Refugees

The House Before Falling into the Sea

Every day, more and more people fleeing war in the north show up at Kyung Tak and her family’s house on the southeastern shore of Korea. With nowhere else to go, the Taks’ home is these migrants’ last chance of refuge “before falling into the sea,” and the household quickly becomes crowded, hot, and noisy. Then war sirens cry out over Kyung’s city too, and her family and their guests take shelter underground. When the sirens stop, Kyung is upset—she wishes everything could go back to the way it was before: before the sirens, before strangers started coming into their home. But after an important talk with her parents, her new friend Sunhee, and Sunhee’s father, Kyung realizes something important: We’re stronger when we have each other, and the kindness we show one another in the darkest of times is a gift we’ll never regret.

The House Before Falling into the Sea is the WOW Recommends Book of the Month for September 2024.

The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story

Inspired by the author’s life, The Carpet takes readers to the day in the life of a young Afghan refugee, whose family remain connected to home through the carpet that serves as the centerpiece of their family life. Around the carpet they share meals, tell stories, laugh and share memories of their time shared back home.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

Wild Poppies

Two brothers, Omar and Sufyan, strive to reunite as they endure the turmoil of the Syrian War. With the passing of their father, Omar tries to be the man and head of his family of Syrian refugees, but in his youngest brother’s eyes, he has failed. While Omar waits in line for rations, younger brother, Sufyan, explores nontraditional methods to provide for the family by getting involved with a group that provides large rewards for doing, what seems to be, inconsequential tasks, despite his older brother’s warnings. As Sufyan’s involvement gets more intense, resulting in his separation from the family, it becomes up to bookish Omar to rescue his little brother and reunite them with their family.

Run For Your Life

Azari’s life is split in two, but what links them? Running. Sometimes she runs because she wants to, but sometimes she runs because she has no other choice. When Azari and her mother flee to Ireland as refugees, they find themselves in a center for asylum seekers, Direct Provision. Here they must room with a stranger, eat unfamiliar food they don’t the names of, and are forced to answer intrusive questions from the authorities. Azari has secrets, but will she ever be able to stop running?

The Cricket War

A gripping story of a boy’s escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author’s own experience. It’s 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and then him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says that arrangements have been made for him to leave Vietnam by boat, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown.

This book is part of the Worlds of Words Global Reading List for 2023/24.

From The Tops Of The Trees

Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America’s Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn’t always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.

Yang Warriors

After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means “little”), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables , the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp’s boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards.