In this timely story, friendship is tested by war and social customs. Ruby Tanya is a brave girl in a most unsettling crisis. Her friend, Asra, is one of a group of asylum-seekers from an eastern European country who is now locked away in a detention camp because of a bomb that went off in Ruby's school. In an alternating narration, each girl tells her side of the story. Mina Anwar's characterization and accent perfectly capture the hurt and denial of the girls. Anwar's ability to switch between Asra's Eastern European accent and Ruby Tanya's British English is remarkable and lends much realism to the story. As the fate of each of the girls is decided, readers are left with a strong sense of how war affects innocent victims. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Product Description
A highly topical and absorbing thriller about tolerance and hate.
This is a contemporary tale about two friends: Asra, an asylum seeker from an eastern European country, and Ruby Tanya, the daughter of a local man who is campaigning against the presence of asylum seekers in his community.
In a dramatic explosion at the girls’ school, a young teacher is killed. The asylum seekers at the local camp are blamed, and local people begin to argue that they should be deported. A branch of the National Front gets involved and demos are planned. Asra and her parents are due to be deported, but Asra runs away at the last minute and her parents have to leave without her. She hides in a nearby derelict building where she is helped by Ruby Tanya.
From the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
