Refugee by Alan Gratz

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.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

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)