With both of his parents' homelands at war, 14-year-old Alem is persecuted because of the family's mixed nationality; his Ethiopian father and Eritrean mother decide that their son will be safest abroad. As the novel opens, Alem's father brings him to London "on holiday" and then abandons him, leaving only a letter to explain his reasoning. While Alem's parents fight for the unification of Ethiopia and Eritrea thousands of miles away, Alem must mount a battle for political asylum. After being moved from an institution to a more welcoming foster home, Alem musters an army of friends and compassionate social workers who help him combat a cold and impersonal system. Rather than delving deeply into his protagonist's emotions, the author adopts a relatively objective stance. Readers see Alem's reactions from the outside, not as an internal process, as the government initially refuses to grant him asylum and later, when both of his parents are killed (his mother in Africa, his father in London). While audience members may feel distanced from the young hero, they will be outraged by the injustice he confronts and moved by the tragedies he endures. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-A dust jacket that resembles an airmail envelope complete with stamp cancellation will lure readers to this somewhat disappointing tale. Alem Kelo is caught in the current political disputes raging between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He and his father flee to London where Alem is left alone to seek asylum with British authorities while his father returns to Africa, where he discovers that his wife is missing. The child is caught in the web of the judicial system as his foster care and sanctuary are determined. While the story has all the elements of a gripping tale, it often reads like a first, rough draft. A prelude to the book, titled "Ethiopia," finds soldiers barging into the Kelos' house. Shooting and shouting result, and the family is ordered to leave the country. An almost duplicate scene labeled "Eritrea" follows. In an effort to show that neither country embraces the union of this Ethiopian man and Eritrean woman and its progeny, the question immediately arises, are the soldiers Ethiopian or Eritrean? Throughout the author merely tells, rarely shows. Wording is awkward and often repetitive. The result is the ponderous text of a story about war and refugees that needs to be told; unfortunately, this effort falls short.
Daniel L. Darigan, West Chester University, PACopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
