by Jamel Saeed and Sharon E. McKay
5 Stars
The historical/young-adult fiction Yara’s Spring, written by Jamel Saeed and Sharon E. Mckay, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi, was a heartbreaking but yet uplifting book at times. It tells the story of a 10-year-old girl Yara when the Arab Spring and Syria became the center of a cruel civil war. By the time she was 14, the olden days when she would happily walk through the peaceful streets to meet her friend Shireen for dance classes were gone. Aleppo was split in two. Anyone that tried to cross between borders East and West Aleppo could’ve been easily killed by snipers. She spent most of her days inside her house as President al-Assad’s helicopters dropped bombs on houses, apartments, the streets literally anywhere. One of those bombs had sadly killed Yara’s parents, which caused her to be trapped under garbage. Yara, her Nana Maha, her little brother Saad survive along with Shireen, and her twin brother Ali began a slow and unpredictable trip to Jordan. Lots of their weeks were spent bribing soldiers, going through back roads, facing danger, dehydration and exhaustion. Even when she has safely arrived in Canada, Yara struggles with guilt and hesitation over leaving Syria, the trauma and anxiety of losing a close family household, her parents, family and friends. This story is inspired by Jamel Saeed’s own experiences from when he was in Syria at a young age and the struggles he faced. It also confronts the reality of the fight for democracy, or the unbelievable conditions children are forced to face in their own struggle for safety.
This book is most definitely a must-read, but it may have some difficult situations for younger children to read, so I recommend this book to children over the ages of 12 and up. Nevertheless, I rate this book 5/5 stars!
Hoda D.