Novel+reviews

These are some reviews by Year 8 students comparing the way the issue has been treated in Walk in My Shoes ' by Alwyn Evans and by a novel selected from a mixed tub. ** Book Review ** ** Tess Bresnahan 8F **
 * // The Longest War - Walk In My Shoes //**
 * The Longest War, written by Nancy Antle, and Walk in my Shoes, written by Alwyn Evans were two books focusing on the topic of refugees and war. Both stories were very powerful and although Walk in my Shoes was a lot longer, I still thought that The Longest War had a very good storyline and was an easier read because of the fewer pages. **
 * Both stories were written from a teenage girl’s point of view. In Walk in my Shoes, Gulnessa and her family are escaping from war torn Afghanistan. Whereas in The Longest War, Lisa Grey has never lived in the war, but her mother was a nurse and her father was a soldier. Although the two books are about the war, they are very different because one is told by a refugee in the time of war; whereas the other is about a family living after the war has happened. **
 * In The Longest War, Lisa has to help her mum who suffers from nightmares and flashbacks. Lisa’s dad died in the war, and her aunty who lives a few floors above them is the only other adult who has been there to help her mum live through the trauma. Lisa just wants to live the life of a normal teenage girl, but her familys past experiences of been involved in the war, especially the loss of her father, always seems to make her feel like she isn’t normal. **
 * In the story Walk in my Shoes, Gulnessa and her family are escaping from Afghanistan and trying to seek safety in Australia. Gulnessa has two brothers and a sister and they all flee Aghanistan with their mother. Their father was taken away by the ‘terror’ and after many years they accept that he has died. Walk in my Shoes is the journey of Gulnessa’s family to Australia, which represents what refugees have to go through and how unfairly they are treated. **
 * Gulnessa and Lisa are both growing up and are going through the same things like first love. They also both grew up with only one parent, their mothers, and had to live without the support of their fathers. They had to learn to be strong for their families and help comfort each other through tough times. Lisa’s experiences and issues are a lot more closely related to those of an average teenage girl. She has never had to see things that Gulnessa witnessed in war torn Afghanistan and as a refugee in the detention centres. Gulnessa’s suffers great losses and faces many more confronting and terrifying things. However the two girls both suffer pain, confusion and fear and have to deal with difficult circumstances in the books. Although their lives are very different, they are very alike in some ways too. **
 * I have not had the experience of reading many books about refugees and this gave me a good opportunity to look at two different texts and learn more about the topic. I thought both books were good for my age group, because I am old enough to have a better understanding about refugees and what has happened and is still happening to them. Some younger readers may not be mature enough to understand all the issues talked about. Walk in my Shoes would be more suitable for adult readers compared with The Longest War. This is because the story was told by a refugee, which meant there were more adult themes in the book which would be appreciated by an older audience. I enjoyed both books a lot and they made me appreciate what I have and how lucky I am to live in such a safe country with a loving family. I would recommend the books for ages 12+. I would give Walk in my Shoes four and a half stars and The Longest War four stars. **

**__ Walk In My Shoes __** Walk in my shoes is about a family from Afghanistan in the times of ‘The Terror’ and their friends have been killed by it. They decide to flee from all this commotion and go to Australia. When they actually get to Australia they are put into a concentration camp/detention centre. This story is written by Alwyn Evans to be seen in first-person by a fictitious refugee called Gulnessa. She had done a lot of research before writing this book, like interviewing real refugees and getting help from refugee foundations. It has a very detailed storyline of a refugee coming from another country to think that he/she will be able to start a new life in Australia, but that’s not happens. This story is very informative about the problems that refugees have when they come to Australia, thinking that everything will be fine, when it won’t be. It is well written for the middle to older readers but for the younger readers it’s probably to in depth. It goes really deep into the refugee lifestyle and how they live in the concentration camps/detention centres. It explains the torture that the refugees go through when they come to Australia and how they think it is no different to the country they came from. Another good thing is that it also tells you what happens to them after they went through the detention centre/concentration camp thing. It says that they settled down and got jobs and they went to school. So it is a pretty good book if you like book with more meaning to them. **__ No Gun for Asmir __** No Gun for Asmir is about Asmir’s family from Sarajevo. There is war which comes to his home country, so he and his family are forced to immigrate to the neighbouring countries to live with his relatives. He has to leave without his father because all the men have to fight in this war. The rest of the story is about how he and his family survive as refugees. This book is a much easier read than Walk in My Shoes. It isn’t as in depth as Walk in My Shoes, more just skims the top of what a refugee has to do to get away from all the bad things that happen. It shows the consequences of becoming a refugee like leaving family members behind and having to learn new languages. It is a fictional book based on a true story with a made up ending (It said it at the start of the book) with some good and detailed pictures now and then to show what it would have looked like. This book shows how it is always good to have friends and family in other countries so if you really have to go, someone will be there for you. This book is good if you like a quick read before you go to bed or just want something with some meaning but not an unbelievable amount of it. **__ My Opinion __** If you want a book that is an easy read about the refugee topic then No Gun for Asmir is the book for you but if you want something a little more in depth then Walk in My Shoes is more your sort of book. // My Ratings // Walk in My Shoes: ««« No Gun for Asmir: «««« By Glenn O. 8G
 * __ By Alwyn Evans __**
 * __ Written By Christobel Mattingley __**
 * __ Illustrated By Elizabeth Honey __**

The Clay Marble and Walk in My Shoes, written by Minfong Ho and Alwyn Evans areboth novels that express the troubles and journeys of refugee families. These Books are both written in first person view and are based on true stories.
 * Refugee Book Comparing** **Michael Audsley**

Walk in My shoes is about a family who leave their country after their father is kinapped. They find themselves in Australia and are locked in a detention centre for several years. After they are granted a temporary visa, the family learns to live their lives in safety and forget the fear they've carried with them all they're lives. The Clay Marble tells the story of how two broken families combine. These families meet at a place called the border where many people are relocating to in hope of free food. Dter a bomb attack two girls are separated from the temporary group. The story tells the tale of how a young girl find her family and returns to a life in her old village.

The Clay Marble is set in Cambodia during the time of a war bordering Thailand. This story is narrated by a young teenaged girl. I think that this story is less impacting because the family's problems that the book retells are only based over a short period of time. The family planned out where they would journey, which doesn't have the same effect of a family forced to leave. I think that The Clay Marble is based for a young age group around 10-12 year old children. Even though one part in this book tells how a terrorsit group cut the skin from a man's face, the book overall is a lot easier on the subject of refugees. It's a lot shorter too, and doesn't tend to drag on as much as Walk in My Shoes. If the reader was young they wouldn't get bored as easily.

Walk in My Shoes has more to do with the themes we've been look at. I believe the detention centre is the main reason why this book is based on our topic. The uncertainty of where the family will end up shows how desperate they are to leave. Like The Clay Marble, this book is also told by a young girl.

To conclude, I would recommend these books to anyone who likes a good true story. Both stories are a great read for anyone who likes refugee stories.

Walking in My Shoes and ** Parvana ** -Comparison ‘Walk in My Shoes’ and ‘Parvana’ both show different aspects of a refugee’s life. ‘Walk in My Shoes’ does give a wider view of everything a refugee has to go through. Though it is true that the book is mainly based on what happens after escaping war-torn countries, it gives many accounts of what happened while at home in Afghanistan. Parvana shows more of what happens in Afghanistan, giving it a very middle-eastern feel. Also, Parvana being only eleven years old shows a younger point of view. As Gulnessa in Walk in My Shoes is twelve (turns thirteen), but deals with more adulthood issues such as her relationship with Abdul. The main characters are quite alike in both books; a younger girl, bordering her teens, struggling to deal with a life that has evolved around war and fear since they were born. Interestingly enough, in both books, the father is kidnapped. This may give one (who has read both books) the sense that this must happen a lot (it is true that many kidnappings occur in Afghanistan). In Parvana, the Taliban are given the feel of being the authority, the police nearly. //“Her father is questioned...”// Only the police question people. This almost needs to be the case in Parvana because the Taliban are everywhere and have established themselves in her area. In Walk in My Shoes the Taliban are given the sense of reckless cowards who go around shooting people, demanding things, as they have not established their complete authority in Gulnessa’s village (which is why Gulnessa and her family have the chance to escape). Walk in My Shoes shows that there is more to a refugee’s life than running from a war zone. When you reach safety, there is still a long road after that; the immigration department treating you like criminals, locking you up in prisons, a lot of fluffing around to try to not let you get your visa. You could feel very weird being in a world of violence, where there is no fluffing around at all, you dilly dally and you’re shot, and coming to a world where they just procrastinate, procrastinate and procrastinate some more. You really do see the good things about law and order, as well as seeing the bad part of it. Walk in My Shoes is definitely for an older audience, but Parvana can really show you what the younger of the victims of war can go through. In Walking in My Shoes, Gulnessa tries to handle complications that mature people generally go through. This is another thing that can take away younger refugees’ childhood. Gulnessa handles things such as looking after her family due to her mother’s depression, trying to get visas and trying to prove her family’s refugee status, and sticking up for Abdul, who she has fallen in love with. In Parvana, Parvana does not deal with such issues, but shows it all from a younger point of view, which is very important. In all, Walking in My Shoes shows us that the struggle is far from over when refugees reach a safe place, but Parvana shows us what a young girl has to go through when in a war-torn country.

Shauzia  by Debora Ellis and Then  by Morris Gleitzmen Refugee’s are not a topic that comes up in a normal conversation. It is never really talked about so people don’t seem to realise what is actually happening around the world. These books reminded me of how lucky I am to live in country and have a home and plenty of food and drink. Also how hard it must be for refugees to live. Shauzia Shauzia is 14 year old girl who lives in the widow’s compound at a refugee camp in Badakshan. She is looked after and watched over by a person in the compound called Mrs. Weera. Everyday Shauzia does little jobs for Mrs. Weera or just follows the shade around the compound to sit in. Luckily Shauzia has a dog, Jasper, which is about the only thing that keeps her sane. But keeping sane is the last thing on Shauzia’s mind; her dream is to travel to the sea and go to Paris then too welcomed in with open arm. Also in that plan one she plans to meet her best friend Parvana (from the book //Parvana// and //Parvana’s journey//) at the top of the Eiffel tower and have a coffee. But her dream is way out of reach while she is still in the compound. So Shauzia decides to make her dream happen. Shauzia then travels to the city to find work. She goes through some hard times but she will always get back on her feet.  Then Felix and Zelda have just escaped, alive, from a train going to a death camp. Unfortunately their friend was not so lucky and got a lot of bullets in the back. They have just been captured after they have been living under ground in the city for some time now. But right now it a rush to reach the forest above before the next Nazi train comes by. Eventually they get to the forest, this is where the real story begins. Felix and Zelda have no idea where they are, but first they they have to find some food. Poor little Zelda is just about starving she is only 6 and hasn’t had food since this morning if that. But soon enough they lose their apatite when they see a pile of dead children in a hole. This makes Zelda cry and makes Felix realise how much danger they are really in. This story shows how hard it was to live in Germany around the time when the Nazi’s were everywhere. Especially if you are Jewish like Felix and Zelda who claims to be Jewish to stay with Felix. Their bond is what keeps them alive. The two books that i read on refugees called ‘Shauzia’ and ‘Then’. They were both really interesting and enjoyable. I don’t know if I would read them a second time and still enjoy them the same. They are quite different but have the same base of trying to find a new home. Both of these books are a good read. I would rate ‘Then’ 3 out of 5 and Shauzia I would rate 3½ out of 5. These books are similar because they are both not based much in concentration camps unlike ‘walk in my shoes’ which is based more in the camps than in towns and cities where food is scarce and is sometimes worse than being in camps. where the real struggle is. In ‘Shauzia’ she finds it is very hard to get a job let alone money. Being a girl in some countries makes it harder to get job so that’s why in Shauzia she dresses as a boy. In ‘Then’ even in local towns it is still hard to get food and survive with the Nazi’s hanging around. I would read ‘Shauzia’ again if I had to but ‘Then’ I wouldn’t consider.

Shauzia by Deborah Ellis ** In a hope to find a better world and full-fill her dreams Shauzia finds herself in Badakhshan, a city in Afghanistan. Under the strict guidance of Mrs Weera in the widow’s compound (for women and children) entertaining the little children and doing little jobs for Mrs Weera. She ran away from her family, also living in Afghanistan, who treated her like she was invisible. Getting no money for doing Mrs Weera’s jobs isn’t ideal for Shauzia, so she decides to leave the compound, with her dog Jasper, and find a way to make money. Shauzia disguises herself as a boy by shaving off all her hair and wearing baggy clothes to be able to work for money, which women aren’t allowed to do. After doing little jobs for people and begging on the street she saves up some money and figures that it isn’t so hard on her own. But experiencing more lows than highs, dangers included, she struggles more and more each day to earn money. Full-filling her dream was harder than she thought it would be. Gulnessa goes through every struggle imaginable when her family become Refugees. Living in Afghanistan with ‘The Terror’ taking over their country her father was kidnapped and most likely killed. To stay safe they then have to sell and leave all of their belongings behind in order to have enough money to get on a plane out of Afghanistan. Travelling with a family friend, Abdul, he helps her along the way with her emotions and makes her feel stronger. She keeps repeating things that she has seen or heard when she was in Afghanistan. Finding a better world was always going to be hard but she never imagined that they would have to be locked away for months after months with no explanation. Seeing her mother go through depression makes her stronger but she has the problem of looking after her 2 younger siblings as well. **__My opinion__** I preferred walk in my shoes over Shauzia because it was more detailed into how they felt in what they did. Both books had me wanting to keep reading to know more on the topic, which was well explained. Each book was different to the other in things like Shauzia had more freedom than the Gulnessa.Shauzia was in a compound designed to keep her safe, not a detention centre. She could walk out anytime she wanted to and return whenever she wanted to. She had no family to make her feel safe and loved.Walk in my shoes was more of when they were in the detention centre and the struggles they faced when they got out. They were not able to walk out whenever they wanted to. They were told when they could leave and where they were to go, they weren’t likely to return either. I’d be more likely to read Walk in my shoes again but not Shauzia.
 * Walk in my shoes and Shauzia Review
 * Walk in my shoes byAlwyn Evans**
 * By Alex M 8F**

__Written by Alwyn Evans__
This is a novel about a young Afghani girl named Gulnessa. Her father is abducted and her family is forced to flee from a war torn Afghanistan to a new country and a new life. They arrive in Australia exhausted and so happy to be out of Afghanistan until they are confined to a detention centre for asylum seekers. They think it will just be temporary, but days turn to weeks, the weeks turn into months, until they have lost track of time. The author, Alwyn Evans really studied this subject before she wrote the book, which included interviewing real refugees. It is a very detailed story and it takes you really deep into the life of a refugee child and her family living through being a refugee and adapting to a new country. But sometimes it can just drag on and on. The story being so in depth can be good at the interesting bits, but it drags on the boring bits. This story opens your eyes up to what is really going on with refugees, and it should be stopped. It is not fair to treat another human being like this. This book is more aimed at the middle to older range of kids because some bits can get a little heavy. This book can really change your mind set about refugees and the struggles they go through just be safe. Most people have prejudices against refugees, thinking they are coming here to steal our jobs, steal our woman or just steal things. But they are not different from us, they are just people trying to have a safe place to live. Overall this book was an interesting read which really opened my eyes to what these people have to live through.

__No Gun for Asmir Christobel Mattingley__
No Gun for Asmir is about a 7 year old boy named Asmir and his family. On a seemingly normal day, a war comes into his town and he and his family are forced to flee their home in a usually peaceful Sarajevo, to the neighbouring countries and stay with family and friends. And just as they are about to leave on a bus, his father is taken away from them. This book is a very easy read because it is not too long, and not very in depth. It is based on a true story, but it has a made up ending. It is straight to the point all the way through the book and it doesn’t go into much detail about things. But it shows that being a refugee isn’t all about just rocking up in a different country. You have to learn a new language and put up with peoples prejudice and racism. This book shows that a war can come at any time and take loved ones from you. This book is good if you’re looking for a quick yet interesting story on what its like to be a refugee, to have to leave your country in hope that you will be let through the next border, in hope that you will live to see tomorrow.

__My Opinion__
If you are looking for a book that has a really deep and interesting story line, then go for Walk in My Shoes. Sometimes it drags on just a little bit too long but it’s mostly a good read. If you’re looking for more of a quick read just to find a little bit about what it’s like to be a refugee, then I suggest No Gun for Asmir. I didn’t find it very interesting and it was quite dull, but it shows what its like to be a refugee in a new country. Walk in My Shoes : 4 stars No Gun for Asmir : 2 stars By Josh Fraser  A Review of     WALK IN MY SHOES //  <span style="font-family: Centaur,serif;">By Alwyn Evans   // <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">& <span style="font-family: Lucida Handwriting,cursive;"> //Once// <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">By Morris Gleitzman // <span style="font-family: Centaur,serif;">Walk in my shoes is the story of a young refugee named Gulnessa, and her family who are from war-torn Afghanistan. After fleeing their country in the time of “the Terror” they seek asylum in Australia and are instead of the warm, welcoming place they expected, they were instead held for many months in a detention centre. The story of Gulnessa and her family is told well in the first person, and is based on a very true story. Alwyn Evans based it on a series of interveiws with refugees, and based it around the events that they had been through. // // <span style="font-family: Centaur,serif;"> In comparison, //Once// is the story of two lost children, trying to find their parents in the terror that is the time of the Holocaust in Poland. They are Felix & Zelda, constantly fleeing the Nazis and always hiding. A fictional story based in an all too true part of Europe's history, //Once// is a compelling story, and while staying apart from other refugee stories, it shares the same feeling of fear and loss that the characters in other refugee books must endure, so as to be able to keep moving on and survive. // // <span style="font-family: Centaur,serif;"> The main difference between these books is the age group they are aimed at. While //Once// is aimed at children, //Walk In My Shoes// is more for older readers. But as you read them you realise that they both have that feeling of ice-cold fear whenever the characters get in trouble. It's the feeling that one of them won't make it out alive, and that's what keeps you reading, it's what makes these stories real, because you feel as if you were there with them and that's what makes a good book. // // <span style="font-family: Centaur,serif;">By Mitchell Conway   //