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249 pp.
| Feiwel |
September, 2007 |
TradeISBN 978-0-312-36765-7$16.95
(4)
4-6
Readers can't help but be moved by Applegate's ten-year-old narrator, Sudanese refugee Kek. Living in Minneapolis, Kek mourns for his lost village life. Applegate constructs an artful free-verse narrative, though Kek's voice often sounds too old and too poetic. More authentic elements include a warm-hearted depiction of Kek's diverse ESL class and his confusion about day-to-day American life.