Muzoon

March 1, 2023
Driven from her homeland by civil war, a Syrian refugee describes her experiences and delivers a pointed message. Effectively recapturing a child's perspective, Almellehan recalls her safe world of street soccer, close family ties, and olive harvests as a 12-year-old in 2010 that is gradually overshadowed by news of violent events and, at last, transformed by a 2013 move to a refugee camp in Jordan--a planned 10-day sojourn that turns to months, then years and further moves, until at last she and her family wind up in Newcastle, England, far from everything familiar. What gets her through many hardships is a strong, stubborn dedication to the importance of education, particularly for girls. She not only keeps up her own classwork and starts working with UNICEF to persuade others in the rough refugee camps to stay in school, but later battles her way through the British educational system in the face of low expectations. Meanwhile, she becomes, particularly after meeting and bonding with Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for education with an international reputation. She opens with a reminder that "a refugee is not a type of person" but "someone in a kind of situation that could happen to anyone," closes on her first day of university, and in between challenges readers to pay attention to her story: "I don't want people to know about refugees," she tells an interviewer. "I want them to listen to refugees." One compelling story amid millions, delivered in a strong, steadfast voice. (Memoir. 10-14)

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April 10, 2023
With Pearlman (We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled, for adults), debut author Almellehan documents events that led her family to leave Izraa, their home in southwest Syria, while offering insight into “a kind of situation that could happen to anyone.” Twelve years old “before the war began,” Almellehan plays soccer with cousins, helps with harvesting olives from the family’s trees, and attends school. As Arab Spring protests occur in Tunisia in 2011, the news shows “people wanting better lives... realizing that they have the power to demand freedom.” When the protests reach her hometown, “a burst of heavy machine-gun fire ripped through the air” as she and her brother sell fresh-picked almonds door-to-door, and further violence follows. In 2013, the family leaves Syria for a refugee camp in Jordan—but it takes nearly another three years before the family can emigrate to the U.K. Throughout, Almellehan’s insistence on continuing her own education extends to her encouraging other children, especially girls; working with UNICEF and Save the Children; and meeting Malala Yousafzai. Vivid descriptions prove immersive throughout this powerful experiential telling that’s situated as both “my story” and “a window into many other stories.” Ages 10–up.

April 15, 2023
Grades 5-8 In an inspiring memoir, Syrian refugee Almellehan tells of how, in 2013, at age 12, she escaped from Syria to Jordan with her family, due to the civil war, and became known as the "Malala of Syria" because of her efforts to promote education for youth, particularly girls. As her family left Syria, all she brought with her were her schoolbooks--her "most important things." Almellehan vividly describes her daily life and the conditions in the camps her family lived in (mice crawling over them while they slept) until they eventually emigrated to Newcastle, England. She recounts her often-frustrating efforts to be allowed to take the courses that she needed to apply for college. Although Almellehan's story invites comparisons to Malala Yousafzai's--and the two even met and became friends when Malala visited Muzoon's camp--Almellehan's journey and message is uniquely her own: "People shouldn't just learn about us," she says. "They should learn from us." A moving and gripping memoir.

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