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GWEN

Name: GWEN
Author: Carolyn Pogue
ISBN: 978-1-894549-80-6

by Carolyn Pogue ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2009

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This rich historical novel presents readers with a plucky heroine who has the heart of a poet. Recently orphaned, Gwen is sent to a Girl’s Home—a charity that teaches domestic-service skills to destitute children. Eventually, Gwen journeys from England to her assignment in Canada. The first household in which she works is an ugly situation, and she learns that, though well-intentioned, the Home Child program is imperfect and controversial. Gwen flees and spends the next two weeks foraging for food and braving the elements before finding happier conditions. Carrying Gwen through her many adventures is her vivid imagination and a gift from her father, a book of poetry by Mohawk writer/performer E. Pauline Johnson. The Home’s founder, Dr. Allan, is based on the real Dr. Thomas Barnardo, a philanthropist who created many such havens that supplied housing and training; though begun in the 19th century, the charity still exists today. Sprinkled with bits of poetry and song, this page-turner offers readers nary a dull moment. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-15)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-894549-80-6

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Sumach Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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New York Times Bestseller

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REFUGEE

by Alan Gratz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017

Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense.

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Awards & Accolades

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Our Verdict

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Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2017

New York Times Bestseller

Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner

In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees—Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo—eventually intertwine for maximum impact.

Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. Yet these three refugee odysseys have so much in common. Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar.

Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense. (maps, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)