Lost Boys
-
-
4.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Based on historical events, this unforgettable and inspiring tale for middle-grade readers is about a young boy torn from the only life he’s ever known and held captive as a prisoner of war.
In 1982, twelve-year-old Reza has no interest in joining Iran’s war effort against Iraq. But in the wake of a tragedy and at his mother’s urging, he decides to enlist, assured by the authorities that he will achieve paradise should he die in service to his country.
War does not bring the glory the boys of Iran have been promised, and Reza soon finds himself held in a prisoner-of-war camp in Iraq, where the guards not only threaten violence—they act upon it. Will Reza make it out alive? And if he does, will he even have a home to return to?
Friendship, heartbreak, and Reza’s very survival are at stake as he finds solace through music and forges his own path—wherever that might take him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This hard-hitting first novel opens in Iran in 1982 during the Ayatollah Khomeini's oppressive rule and that nation's war with Iraq. Rosenblatt thrusts her sensitive, music-loving narrator, Reza, into immediate danger as the 12-year-old's widowed mother pushes him to join the fight, viewing it as an honor if he were to die a martyr. When his best friend Ebi enlists, Reza follows, and after slipshod training, the gruesome reality of their role emerges as officers tie dozens of the teenage boys together and send them into a minefield: "We were legs and arms they didn't mind losing. We were here to die." Rosenblatt counterbalances cruelty with strong relationships, especially among the boys in the Iraqi POW camp Reza ends up, as well as with a charismatic teacher and aid worker who nurtures his love of music. The larger political context becomes personal when a devastating public rejection of Reza and his fellow survivors by Iran leaves the boys without a country. Though the conclusion may stretch belief, the resilience of Rosenblatt's protagonist strikes a strong chord. Ages 9 12.
