Refugee by Alan Gratz is an exciting and emotional book that tells the stories of three young refugees from different times and places: Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba and modern-day Syria. Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud as protagonists face tough challenges, like escaping danger and crossing dangerous waters to find safety and refuge. Gratz does a great job of mixing action with deep emotion, making the characters’ struggles feel real.
Hotel Rwanda is a movie about the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who protected refugees during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The movie is about the events leading up to the genocide, as well as the violence and chaos that ensued. Rusesabagina uses his connections and resources to protect over a thousand refugees, risking his own life in the process. I watched this movie at school. I would not have normally watched it, but I liked it.
Life on Hayling Island seems isolated from the outside world for 14 year old Alix. Problems like terrorism, wars, and refugees seem worlds away. But one day at the beach, Alix and her friend find a drowning illegal immigrant who was tortured by the rebels in Iraq for helping the allied forces. Mohammed is desperate to not be deported and now his life falls in her hands. She must face this moral dilemma on her own, one mistake and they will be discovered.
Taylor Greer has just graduated from high school in rural Kentucky. Born to a poor, single mother and without many of life’s advantages, Taylor manages to talk her way into a lab technician’s job at the hospital, save enough money to buy a beat up Volkswagen Bug, and get out of town before she winds up pregnant or as some tobacco farmer’s wife. Most of Taylor’s pluckiness can be attributed to the roots her mother has provided her—encouragement and faith in her daughter’s abilities that are worth far more than the money she doesn’t have to offer.
