Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe. All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers… Read more.
Trigger and Content Warnings
- Period-typical antisemitism & Nazism
- Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation of a grandparent due to trauma sustained in a concentration camp
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Blood & injury depiction, including the mention of the floating dead body with gunshot wounds
- Physical assault (beating)
- Police violence
- Riots, specifically in 1994 Cuba
- Home invasion
- Destruction of a home & buildings from a missile strike
- WWII themes, including detainment in concentration camps
- Refugee experiences & displacement (theme)
- Animal attack (secondary character dies from a shark bite)
