The Heart of Aleppo: A Story of the Syrian Civil War

his "stand alone" novel is a bittersweet tale of family, friendship, war, and sacrifices. It is a highly recommended reading material for Young Adults and Adults alike. It raises several good discussion points. It is ideal reading for Book Clubs.
Zaid's life wasn't ideal, but he did enjoy a close relationship with his family and had some very close friends. He was teased a lot, and was always the last chosen on a team, but he had great family support. Zaid's closest friends were Fatima and her slightly older bother Salman. They had grown up together.
While Zaid's dreams were "shot down" by his teacher and others, he was encouraged all would work out until that dreadful day when suddenly he began living a nightmare! Would any of their show more dreams still happen?
Author Ammar Habib has effectively aided the reader to experience, in a small degree, the horrors of war many have to frequently experience in their own country, in their own neighborhoods. War caused by greed and inhumanity of some.
The author has created very real characters and very realistic scenes, easily visualized.
The Book Cover and Title depict the story contents well.
This is very touching and action -packed.
It has a strong message of valiance, integrity, and ethics. These are values greatly lacking in today's world.
Although the message was powerful, there was too much consistent, repetitious detail which cause me to lose interest in the last parts of the story, wanting to just get to the end. The ending was very powerful!
For the above reason, I offer a Three and a Half Stars rating.
*This book was gifted me with no pressure for a positive review. This is my honest review. show less