A HOUSE WITHOUT WALLS

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Thirteen-year-old Safiya and her family have been driven out of Syria by the civil war. Safiya knows how lucky she is - lucky to be living near family and not in a refugee camp, lucky to be alive.

But it’s hard to feel grateful when home is only a tent, freezing cold in the winter and stiflingly hot in the summer. As she struggles to survive, Safiya learns that there are secrets at the heart of her family. She knows she must uncover the truth, and that if she does, the future might be bright, after all.

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a twin, to have a ready-made best friend and ally. And I’ve wondered, too, what it would be like to lose your twin. It must feel as if you’ve lost half of yourself. In my story, Safiya has lost her twin, but she’s absolutely determined to find her again.

I learned to love and admire Safiya, as if she was a real person. In a sense, she is. There are millions of girls and boys like Safiya who have become refugees. They have had to take responsibility, look after other people and grow up at double speed.

A House Without Walls is itself a twin. Welcome to Nowhere is another story about a Syrian family, forced to flee to Jordan from Syria. Omar, like Safiya, is tested to the limits, and like her, he triumphs magnificently. If you’ve enjoyed one of these two books, you might enjoy the other.

Macmillan Children’s Books

ISBN 978 1509 828241

Click on the button below to access a PDF of teaching notes and background information. You can download it, copy it and use it in any way you like.