Book Review

American Journal of Qualitative Research

December 2019, Vol.3 No. 2, pp. 97-99

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/6432

ISSN: 2576-2141

Book Review

Refugee, by Alan Gratz, New York City, Scholastic Press, 2017, 338 pp., $16.99 (hardback), ISBN

978-0-545-88083-1

Reviewed By: Terri Ratini

, Florida Gulf Coast University, USA

The novel, Refugee, reminds the reader that humans have unique and contradictory

psychology. We are predisposed to seek both power and virtue (Wrangham, 2019). This

dichotomy is often synonymous with inequality. Efforts to eliminate the inequalities within the

educational arena have been established and have roots in both multiculturalism and

interculturalism (Coulby, 2006; Maniatis, 2012). While these fields serve as foundational pillars

for making high-quality education accessible for all children, many aspects of today’s society

are linked in a global fashion dictating that we shift our focus to globalism (Dryden-Peterson,

2016).

The global economy, immigration, global climate, refugees, global peace, and

sustainability are all factors suggesting an unavoidable reevaluation of education and its role in

global connectedness. They dictate incorporating our current school curriculum with a global

education component that melds virtue and economics, values and politics, fairness and

sustainability. However, schools are not preparing students to see this shifting reality.

This, this evolving global paradigm is not lost on Alan Gratz, whose historical fiction

novel Refugee (2017) is middle school literature at its best. Gratz’s novel is a trio of stories

written from the viewpoints of three early adolescent refugees. It connects the refugee

experience of the past with the experience of present-day refugees. The characters are linked

through their humanity, their common experiences as refugees as well as a cleverly crafted

concluding chapter which intertwines the narratives across time and place. The novel, which is

both engaging and horrifying, helps children realize that despite differences we all want the

same things, safety, dignity, and respect (Johnson, 2018).

To begin this review of Gratz’s novel, I briefly summarize the poignant narrative. Next,

I consider some limitations of Gratz’s otherwise thoughtful book. I conclude by highlighting

how this novel can serve as a vehicle to teach empathy, to empower, and most of all to see

humanity.

The people chose not to see them. On the train, Josef and his family sat

in a compartment labeled J, for Jew, so no “real” Germans would sit

there by accident (p. 9).

Josef is a thirteen-year old boy about to celebrate his transition to manhood; his story

begins “The Night of the Broken Glass” - Germany, 1938. Josef’s father, a Jewish attorney, is

beaten and taken to Dachau concentration camp. Six months later, he is released, a frenzied,

broken man. Desperate to escape the Nazis, to regain dignity, the family sails to Cuba on the

MS St. Louis. Yet, after crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they are told by the Cuban government

Corresponding author; tratini@canterburyfortmyers.org

that asylum for Jewish refugees is no longer allowed. When Josef’s father, learns that they

must return to Europe, he is overcome with hysteria and leaps overboard. A Cuban policeman,

assigned to guard the border, rescues him, but Josef, his mother, and sister are not allowed to

go ashore. Helpless to control their own destiny, they are returned to Europe where France

grudgingly accepts them. There Josef’s mother becomes a laundress, his sister Ruthie attends

kindergarten, and Josef, who does not speak French, is placed in first grade. As the family tries

to make a new life, the Nazis invade France. The family escapes Paris, but are soon taken into

custody by German soldiers who allow Josef’s mother to trade her earrings for the freedom of

one of her children. Josef, the man of the family, speaks up and tells the soldiers to spare Ruthie.

The reader no longer sees Josef.

I see it now, Chabela. All of it. The past, the present, the future. All

my life, I kept waiting for things to get better. For the bright promise

of manana. But a funny thing happened while I was waiting for the

world to change, Chabela: It did not. Because I didn’t change it (p.277).

Isabel’s story takes place in 1994 after Cuban President Fidel Castro announced that

Cubans wishing to leave the island could do so. Faced with hunger and oppression, Isabel’s

family decides the water is safer than the land. Despite indescribable perils, they determine to

crowd into a raft crafted from rusty street signs and oil barrels and sail ninety miles across the

Straits of Florida. Diverted from course by a violent storm, the family’s journey is accentuated

with death, premature birth of a child, and heartfelt sacrifice. As the family’s little boat

approaches the coastline, the U.S. Coast Guard bears down on them, intent on stopping the

refugees’ entry to the United States. Isabel’s grandfather, a retired Cuban policeman, sees how

he can make a change, make things better for his family. He jumps off the metal raft distracting

the Coast Guard, abandoning his opportunity for freedom so that his family may see a better

life.

They only see us when we do something they do not want us to do,

Mahmoud realized...When they stayed where they were supposed to be

- in the ruins of Aleppo or behind the fences of a refugee camp - people

could forget about them (p. 214).

Mahmoud’s story takes place in 2015 during the Syrian civil war. When Russian

missiles shatter the outside wall of Mahmoud’s apartment building, his family is forced to flee

the city of Aleppo, to run for the border. As the family makes their way to Germany, the miles

they must travel mean more than their journey; the passage is laced with soldiers, rebels,

robbers, and detention centers. It is impregnated with hunger, exhaustion, insults, abuse, and

loss. Fifteen days into their journey, the family attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea in a

dinghy. When the dinghy smashes into rocks, the family is thrown into the dark water. Unable

to keep both himself and his baby sister afloat, Mahmoud convinces a passenger on another

dingy to take his sister. Neither the family nor the reader sees baby Hana again. When the family

finally reaches Germany, they are given refuge with an elderly German couple, Saul and Ruthie

Rosenburg.

While approved for readers as young as 9, the violence and emotion conveyed in

Refugee is more appropriate for older readers. Additionally, older students will have more

knowledge of the historical events depicted. However, at times, it is apparent that Gratz drafted

the novel with a readability level appropriate for younger children. While this may have

enhanced the range of ages to which this novel could be marketed, it does, at times, have the

effect of being too easy of a read for the students whom the content best serves. This comment

is not meant to distract us from the message of Gratz’s novel: recognizing differences yet

honoring the commonalities of humanity.

Gratz’s writing is believable and engaging; it forces readers to empathize with the

characters to see the characters’ humanity. Teaching empathy is a central component of global

education, particularly when viewed from a cosmopolitan perspective (Ortloff,2011). Students

who develop empathy become less afraid of differences, more open to tolerance, and better able

to interact with others (McKee & Schor, 1994). They more easily appreciate the perspectives

of others and are more likely to understand violations of justice and fairness (Hollingsworth,

Didelot & Smith, 2003).

This type of empathic concern and perspective-taking can be fostered through a variety

of activities. After reading The Refugee, students can make text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-

world connections. For example, they can explore their identities by writing their own

background stories and comparing their stories with those of their classmates or the characters

in the book. Refugee art, photography, and poetry can be analyzed; and can serve as a thoughtful

segway for deliberations and debates regarding how other countries should respond to refugee

crises. Students can also predict what will happen to the families after Gratz’s narrative ends.

How will the families make a life for themselves in their new countries? These are gripping and

realistic concerns in today’s ever-increasingly connected world (Dryden-Peterson, 2016), and

the activities not only allow, but force students to see others. Helping students see others is one

way we, as educators, can help students learn to be better citizens of the world.

References

Coulby, D. (2006). Intercultural education: theory and practice. Intercultural education, 17(3),

245-257.

Dryden-Peterson, S. (2016). Refugee education: The crossroads of globalization.

EducationalResearcher, 45(9), 473-482.

Gratz, A. (2017). Refugee. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Hollingsworth, L. A., Didelot, M. J., & Smith, J. O. (2003). REACH beyond tolerance:

Aframework for teaching children empathy and responsibility. The Journal of

Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 42(2), 139-151.

Johnson, A. G. (2018). Privilege, power, and difference. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Maniatis, P. (2012). Critical intercultural education: Necessities and prerequisites for its

development in Greece. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 10(1), 156-167.

McKee, A., & Schor, S. (1994). Confronting prejudice and stereotypes: A teaching model.

Journal of Management Education, 18(4), 447-467.

Ortloff, D. H. (2011). Moving the borders: multiculturalism and global citizenship in the

German social studies classroom. Educational Research, 53(2), 137-149.

Wrangham, Richard. (2019). The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue

and Violence in Human Evolution. New York, NY: Pantheon.

Manuscript received December 15, 2019

Final revision received December 17, 2019

Accepted December 21, 2019