Refugee by Alan Gratz is a historical fiction novel that focuses on the lives of 3 children who all have one thing in common, seeking refuge in a foreign country. The first character introduced is Josef, a jewish boy living in Germany during the Holocaust. The book follows his journey as he and his family board the MS Saint Louis in an effort to escape Germany and find refuge in Cuba, however things turn for the worse as they are denied entry into Cuba. The second character introduced is Isabel, who is trying to escape Cuba during the economic crisis and hard times under a harsh dictatorship, when they finally have a window to leave, they take it in hopes of making it to Florida to seek refuge in the states. However, things don’t go as planned and their boat ends up breaking and their problems start to mount. Finally, Mahmoud is trying to escape Syria during the civil war with his family. On his way from Turkey to Greece, he encounters numerous problems as his boat capsizes.
This book is surely a nail biter and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes reading about historical fiction, but also thriller books. If you don’t like intense books, I would not recommend this as I was constantly on the edge of my seat reading this book. Overall, while I did enjoy the book, my one criticism would be that each chapter would end very abruptly and would transition on to the next character on a cliffhanger, and while the first few chapters, it definitely kept me reading, it got repetitive at times. But, I definitely enjoyed reading this book as Alan Gratz never disappoints.