good - Ruthie

Please consider this review to be petty. Like many others, I read this in seventh grade for school. It was assigned a few months after the September 11, 2001 attacks. I remember wondering if there was a reason it was assigned then, or if every school had to read it. Reading this book as an adult brought back flickers of memories of reading it then. School comp/lit classes always made me hate reading, and I'd come home and dive into my pile of library books and ignore the rest of my homework. I also loathed my seventh grade teacher. Everyone who had her did. I was a real jerk to her, especially about this book. I couldn't relate to it, had no idea why we were reading it, and found it boring and confusing.

As an adult, I was determined to read it in one sitting, and I did, and I hoped for a different opinion. I'm ashamed that I still can't relate and that I'm critical of the writing: repeated pretty setting! Bombing! Long journey! Arguing! Long journey! Barely-there emotions! This book is clearly for young teens, and that's fine, but it really feels like the author normally writes for adults and is somehow holding back. The little kids add nothing to the story and annoyed me. From the way they were written, I wonder if the author had kids the same ages when she wrote this. Reading this in one sitting overall reinforced my lack of enjoyment or connection. ( )

Probably not one of Laird's best offerings but still an interesting book about a young, Kurdish girl who has to flee Iraq with her family to join the growing band of refugees in Iran. This book would sit nicely along side the "Parvana" series by Deborah Ellis. ( )

This book brings a personal perspective on what life is like in war torn Iraq. This recent-history novel follows a young Kurdish girl who was once carefree living in her mountain town as she and her family flee from the stringent rules and fierce fighting of the militant Muslim regime. I found the culture fascinating and Tara's life in the refugee camp is heart wrenching. ( )

A story about the plight of people in Kurdistan - experiences and processes confronting political refugees. Tara's father is involved with the Kurdish Resistance Movement and her life in Iraq becomes increasingly difficult as a result. The family is forced to flee into the mountains and across into Iran. Tara, used to wealth, has to learn to cope in a refugee camp and adopt the ways of another culture before the family can finally claim refugee status in England. ( )