A review by linneamo
The Boy At the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf

3.0

i liked the message behind the story. i think this is a good conversation starter for younger children. could be read out lout to a mature 2nd grader. Read on their own for 3rd/4th grade. i feel like its supposed to be the younger child's answer to Alan Gratz's Refugee. The cynic in me finds the plot too happy and unrealistic to take seriously but I think I'm just jaded I am sure the ending is more triumphant to 3rd-4th grader. Also a little on the preachy side but for someone reading with little to no experience of the refugee crisis... a good place to start.

***my last criticism (which is tiny) is that the story take place in London...i feel like the author couldn't make up her mind whether to use the uk English or USA/Canadian English for certain words and it kind of wobbled back and forth