"Because this book will touch people and come to the heart, if only a hundred people read it and are moved, it will be more important than any official peace plan".
This is what one of the true-life characters said upon reviewing this book before it was published. Having read this book for the first time when I was only 12 years old (just a year older than the main character of the book), and having the opportunity to read it again after searching EVERYWHERE for a copy of it, I agree whole-heartedly with this statement. The memories that come flooding back to me when I first read this book just over a decade ago, and having read it again now after going through different stages of my life, I can honestly say that the message of the book still touches me, and is a huge influence on my decisions in treating other people from different nationalities with decency and respect.
7 year old Asmir has had to flee his beloved home in Sarajevo with his mother, grandmother, and younger brother. His father has been taken by soldiers, and Asmir does not know whether he will ever see his father again. We follow the journeys of Asmir and his family through Belgrade, Serbia, into Vienna, Austria, where they attempt to make a new life for themselves as refugees.
This book is mainly written for younger children, but even adults can read this and gain much from this book.
There are several reasons why this book has had such an enormous impact in my life:
1) It is based on a true story. The characters in it are real. This is their story. Although the author herself was never there experiencing what Asmir and his family went through, she accuractely describes the events, and depicts the thoughts and feelings of the characters very well.
2) Asmir is only a year younger than me. Today, he would only be 22. He has gone through so many things in his short life that I couldn't imagine going through myself, especially not at 7 years old. When I think of this, I admire this man's courage and think about how grateful I am to live in a country that is not torn apart by war and prejudice.
3) The book gives us an understanding of what it would be like to be living as a political refugee, running for your life, afraid of having to be turned back to the country you had fled, back to the danger you had been trying to avoid. It gives the reader a greater appreciation for the things that he/she would normally take for granted.
4) While I have never been to war-torn Bosnia, I have been to other places in Europe, and have a fair idea of what the scenery described in the book would look like. Having read this book for the second time, after having lived in Europe for two years, the book became more real to me as I pictured the countryside, the cobble-stoned streets, the Viennese landscape, etc.
5) The book is not only about Asmir and his family - it is also about the author's own son, for it was he who had assisted in helping this family settle in Vienna. This is how the author came in contact with this family and was inspired to write their story.
I am so glad that I finally found and bought my own copy of this wonderful book. I strongly recommend anyone to seek this book out and read it for yourself. It might just change your views on life as it has done mine.
