Review by Booklist Review
Every day, children around the world leave all they know and love for an uncertain future. Fortunate families relocate by choice for better education or employment opportunities. Aref Al-Amri is a sensitive child whose father has left Muscat, Oman, one week ahead of Aref and his mother. They will reunite in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Aref's parents will study for three years before returning to Muscat. Nye's novel is a poignant, gentle chronicle of Aref's last week in Oman, during which he spends many magical moments with his grandfather Sidi. Aref enjoys writing lists of serious topics, such as stones, turtles, falcons, and other subjects considered on expeditions to the desert and fishing in the waters off Muscat. Aref and Sidi's adventures are a testament to the family's motto of discovering something new every day, and Nye's image of turtles who carried their homes on their backs and swam out so far and returned safely to the beach they remembered will deeply touch young readers who have also moved between countries and it might enlighten their new friends.--Bush, Gail Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Aref Al-Amri doesn't want to accompany his professor parents on their three-year stint to Ann Arbor, Mich., so he spends his last days in Oman thinking of reasons not to go. Nye (There Is No Difference Now) writes in lyrical prose from a close third-person perspective, poignantly capturing Aref's impressions of and reflections on the people, places, and experiences he will leave behind, such as the ocean view from his house's roof, his cat Mish-Mish, and conversations with his beloved grandfather, Sidi: "Words blended together like paint on paper when you brushed a streak of watercolor orange onto a page, blew on it and thin rivers of color spread out, touching other colors to make a new one." Aref's handwritten lists of newly learned facts ("Wood turtles are enormous") or questions he wonders about ("Why can't Sidi come with us?") appear throughout, emphasizing his intellect and emotions: "Were eyes little factories that made as many tears as you needed?" While conveying Aref's ambivalence about leaving home, this tender story also reveals the inner resources that will help him navigate his new environment. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-In the last week before his family leaves Oman for a three-year stint in Michigan, Aref has a hard time saying good-bye to his beloved home, particularly his grandfather, Sidi. Readers are never told Aref's exact age; he is clearly articulate, yet excerpts from his notebook show his writing has not transitioned to cursive. Friends come to say goodbye; the suitcase must be packed; and Sidi takes Aref for an overnight camping trip, fishing on the Indian Ocean and memorably, to visit a nesting ground for many kinds of turtles. The language is fresh and lyrical at times, with vivid descriptions of daily life and Aref's obvious anxiety about leaving. Not much happens in the way of plot, but the excellence of the portrayal of the setting and the emotional state of a young boy subject to the loving whims of his parents are vividly captured. "When you drove out in the country, you felt closer to the earth than you felt in the city. You had better thoughts in the country. Your thoughts made falcon moves, dipping and rippling, swooping back into your brain to land." The omniscient narration thus brings a larger context than Aref alone could share. Simply told, yet richly rewarding.-Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Aref and his mother are soon leaving their home in Muscat, Oman, to join his father in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they'll live for three years while his parents attend graduate school. Though unhappy about the move, Aref is thrilled to spend his last few days in Oman going on adventures with Sidi, his grandfather. The two camp in the desert and watch the flight of a trained falcon; Sidi reminds Aref that, like the falcon, he will "fly away and come back." They visit the nesting grounds of giant sea turtles, who carry their homes with them, swim far, and return "safely to the beach they remembered"; and when Aref catches a fish, he imagines the fish's relief as he returns it to the water, "where it slid home." At week's end, when Aref notes that butterflies can migrate hundreds of miles, Sidi replies, "[It's] a popular activity. Going away and coming back." Though Aref is now ready to say goodbye, readers may at this point feel quite attached to Oman, so affectionately portrayed in descriptions replete with colorful sights ("the giant turquoise Arabian Sea"), mouth-watering tastes ("curried vegetables and mounds of very fragrant rice"), and friendly interactions with fellow countrymen. Nye's story about the special bond between a boy and his grandfather and their mutual love for their country is somehow both quiet and exhilarating. jennifer m. brabander (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An enthusiastic boy from Oman has serious misgivings about temporarily moving from his homeland to Michigan.For Aref Al-Amri, "Oman was his only, number one, super-duper, authentic, absolutely personal place," but in one week, he and his mother will be joining his father in Ann Arbor for three years. Aref hates saying goodbye to his friends and worries about being a new, foreign kid at an American public school. He hates leaving his house, his room and his rock collection. What about his cat, Mish-Mish? Mostly, Aref dreads leaving his beloved grandfather, Sidi. As he avoids packing his suitcase, Aref savors the familiar sights, sounds and scents of his hometown, Muscat, providing readers with a rich taste of life in contemporary Oman. Only after spending several days in Sidi's reassuring company, exploring favorite desert and seaside haunts, is Aref finally able to "make a little space for bravery inside his fear." Spanning Aref's final week in Oman, this sensitive chronicle perceptively conveys the feelings and fears of a boy about to leave the known and face the unknown.A warm and humorous peek at the profound and mundane details of moving from one country to anothera perfect pick for kids on the move. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
