Harrowing, moving. Does an excellent job explaining what is happening in Syria and Lebanon, and also really hits you with the refugee experience. Excellent and upsetting. ( )

This is fictional, but the author was a reporter who spent time in Lebanon as Syrian refugees came pouring across the border. To write this story, she compiled common happenings of many of the refugees and made it into this graphic novel, told from the point of view of a teenage girl as her family fled Aleppo City amidst the war in Syria. Her family spent time in Lebanon until they were able to get out to come to Canada (this is known from the start of the story).

The illustrations were very well done, I thought. There were even a couple of iconic images represented (one, much more well-known than the other, though the other, maybe known more in Canada as some of the Syrian refugees arrived; the more well known image is the little boy who drowned as he and his family tried to escape). I quite “enjoyed” the story, as well. I read a memoir not long ago of a boy who got out and also came to Canada, and this graphic novel was interesting from a girl’s perspective (the families had no money – or very little – so many young daughters became child brides, though this was only a very small section in the book). At the end, the author takes many of the quotes and images throughout the story and explains more about them. ( )

Unrelentingly depressing until a bittersweet happy ending that is revealed to be highly unlikely for the vast majority of Syrian refugees, this is a message book that is pretty typical for its sort, but has the bonus of simple but charming artwork, very readable lettering and a good balance of dialogue and text boxes. ( )