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5.0étoiles sur 5
The best novel about the Arab-Isreali conflict, ever., Avril 30 2000
Never mind that it's a young adult book. Lynne Reid Banks' work has such a vast scope, it should not be missed by anyone. The book is set in 1968. Lesley is a typical teenager. She's always trendily dressed, always popular, always the envied one. Then her father announces that the entire family is going to emigrate to Israel. She cries, pleads, threatens, but soon enough they arrive on a border kibbutz. Lesley doesn't speak Hebrew, can't do much in the way of chores, and is at first treated like anathema by her peers. Meanwhile, the conflict between Israel and Jordan escalates. Across the River Jordan, surprisingly lacking in width or depth, she observes over time a young boy whose loneliness reminds her of herself. Despite knowing better, Lesley cannot imagine him an enemy. When war breaks out, the world of the kibbutz seems terribly fragile, but Lesley finds herself fighting as desperately as her neighbors to hold on. The relationship between Lesley and Mustapha, however brief, is one of the most unforgettable I've ever read about. The final scene of the book still haunts me. I reread it at least once a year.
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