Flying Over Water

This book is a masterpiece. The story is told from two perspectives by two 12-year-old girls in 7th grade. Jordyn is an American girl living in Florida. Noura is from Syria, having fled with her family literally hours before Trump declared a ban on Muslim immigration.

Noura has a twin brother Amman and a younger brother. No sooner do Noura and her family arrive when they learn that Trump has a ban on Muslims in place. To make matters worse, Noura has a fear of water and much of their flight from Syria takes place over the ocean.

Luckily for Noura and her family, they meet Jordyn, a girl Noura’s age who says she will take Noura under her wing and show her around the school Noura will soon be attending. Fortunately for the girls, many of their peers are kind, but as expected not all of them are. There are some who are downright cruel and nasty.

Readers learn more about Islam and Middle Eastern culture. Luckily for Ammar and Noura, their principal accommodates their religious observance by providing them with a place for them to pray. In time other kids decorate the storage room and soon it is converted to a quiet retreat for anyone wanting to pray, meditate or take advantage of some quiet time.

Noura and Jordyn soon bond. Jordyn, who has not known of the danger and hardships that Noura does has her own set of problems. Jordyn’s mother recently had a miscarriage and the loss left her depressed. Jordyn herself has a well guarded secret. To top her problems, bullying is a major issue.

This is a brilliantly written and very topical book. Readers learn of the Muslim Ban aka Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States was in effect from January 27 until March 6, 2017. This cruel, needless and grossly misguided Executive Order was fortunately superseded. It reinforced the fallacy of Middle Easterners as being prone to acts of terrorism which simply is not true. The irony of it all is that “Muslim” means anybody who worships God and Islam is the faith that many Middle Easterners follow. Another plus point is that readers learn a bit about Syrian culture. As with any country, each comes with its own language(s); culture; customs and history. Both girls, Jordyn and Noura serve as ambassadors to not only their literary peers, but to readers who are genuinely interested in Syrian culture and what each girl offers the other.

This is a relevant and very needed book and I recommend it for all middle schools. It is topical and will certainly lend itself to some deep discussions and learning. This book will also open the doors to tolerance as readers will come to appreciate the privations and hardships of families emigrating from Middle Eastern countries. I highly recommend and wish I could give it 100 or more stars.