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Start giftingThe Boy At the Back of the Class
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Learn moreTold 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. . .
(P) 2018 Hachette Children's Group
Onjali Q Raúf's first book, The Boy at the Back of the Class, was Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2019, the Blue Peter Book Prize 2019 and other accolades.
Raúf's second book, The Star Outside My Window, went on to win the Diversity Book Award for Children's Fiction (UK) 2020.
Further titles include The Night Bus Hero, The Great Food Bank Heist, The Lion Above the Door, Where Magic Grows and Hope on the Horizon.
In 2022, Raúf was recognised for her services to Literature and Women's Rights in the New Year Honours.
Reviews
Raul's book is at once tearjerking and chuckle-inducing and will go a long way to restore faith in human nature. Onjali Raúf's debut, The Boy at the Back of the Class (Orion), illustrated by Pippa Curnick, offers a child's eye view and an ambitious, adventure-filled plot. When a new boy is introduced at school, no one is exactly sure where he has come from; what is a "refugee kid", anyway, and how can Ahmet be helped to feel that he belongs? Though the narrator's voice is overly young at times, this is a lovely, warm-hearted first novel, a celebration of courage and friendship leavened with mischief. Expand reviewsNew Book Joy is proud to partner with Libro.fm to give you a great audiobook experience.