Refugee is a historical fiction novel that tells the stories of three young people and their families. Josef Landau is fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939. Isabel Fernandrz is fleeing from the Castro regime in Cuba in 1994. Mamoud Bishara is fleeing from the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria in 2015.

All three young people go on difficult journeys to find refuge in a new country, but they never lose hope for a better life. The stories are told in different time periods and different countries, but readers will be surprised to see how all of the stories tie together at the conclusion of the novel.

Big Ideas: 

• Refugees are forced to flee their homelands due to economic and political crises, and each journey presents unique decisions and challenges along the way. Refugees are often faced with choosing visibility or invisibility in order to keep themselves safe.

• The way a person or community responds to a refugee crisis can dramatically change outcomes. Small acts of kindness and empathy give the refugees renewed hope while moments of prejudice can make refugees feel dehumanized.

• Growing up involves facing both external and internal conflict; when facing challenges, our perspectives are shaped by our decisions, actions, and consequences.

• As we get older, our role in the family can change as people change and grow. 

• Motifs used in Refugee draw parallels and connections between different refugee experiences.