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Title details for Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan - Available

Safiyyah's War

by Hiba Noor Khan
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Winner of the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize
Winner of the Indie Book Awards for Children's Fiction
Winner of the Week Junior Book Award for Older Fiction
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing
'Safiyyah's War has the soul of a classic & the urgency of a story for our times. A tale of tolerance, unthinkable bravery, and heart-in-mouth true events. I loved this book' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
'All at once, Safiyyah's War broke my heart and filled me with immense hope. With its unforgettable characters and exquisite storytelling, this really is an extraordinary book' - A F Steadman
'Safiyyah is a protagonist I was rooting for all throughout; a lovely, kind-hearted girl whose story filled me in turns with despair and joy. This book shines through with kindness and empathy at its very heart' - Nizrana Farook
'Luminous prose . . . a riveting read for children and adults alike' - New York Times
War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah's life changes for ever.
Her best friend's family have fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city.
It's not long before hundreds of persecuted Jews seek sanctuary at the mosque. Can Safiyyah find the courage to enter the treacherous catacombs under Paris and lead the Jews to safety?

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 6, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781787612549

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781787612549
      • File size: 1013 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 29, 2024
      Khan (The Extraordinary Life of Malala Yousafzai) offers a WWII story about a Muslim community in Paris, in which tween Safiyyah and her family reside in an apartment in the city’s Grand Mosque, where her father is a director. Safiyyah’s childhood in the serene mosque has been idyllic, enhanced by magical times poring over old maps in the library. The book opens with the May 1940 German invasion of France, and traces the changes in Parisian life—Safiyyah’s in particular—that ensue, including her best friend’s family fleeing the city and her 16-year-old cousin joining the military. When Safiyyah is inexplicably barred from the weekly get-togethers her honorary uncles—other beloved mosque directors—attend in her father’s office, she grows suspicious about her father’s activities. Mounting devastation enacted by the Germans creates drama and tension as sympathetic, occasionally rebellious Safiyyah grows more courageous amid increasingly dangerous circumstances. Sensitively told via lyrical language and lush sensory details that evoke the deep pleasures of warm Muslim family traditions, Khan’s novel unveils the important role Muslims and the Grand Mosque played in saving Jews during WWII. A historical note concludes. Ages 8–12.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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