LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
October 2023 Book of the Month
Fans of the unforgettable Boy Everywhere will be keen to revisit the world of Sami, the refugee from Syria, whose horrific journey before finding a safe home in England and some good friends in Mark and Ali, had us all so gripped.
Ali becomes the narrator for this sequel, which again puts our society in the spotlight. At first the friends appear to be living the dream. Mark’s single parent Mum won the lottery, and they now live in an amazing house with a pool which the boys are looking forward to using all summer. Sami’s family have taken in Aadam, an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum, and Mark’s Mum is employing him as a gardener, just one of the many jobs he has taken on to earn some cash.
When he can, he joins the lads playing football, but unlike them he cannot attend school and be on the school team. It all starts to go horribly wrong when Aadam is threatened with deportation and his appeal is turned down, and then he is accused of theft by Mark’s Mum’s new boyfriend. Sami and Ali are literally kicked out and Mark is forbidden any contact with them. To add to Ali’s stress, his missing father has moved back to the area complete with his new family, which awakens all of Ali’s abandonment issues and self-doubt.
What follows is a beautifully nuanced and entirely credible story which exposes the casual racism that Ali, Sami and Aadam face every day and the cruel injustices of the asylum process. It empathetically explores family issues too. Mark and Ali had bonded over their lack of a father and are both fiercely supportive of their mothers. This means Mark is reluctant to interfere with her newfound happiness with the boyfriend Callum, despite his suspicions and dislike of Callum’s controlling behaviour. But once again the author shows us that it is humanity, compassion and hope that can win against all odds. The inspirational way in which the boys remain loyal to each other and are galvanised to take action to save Aadam can show young readers that they are not powerless and may well encourage them into their own social activism.
Any book which challenges the hateful rhetoric around refugees and asylum seekers is hugely important and for it to be so uplifting is a rare bonus. This book should be in every library and on every bookshelf, a thoroughly rewarding and powerful read.
Joy Court
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About
Kicked Out Synopsis
This sequel to Dassu's award-winning debut, Boy, Everywhere, finds Ali and Sami living their dream, playing football for the school team and hanging out in their friend Mark's new luxury pool.
But money goes missing and racism rears its ugly head when their friend Aadam is accused of the theft. Can the boys prove Aadam's innocence, keep their friendship - and help fight Aadam's threatened deportation?
Can Ali navigate his emotions and stay focused now his dad is back on the scene and his half-brother has joined his school? A powerful story about friendship, being an ally and finding your place in the world.
Author A. M. Dassu says of Kicked Out:
‘The reaction to Boy, Everywhere has been incredible. Readers really connected with Sami and his story resonated with them so much they wanted a sequel to find out if he’d be okay. I was lucky to continue his story in Boot It! and am delighted to now be bringing a different perspective to the friendship group. Through Ali’s eyes, I explore the ordeal of being a refugee as an unaccompanied minor, how we can step up, and the role of fathers and the impact an absent parent can have on a young person’s sense of worth. I hope this story encourages discussions, enlightens and changes perceptions too!’
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781910646892 |
| Publication date: |
19th October 2023 |
| Author: |
A. M. Dassu |
| Publisher: |
Old Barn Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
220 pages |
| Series: |
A Boy, Everywhere Story |
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Press Reviews
A. M. Dassu Press Reviews
'A powerful & empowering portrayal of hope against adversity. A. M. Dassu is one of our most authentic voices in children's literature.' - Hannah Gold
'Warm and perfectly observed. Dassu writes the best child characters out there - flawed, messy, cheeky and utterly believable.' - Louie Stowell, Children's Author
'A. M. Dassu builds bridges of empathy and understanding with her books: while they make me despair the present, they give me so much hope for the future.' - Kathryn Evans - Author of When the World was Ours'
'This is a great story about friendship, courage, determination and kindness! Friends who don't focus on where they came from. Instead, they see the humanity in each other and make positive change! How much do we need this right now!' - Jimmy Zacharia
'Boy, Everywhere was one of the best debuts I've ever read so I was nervous about revisiting Sami & Ali, but it was wonderful to see how their friendship had grown and their support for one another through thick and thin. Aadam's story was upsettingly realistic but, as ever, Dassu shows readers there is always something we can do.' - Caroline Fielding
'Without missing a shot, Kicked Out is a fast-paced novel that doesn't shy away from pulling any punches. Seamlessly weaving in strong themes and characters you'll continue to cheer for, A. M. Dassu has done it again.' - Emma Perry
'A. M. Dassu has done it again. She's managed to encapsulate the depth of human feeling and emotion whilst tackling important themes on race, identity and the very topical, immigration. As with her other books, Kicked Out is a voice of contemporary teens told unflinchingly and honestly. An absolute must read!' - Sajeda Amir
Praise for Boy, Everywhere:
'Carefully researched, wholly convincing, it's a gripping, uncompromising debut, super-charged with the power of empathy.' - Imogen Russell Williams, The Guardian
'... a story that everyone should read, written with empathy, tenderness and hope.' - Patrice Lawrence
'Boy Everywhere was a stunning debut... A. M. Dassu [is] a major, much-needed voice in UK children's fiction.' - Alex Wheatle, Author of Cane Warriors and The Crongton Knights
Author
About A. M. Dassu
A. M. DASSU is the internationally acclaimed author of Boy, Everywhere and Fight Back, which have collectively been listed for forty-six awards, including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Carnegie Medal, The Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction and the inaugural Week Junior Award.
She is a director at Inclusive Minds, which is an organisation for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children's literature; a patron of The Other Side of Hope, a literary magazine edited by immigrants and refugees, which serves to celebrate the refugee and immigrant communities worldwide, and one of The National Literacy Trust's Connecting Stories campaign authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people.
A. M. Dassu grew up in the Midlands dreaming of becoming a writer but studied economics instead and worked in marketing and project management before realising her dream. She writes books that challenge stereotypes, humanise the 'other' and are full of empathy, hope and heart. Her previous book, Boot It! was a bestselling £1 World Book Day 2023 novel. She has donated a part of her advances to Baca, a UK charity that supports young people who arrive in the UK alone seeking asylum, and to Syrians in Idlib, who lost everything once again due to the devastating earthquake in 2023.
Photo copyright Mark Waugh
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