Giovanni Rigano

Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Death of a child and brother in the ocean, refugee experiences, disappearance of a sister, death of parents
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.

A few years back, I saw this book on the shelf and decided to read it. Initially, I thought this was a compelling tale about refugees, but afterwards, I looked back and saw some issues; I never want to reread this, especially considering the triggering content inside, so much so that I don't think this is a middle-grade book, it's young adult. If these trigger you, don't read this. Did I mention this book is non-linear? There's another book similar to this, Zenobia, but this is better. It starts with the main character, Ebo, whose last name I don't know, on a dinghy with other asylum-seekers, but! The story cuts to a different time when Ebo lived in Niger, and only a few pages later, he decides he has had enough and wants to go to a new country, but first, he must complete the most treacherous journey he will undertake. I appreciate that this raises awareness of refugees, but a white man wrote this, and as with Zenobia, it would've been better if a refugee wrote an account of their experience. The book continues to cut from before and after Ebo arrived in Europe. He first crossed the desert before arriving in Libya, and to find his sister, he, alongside other people, purchased a barely seaworthy dinghy, but that didn't work out that well. Soon enough, Ebo finds a refugee-filled boat, which he gets on and stays for a portion of the book. That's not all. The last few pages are heartbreaking and depressing, and let's say Ebo survived and went to Europe, while others didn't share the same fate, but at least he reunited with his sister, which I appreciated.… (meer)