No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis

Allen And Unwin, 2011. ISBN 978-1-74237-410-9.
(Age 13+) Recommended. No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis is a thrilling novel about a boy called Abdul who makes a huge journey from his home in Baghdad, trying so hard to get to England. While getting onto a small, dinky boat with an indecent people smuggler, he finds himself with a young girl, Rosalia, who is a gypsy. She stands up for herself and takes control of her life. Abdul also meets Cheslav, a rough young man who is gifted at playing the trumpet. And Jonah, the people smugglers nephew, a shy little boy whose mother died some years previously is also in the story, playing his role accordingly. All these migrants (including Jonah) are orphans and deal with reality in their own way, fending for each and everyone's survival.
These migrants finally get to Britain and sort out their lives there.
This wonderful and tragic story is real life snippets from real children's lives, turning these sad and moving stories into a fantastic novel. I think the way that Deborah Ellis put those stories together and made this novel is brilliant and I hope to read some more of her novels that are about real-life people in real-life places and situations that none of us fortunately aren't in as soon as possible. I think for age rating I would say 13 and onwards would be appropriate.
This truly was a brilliantly created story and I will be reading it again in the near future.
Sarah Filkin, Yr 9