The Boy at the Back of the Class
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Average rating4
Told with heart and humour, The Boy at the Back of the Class is a child's perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn't always make sense. There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it. He's nine years old (just like me), but he's very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn't like sweets - not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite! But then I learned the truth: Ahmet really isn't very strange at all. He's a refugee who's run away from a War. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to help. That's where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we've come up with a plan. . .
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I gotta say this was a very sweet book, but also quite weird and different. First off, the MC isn't the boy at the back of the class and not the one on the cover which is very interesting. Also, we don't find out the MC's name or gender until the end, so that was interesting and we weren't biased or anything. I gotta say the MC seemed very neutral to me neither ‘boyish' nor ‘girlish' so I guess that was good. (I read what the author says about this stuff, and I decided that I am not rating the author but the books she wrote, same as I do with HP.) Also, it's cool how it's written from the perspective of a classmate of a refugee kid and how much they cared to make things good and become friends with Ahmet. It was sweet and I loved that! Also, I think the MC is likely autistic for some reason as they didn't seem to understand feelings, lies, and stuff much, and was so obsessed with finding Ahmet's family and couldn't stop thinking about it, also they had a strong moral compass. So that was nice even if it wasn't intended. I recommend it to all!
Very sweet story, and a very important one for kids to read. It's aimed a little younger than the children's books I generally read, but when I heard about it I decided it was something I needed to read. There weren't any books about refugee kids when I was young - I'm so happy children's books are so exciting and diverse these days, so I just wanted to read this to be a part of that!
Ohh my...god....You know the book is great....when that book makes you cry and smile the next...makes your heart quench...yet makes feel warm.. that's what this book was....❤️
