Mini Reviews: Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
4****
This is a short book and though I wished some parts were a bit more fleshed out, it is worth reading! I also think the graphic novel format would make important subject matter more accessible to students, if this were used in school. The story of the refugee is not a new one, but it has been in the news a lot these past few years. This makes it important, I think, to consider the individual stories of these people who are desperate to leave their homeland for whatever reason. I did think the book could have focused a little more on the scenes in the present than the past, which would have made it more impactful, but all in all, it was a good book and a powerful story. I'm glad I read it.
5*****
This is a very short book, but it packs quite the punch. It was inspired by the three-year-old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, the image of whom is doubtless etched into many of our minds as the child who drowned and whose body washed up on a Turkish beach. It's a heartbreaking story and Hosseini handles this story with tenderness and humanity and though I read it in just a few minutes, I won't be quick to forget.