Welcome to Nowhere
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning and beloved children's author Elizabeth Laird comes a stunning edition of Welcome to Nowhere, with a cover illustration by Maria Brzozowska, an updated author letter and additional content from the author, including discussion notes. A must-read modern classic, this is a beautifully written story about the life of one family caught up in civil war, illustrated throughout in black-and-white by Lucy Eldridge.
Twelve-year-old Omar and his brothers and sisters were born and raised in the beautiful and bustling city of Bosra, Syria. Omar doesn't care about politics - all he wants is to grow up to become a successful businessman who will take the world by storm. But when his clever older brother, Musa, gets mixed up with some young political activists, everything changes . . .
Before long, bombs are falling, people are dying, and Omar and his family have no choice but to flee their home with only what they can carry. Yet no matter how far they run, the shadow of war follows them - until they have no other choice than to attempt the dangerous journey to escape their homeland altogether. But where do you go when you can't go home?
This edition includes brilliant extra material, such as:
- An author letter by Elizabeth Laird
- Extra content from the author, including reading group questions
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This far-reaching novel by Laird (The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown) follows one family through the early years of the Syrian civil war, beginning in March 2011. Narrated in an emotionally honest voice by Omar—the middle child of five—the story opens when he is 12 and living in comfort in Bosra, where his father is a government employee. When war breaks out, life grows increasingly perilous. The family decamps to relatives' homes—first a flat in Daara, then a farm in the countryside—before making a terrifying border crossing into Jordan, where they settle in the Za'atari refugee camp. Each character is imbued with individuality, particularly Omar's oldest sister Eman, an aspiring teacher, and older brother Musa, who refuses to let bullying surrounding his cerebral palsy affect his intellectual acuity or education—or keep him from becoming involved in dangerous underground politics. Personal dynamics amid steadily deteriorating conditions, especially the thorny yet loving sibling relations, are strongly depicted. While the final events that move the narrative toward its optimistic closing feel somewhat cursory, thorough depictions of each phase of the family's saga are immersive. Moody gray toned drawings by Eldridge (If a Horse Had Words) enhance the story's grim ambiance; Laird's opening and closing notes provide historical and personal context. Ages 9–11.
