This story, written in the format of a free-verse poem, is narrated by a 12-year-old Jude, who suddenly finds herself in a world where she is being treated ‘differently’. 'Hoping, I am starting to think, is the bravest thing a person can do.'Īn honest, hopeful and relevant tale of a young Syrian girl who comes to live with her uncle in Ohio, United States. “…and, I just want to live in a country where we can all have dinner again without shouting about our president or rebels or revolution…” It needs to be required reading in schools. It’s very much a story that is supposed to bring about important, cross-cultural dialogue and I can’t think of a better audience to start this conversation with than young children. There were so many things that were touched upon, so many prejudices Muslims and people of colour go through that were captured perfectly. I love that we got to see the struggles of what home and America means through the lens of a child. We follow Jude, a young Syrian refugee who moves to the US with her mother, leaving home due to the civil unrest, trying to navigate life in America. This story perfectly depicts what it is like to be an immigrant, to have parents who are immigrants, the difficulty of assimilating into a society that strongly believes you don’t belong. Warga, the daughter of a Jordanian father, says she “wrote Jude for my twelve-year-old self, who never saw a brown girl in a book who was proud of her family and where she came from.” Lots of girls-and adults-should be grateful she did.Middle grade out here representing my Muslim identity better than any YA or adult book. “I am learning how it tastes - / sweet with promise / and bitter with responsibility.” I am learning how to say it / over and over again in English,” Warga writes. Jude discovers new friends, an expanded family, and unexpected surprises in a school musical that she bravely auditions for. Mostly, though, this is a book about resilience and hope. Fans of Jacqueline Woodson or Kwame Alexander will appreciate its structure and its stark, poetic power.

The novel is written in free-verse and deals with some difficult topics, including anti-Arab harassment. Jude struggles to find her identity, wanting so badly to fit in with American classmates but not wanting to forget her home country, language, food or culture. When the Arab Spring erupts, she leaves her father and older brother behind and moves with her mother to Cincinnati to live with relatives. It’s the story of Jude, a young girl living in a tourist town on the coastline of Syria.

Other Words for Home is a middle-grade debut from Jasmine Warga, and it’s well worth checking out-even for grownups.

Other words for home review