Meet Josef, a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany whose father had been sent to a concentration camp and released under the circumstances that he left immediately. Josef and his family boarded the MS St. Louis, a ship, to escape to Cuba. However, when they docked, the Cuba government denied them entrance, even with their visas. They kept saying “Manana, manana” or “Tomorrow, tomorrow” whereas the “tomorrow” never came. Meanwhile, Josef’s father, broken and scared after horrifying witnesses of death in the concentration camp, jumped off the ship in an attempt to kill himself. Luckily, a Cuban policeman had saved his father, but nonetheless, Josef was forced to become the man of the house with his father gone in spirit.

Meet Isabel, a Cuban girl whose country fell into poverty and hoped to find peace in America. Her family, along with her neighbors, escaped from Cuba after the Cuban president allowed anyone who wanted to leave to leave. With their little raft, they set off into the ocean. Yet that was only the beginning of Isabel’s song, as tanks will attempt to drown her, sharks will attack her, and America will shut its doors on her.

Meet Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in the modern days who began a long journey to Germany after an airstrike hit his home. Mahmoud had mastered the art of invisibility to stay safe, to not get bullied. Yet after his tedious trudge, his near-drowning experience, and his prison stay, Mahmoud realized that maybe there are costs to being invisible. The good people cannot help him and the bad people seemed to come to his family no matter how hard he tried to avoid them.

I give Refugees a 9.9/10. First, the timeline was confusing. When it was first revealed that Mahmoud’s family wanted to go to Germany, I thought they were crazy. Who In the right mind wanted to go towards the Nazis? It took a while to find out that they were refugees from different timelines. Second, the format was sub-optimal. When the book switches from character to character, it was hard to keep track. I’d already forgotten where I was at with Isabel’s story when I reached her chapter again. I would prefer it to have three big, undivided chunks. Third, the characters are not connected enough. I know there are a few interesting moments when the timelines intersect, but that is not enough. If the story connected more, like if they all suffered from the same tragedy, perhaps it would touch my heart more.

Enough of the complaints though, the reason I still gave it such a high rating was because it did touch my heart. I was upset after I read this book. Really upset. Being all honest here, I had never paid much attention to the refugee situation. I had felt bad about how unlucky they were, but I had quickly dismissed it. I was numbed by so much of the horrible things in the world that I no longer cared. I live in a bubble where the tragedies simply bounce away. This book has made me realize just how real war is and how a careless decision from our government can cost thousands of lives. It has made me want to help, and that is more than any other book I’ve read.

Check out Refugee at the Newport Beach Public Library.