Summary Of Alan Gratz's Refuge

Carter Mizeur 7B Literature 05/09/18

Gratz, Alan. Refugee. Scholastic Press, 2017.

Alan Gratz wrote a masterpiece novel, Refugee, which focused on three lives of children facing extreme obstacles and overcoming diversity. The reader gets to enjoy the experiences and courageous journeys of three different children of the past in Nazi Germany to the present day bombings in Syria. Each child knows the only means of survival is to leave their hometown escaping harm and possible death due to the different struggles they are facing. In this journey, the compelling story shows the reader how to make sense of past and present refugee crises. Either by boat, wrath or land, and separated by decades in time, geography and

Josef told the Nazis that he will “be a man in six months and eleven days” (4). He mentioned this because the Nazis called him a child and made him mad. Josef had a sister named Ruth who was only six years old. Josef’s family was always running from the Nazis in the story. Another character in the story is Isabel. Isabel’s “ brown face was splotchy with freckles, and her thick black hair was cut short for the summer and pulled back behind her ears”(7). Isabel’s favorite hobby was playing the trumpet for money and to entertain her family and friends. Another character in the story is Mahmoud. Mahmoud was 12 years old and “invisible” (12). He always wore a “hoodie he kept pulled down over his face “ (12). Mahmoud “was stocky, his shoulders wide and muscular despite the food shortages” (12). Prayer was a big part of his and his family’s life. Mahmoud had only one friend who died in an airstrike. This was quite devastating to Mahmoud. His siblings were younger brother, Waleed and a younger sister Hana. Mahmoud always tried to avoid people and stay out of harm's way. He knew the only way to survive was to get out, leave Syria and search for freedom and a safe place to

The first theme was focused around never giving up. In all three lives and journeys of the kids, they were all going through similar problems and had the same mission. To escape and search for refuge. All three kids had to fight and struggle in their dangerous travels and encounters. Isabel showed courage as she and her family was running from the US ship and her little brother was born, “Isabel held the baby up high to keep him out of the waves that pushed them both to shore “ (297). This demonstrated how determined Isabel was to save her family and never give up. A good example of survival was when Mahmoud’s family “had walked for hours in the hot sun tired and poor and wretched “ (89). They showed perseverance through their struggles to find shelter and safety. The other theme in this novel was family. For instance, Isabel “didn't want to go to the states if it meant leaving her parents- her family- behind” (294). She was not going to go on this journey if it meant leaving her family behind. Another example of the family theme is Mahmoud’s mother saying “you saved her. And together we’ll find her” (316). This showed that Mahmoud and his family were devoted and would not give up until the family remained united. Both themes in the novel Refugee intertwine to show a relationship between never giving up and keeping family together no matter