Deep Dive Into Jane Lee

“Refugee” is an amazing, astonishingly good book. This is actually the second time I’ve read this book, and it still brought tears to my eyes. Gratz’s lively, honest description echoes through every reader as they journey together with Isabel, Mahmoud, and Josef. This book is something treasured, something to not only read, but to embrace.

‘Refugee’ spins the tale of three young teens- Isabel, Mahmoud, and Josef. All of them once normal citizens of an normal country or city, has to escape from the wrath of something they can’t change. Whether it be the Nazi’s for Josef, The Cuban president and riots for Isabel, or the Arab Springs for Mahmoud, they’re forced to be something they never thought they would be- refugees.

One of the most impactful lines I read in this book was:

“It felt like home”.

The part where Mahmoud is being welcomed by Josef’s sister, Ruthie. The part where he finds, after loosing his sister Hanna and struggling to survive, his true home.

That made me think. A house, is a thing, but a home, is something that only a heart can make. Mahmoud, after all his troubles, finds a home where he belongs. Where, he, no longer has to become the ‘invisible kid’.

I concluded that I would not be able to feel the true feeling of an refugee, because I have never experienced loosing a home, walking around for nowhere for days. I was lucky enough to live a live- at least so far- where no wars erupt- where no disputes, strong prejudice against me happens.

But I knew that I could emphasize.

That is the true gift of Alan Gratz. When a human being does not feel the feeling of another person, they are easy to scorn. That is why hatred against refugees still exists today. When a human being does not feel, they easily forget. They easily forget because it is not their business. We do that a lot. We see floods, forest fires, we feel bad, then we forget about it. But Alan Gratz embeds that image in our minds, and although we might not do anything about the situation, we still remember.

We remember that time, and we respect it.

We don’t have to understand completely in order to respect.

So respect the refugees today, the climate, war, all of them.

This book has made many people respect, and that is what I want to stress today.

Respect, and learn.

That is the true wonder of books. We learn, more than anything else in the world. We get to respect, to see the unseen lives of the smallest, most unknown people in the world.

That’s all for today. If you have time, please, read this book, because it does more than amaze you.

It changes you.