Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Selection Title

 

In this gripping and eye-opening novel, two Syrian refugee teens trying to make a living on the street corners of Beirut must decide how far they’re willing to go to make a home for their family in an unwelcoming country.

 

Thirteen-year-old Hadi Saleh and his family are displaced. At least that’s what the Lebanese government calls them and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city don’t think they’re displaced—they think that they don’t belong in this country either. And as he faces the insults day after day, Hadi hardly dares to dream anymore that this might change.

 

But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to school and becoming an engineer. He makes Hadi wonder if more might be possible. But Malek is new to the streets, and soon Kamal, the man who “oversees” many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner … alone. And people who don’t follow Kamal’s orders don’t last long.

 

Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh realities remain stubbornly out of reach?