Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Sendai is a timely and eye-opening story about a 14-year-old girl who is forced to flee her home during the Syrian Civil War.
When bombs start falling on her neighborhood in October 2013, Nadia’s family decides to leave. But in the chaos, she and her cat Mishmish get separated from the others. With the help of a mysterious old man and two young boys, she’ll have to make her way to the Turkish border.
Escape from Aleppo is a suspenseful and evocative story about her journey through the war-torn city. In addition, through flashbacks, the reader sees glimpses of her ordinary life (painting her fingernails, watching Arab Idol, eating her grandmother’s cookies) before the war.
Although it’s fictional, this book weaves in a lot of factual information. I like middle grade books about recent history because they help kids understand important events that are rarely discussed in school.
I recommend this book for middle schoolers who have read about the Syrian refugee crisis in the news or seen the heartbreaking before-and-after pictures of the ancient city of Aleppo and want to know more about what kids are going through in that part of the world.
Imaginary Friends 
Thank you so much for posting about this very timely subject, Beth. I love historical fiction; and with this Syrian crisis being in global news so much during the past months, this novel is very topical. I appreciate your sharing this title with us for MMGM.
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I agree with your comments. N. H. Sendai’s novel is one of my favorite reads this past year. It is so timely and an important read for teens.
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I’ve had this on my to read list for much too long. I’m going o try and take care of that omission during the next month. Thanks for the reminder of this great sounding story.
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I hadn’t heard about this book, and love that it both discusses the timely subject of the Syrian crisis as well as showing readers what her life was like before! Thanks for the recommendation, and happy in MMGM!
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This book has been getting a lot of buzz. I hope to get to it soon. Thanks for your thoughts on it.
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