by Elizabeth Wein
Published: 2016
Audience/Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
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Summary:
Teo and Emilia have been friends from birth. After a bird strike during a flying stunt performance by their mothers, they become siblings. Em’s mother wants to follow her late best friend’s wishes: to raise Teo in a country where the color of his skin won’t judge him. She believes that the best place is the country where Teo’s father was from – Ethiopia. Here, she can raise her white daughter alongside her adopted black son in the peaceful countryside. But as the setting is in the 1930s, Italy is ready to invade, and war brews. And both children, now in their teens, must decide about home and loyalty.
My Take:
This book has so many layers to it. It is a TCK/CCK book. Teo is half Ethiopian, and Emilia is half Italian. There are inner struggles of “home,” which is something most TCK/CCKs understand. Ms. Wein weaves prejudice into the lives of the children but also into the lives of their mothers. It is just a good book that will make you think deeper about issues that are relevant today. As I read Elizabeth Wein’s bio, I realized that she understands the problems of TCKs because she was raised abroad and is now living abroad as well. I highly recommend this book because of the TCK/CCK issues that Ms. Wein attempts to tackle and because it deals with relevant topics today.
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