BOY, EVERYWHERE
THE GUARDIAN
Featured in Books of the Month, Children’s Best New Novels:
“Carefully researched, wholly convincing, it’s a gripping, uncompromising debut, super-charged with the power of empathy.”
BOOKSELLER’S ONE TO WATCH
ONE TO WATCH: ‘poignant and powerful… An impressive, thoughtful debut…’ THE BOOKSELLER – The UK’s definitive book industry magazine and website
FEATURED IN BOOKTRUST’S OCTOBER REVIEWS
‘Timely and honest, this is a story which every school should have in its library.’
Selected in @BookTrust’s NEW BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK WE LOVE feature!
And also featured and reviewed on the BookTrust website
FULL PAGE FEATURE IN BOOKTIME
It was given a full page feature in the Autumn 2020 edition of BOOKTIME, the free magazine in all UK independent bookshops.
You can read the magazine online or pick it up in store.
LOVEREADINGKIDS DEBUT OF THE MONTH
@lovereadingkids — ‘the biggest and best recommendation site for children’s books chose #BoyEverywhere as DEBUT OF THE MONTH!
‘Written with a deep understanding and meticulous research into similar journeys this is a book that will not leave you for a very long time… Read this book – it’s needs to be in classrooms and on bookshelves everywhere – it will change you and stay with you.’
Read the full review here.
FOUR PAGE SPREAD IN PEN AND INC BOOKS
Pen and Inc Books, the magazine published by @CILIPinfo, the library and information association featured me and Boy, Everywhere over a four page spread in its Autum/Winter issue.
FIVE STAR REVIEW ON READING ZONE
ReadingZone which supports teachers and librarians in helping to grow children as readers gave Boy, Everywhere a five star review.
‘Boy, Everywhere is heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting and devastating in equal measure and although it’s a work of fiction, it reads like a true account which is testament to the wonderful research and storytelling of A. M. Dassu. She chronicles the beauty and devastation, sights and sounds, friendships and relationships in stunning vivid detail, so much so that you honestly feel that you are living every moment alongside Sami.’
Read the full review here
BOOK FOR KEEPS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Books for Keeps (“the most important periodical in the world of children’s books” according to Philip Pullman) asked leading editors to choose their book of the year, and my amazing publisher chose BOY, EVERYWHERE! You can pre-order it here.
SYNOPSIS
Sami’s privileged life in Damascus is torn apart after a bomb attack on a shopping mall, which forces his family to leave his home in Syria, bound for England. He thinks it’s his fault, but is it? Will they survive the journey, can he trust his new friends – and will Sami ever find somewhere to call home again? From privilege to poverty, across countries and continents, locked up in a smuggler’s apartment, imprisoned and bullied at home in the UK, this is a coming-of-age story of friendship, family, belonging and fighting for a better future.
Boy, Everywhere, my upper middle grade novel was inspired by a news interview in which I saw refugees in muddy camps holding their smart phones, talking about what they’d left behind. Looking around my comfortable living room, I realised that it could easily have been me. Due to media coverage, many people assume that refugees are poor, uneducated and want to come here because they’d have a better life. If it weren’t for the war, most Syrians would never have left. This book challenges stereotypes and conveys the true lives of Damascenes. It shows the colour in contrast to the grey rubble and dust that has dominated TV footage for years. It is a universal story, in which my protagonist is an ordinary boy who loves cars, playing football and his PlayStation.
Published on October 22nd 2020.
Waterstones here
Foyles here
uk.bookshop.org here
Hive here
Blackwells here
Amazon here
WH Smith here
Book Depository here
Books etc here
Letterbox Library with review here
BookwagonUK here
Through The Wardrobe Books here
Bookshop.org US Hardback here
Add it to Goodreads here
TIMELINES OF EVERYONE
I am one of the contributing writers to this amazingly, inspiring book. It’s an illustrated non-fiction history book filled with visual biographies of people from all over the world, both the well-known and the less-heralded but equally important.
“Timelines of Everyone breathes fresh life into the biographies of the people you thought you knew, yet also finds new stories from previously overlooked or ignored voices. Did you know US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was defeated only once in 300 wrestling matches? Or that more women passed NASA’s rigorous astronaut training tests for Project Mercury, but were forbidden to fly into space? Or how about the fact that Einstein’s last words were lost, because his nurse didn’t speak German? This fascinating title takes kids on a historical journey, revealing not just the incredible achievements, contributions, and adventures of historical luminaries, but the lesser-known events that shaped them too, from childhood into old age.”
To be published in October 2020
Buy it here
SUGAR OVERLOAD – SHORT STORY FOR SCOOP MAGAZINE
I was truly honoured when Sarah Odedina (editor of the Harry Potter series in the UK) asked me to write a story for @scoopmag ‘s 25th issue.
To see my story in a magazine which has published world-renowned authors such as Neil Gaiman, Tom Stoppard, Malorie Blackman and Jacqueline Wilson is just wonderful! Squeee!
The magazine is sold in the Tate, Daunt Books, Barnes & Noble and directly in 43 countries including Australia, India, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and the USA. I feel as if I have achieved something quite amazing in my writing career today.
It was also really exciting for my kids to be able to open a children’s magazine and read my work in it. It feels surreal and I am indeed very grateful for this brilliant experience.
Published in December 2019
THE STORY OF BANKER OF THE PEOPLE, MUHAMMAD YUNUS
Last year, THE Cheryl Klein (editor of the Harry Potter series in the US) asked if I’d be interested in writing the additional material for a chapter book biography. I’d just moved house and had no internet, but I said yes. It turned out to be the most perfectly chosen project for me – not just because I read economics at university.
I really enjoyed researching all of the topics and working around @PaulaYoo’s enlightening work. I thought my sidebars would’ve been boxed around Paula’s chapters, but I was delighted to see they are chapters of their own.
Muhammad Yunus is an exceptional person and I hope his story inspires readers as much as it inspired me. “The Story of Banker of the People, Muhammad Yunus is an inspiring account of economic innovation and a celebration of how one person—like one small loan—can make a positive difference in the lives of many.” It includes black-and-white illustrations as well as the sidebars I worked on (listed in grey in the table of contents), a timeline, a glossary, and recommended reading.
Published in August 2019
Buy it here
