It is 1992 and Bihac, Amra's hometown, is a multicultural city with Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. But when tensions escalate, the Serbs turn on their Bosnian neighbors. The Serbs control the army, and now they have peaceful Bihac surrounded. Soon Amra and her family are dealing with starvation and the threat of brutal violence; school, friendships, and the attentions from a new boy have to take a back seat to finding food and the tragic fallout from rising bigotry and ethnic hatred. Through it all, a stray cat, Maci, serves as a guardian spirit to the entire family.
It is 1992 and Bihac, Amra's hometown, is a multicultural city with Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. But when tensions escalate, the Serbs turn on their Bosnian neighbors. The Serbs control the army, and now they have peaceful Bihac surrounded. Soon Amra and her family are dealing with starvation and the threat of brutal violence; school, friendships, and the attentions from a new boy have to take a back seat to finding food and the tragic fallout from rising bigotry and ethnic hatred. Through it all, a stray cat, Maci, serves as a guardian spirit to the entire family.
The stunning memoir of a Muslim teen struggling to survive in the midst of the Bosnian genocide--and the stray cat who protected her family through it all.
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bihac, Bosnia and
Herzegovina. After surviving ethnic cleansing and more than 1100
days under the Serbs’ military siege, she emigrated to the United
States in 1996. By December 1999, she earned a BA in Economics from
Brown University. Later, she obtained two Masters degrees and a
Doctorate from Columbia University. Currently, she is a professor
at Columbia University working on understanding how and why
societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding
decimated countries. She has published extensively on
education-related issues, and has lectured around the world to
adult and adolescent audiences. In her students’ feedback, Amra is
consistently praised as one of the most inspiring professors they
have encountered. She divides her time between Manhattan and Tuxedo
Park with her husband and two daughters, ages 11 and 13.
sabicelrayess.com/
@amrasabicPHD
Laura Sullivan is an author and seasoned collaborator of
middle grade and young adult novels, including Under the Green Hill
(Holt, 2010), Ladies in Waiting (HMH, 2012), and Love by the
Morning Star (HMH, 2014). She collaborated with prolific producer
and director Adam Shankman on Girl About Town (Atheneum, May,
2016), a Nick and Nora-styled mystery set in 1930s Hollywood, and
the sequel. She also worked with YouTube star Joey Graceffa on the
bestselling Children of Eden trilogy (Atria/Keywords). Her adult
debut, Milady (Berkley), will be published July, 2019.
"Gripping. . . . Sabic-El-Rayess's visual imagination is a slipstream. Amra's words have a subtle, relentless force, creating a world where life is a danger, a demand, and a warm, calico presence." --Foreword Reviews (starred review) "Boldly tackles the rawness of human emotion in times of severe distress. . . . Unforgettable." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "An excellent discussion starter." --School Library Connection (starred review) "Her prose balances verve and gentleness as she discusses the horrors of war alongside moments of levity. . . . A must-read nonfiction addition." - School Library Journal (starred review) "Exceptional. . . . The author has an extraordinary ability to recreate both the beauty and brutality of these years." - Booklist (starred review) "[A] memoir about the transformative power of love, connection, and education. . . . as timely as it is effective." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This fast-paced, touching memoir reminds readers of the significance of the Balkan ethnic war, and places it into a larger conversation about the ways in which ethnically and religiously diverse societies are under threat from extremism and bigotry" - The Horn Book Magazine
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