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Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

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Refugee Boy

Author
Benjamin Zephaniah
Narrator
Ben Bailey Smith
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date
3 September 2020
Run Time
5 hours 52 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: School stories, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration
$13.95

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, read by Ben Bailey Smith.

'Playful, obstinate and courageously humorous ... hilarious and later heartbreaking' Guardian
'Sweet, funny, highly inventive' Yorkshire Post

The personal, funny and poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin Zephaniah

Acclaimed performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah's honest, wry and poignant story of a young refugee left in London is of even more power and pertinence today than when it was first published.

Life is not safe for Alem. His father is Ethopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is welcome in neither place.

So Alem is excited to spend a holiday in London with his father – until he wakes up to find him gone. What seems like a betrayal is in fact an act of love, but now Alem is alone in a strange country, and he must forge his own path...
____________________
Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers:

Refugee Boy
Face
Gangsta Rap
Teacher's Dead

Critics Review

  • The playful, obstinate and courageously humorous tone of Zephaniah's writing shines through ... hilarious and later heartbreaking

    Alfred Hickling, Guardian on REFUGEE BOY

  • Sweet, funny, highly inventive

    Yorkshire Post on REFUGEE BOY

  • Humour and innocence are both to the fore as is a sweetness of tone ... more street than poetic, and personal yet universal, Refugee Boy is well told by impassioned writer

    York Press on REFUGEE BOY

  • A brilliant first novel

    Guardian on FACE

See more reviews
  • A lively and positive account of a boy who is badly scarred in a joyriding crash, and how he comes to terms with it ... incredibly well told

    Irish Times on FACE

  • An impressive debut, carefully researched ... Zephaniah writes wonderfully natural dialogue with the same ease as he spins out rhyming couplets

    Herald on FACE

  • The authority with which the story is written leaves the reader no choice but to be drawn in – and indeed educated – into the world of gangsta rap, with all the appropriate vocabulary. Not for a long time have I read a book with such a 'pick me up again' factor

    Independent on Sunday on GANGSTA RAP

  • A fairytale of hip-hop success ... teens will enjoy the thrilling music fantasy, while many will identify with the smart, talented boys who grow up quickly and rescue themselves

    Booklist on GANGSTA RAP

  • Benjamin Zephaniah rides straight through everybody's taboos, everybody's prejudices, everybody's niceties and gets straight to the heart of the matter … Strong, honest, democratic, accessible to all, Teacher's Dead comes highly recommended

    The Bookbag's Jill Murphy on TEACHER'S DEAD

User Reviews

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Details
Author
Benjamin Zephaniah
Narrator
Ben Bailey Smith
Duration
5 hours 52 minutes
Release Date
3 September 2020
ISBN
9781526627704
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre
Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: School stories, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration

Synopsis

Bloomsbury presents Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, read by Ben Bailey Smith.'Playful, obstinate and courageously humorous ... hilarious and later heartbreaking' Guardian'Sweet, funny, highly inventive' Yorkshire PostThe personal, funny and poignant tale of a young refugee, from acclaimed storyteller Benjamin ZephaniahAcclaimed performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah's honest, wry and poignant story of a young refugee left in London is of even more power and pertinence today than when it was first published.Life is not safe for Alem. His father is Ethopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is welcome in neither place.So Alem is excited to spend a holiday in London with his father – until he wakes up to find him gone. What seems like a betrayal is in fact an act of love, but now Alem is alone in a strange country, and he must forge his own path...____________________Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers: Refugee BoyFaceGangsta RapTeacher's Dead

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