home of the brave by katherine applegate

Yes, the book is incredibly moving and many, many people are going to love it, but it seems to be more about what we Americans want the refugee experience to be like, rather than what it actually is. as a refugee brand new to America, as someone who saw his parents murdered? Can't we all relate to that? Hey, we're all in this together! Let's all hold hands now and sing kumbaya.Īdmittedly, that was pretty harsh, but I wanted to get my point across. Because, hey, it's all Africa! Who cares which country or which tribe Kek is from? It's all Africa! It's all exotic and different! And can't we all relate to feelings of loss, the struggle to belong, and hopes for the future.

are universal, I find it somewhat offensive she refers to Kek's homeland simply as Africa for much of the book. While it's a nice sentiment to believe feelings of loss, fear, the struggle to belong, etc. The loss and fear, the struggle to belong, the hopes for the future: that’s all part of the process, no matter where you’re from.' (. I found an interview with Applegate addressing this where she responds with, 'Although I did very specific research, it seemed to me that many aspects of the refugee experience are universal. While I found the book compelling, my big complaint about it is that the reader doesn't learn Kek is from Sudan until maybe about halfway through the book.

For starters, I think I should start a tag called something like, 'Books about refugees and/or people of color from war torn countries written by white women' because for some reason lately I have been coming across more and more books that would fall under this genre (The Breadwinner author, I'm looking at you).

Home of the brave by katherine applegate