Mud City

Mud City by Deborah Ellis, is the story of a little girl who has left the war torn Afghanistan for Pakistan. Shauzia and her dog, Jasper have big dream, to make it to the flowered fields of France to a better life of freedom. The journey is proving difficult, and getting to the sea is not as easy as it seems. Shauzia is placed in a women's refugee camp, that shows no sign of freedom. Shauzia leaves this camp, begging and looking for any work, in exchange for money. She works hard, and is thankful for the protection of her old herd dog. Shauzia faces difficult occurrences, being taken in by a western family, who cannot fathom nor handle the hardships she's been through, injury, and finally being returned to the refugee camp she finds so heartbreaking. The entire time, Shauzia is posing as a young boy, knowing that this may be her only ticket out of the life she has been born into.

Compared to other realistic fiction for children, Mud City is definitely in its own category. I like what Mud City does with the subject matter of the book, it doesn't shy away from the terror that Shauzia is feeling, but it also doesn't use frightening language to demonstrate the point. I think this type of book, especially with children, should always be accompanied with discussion. Children need to be able to discuss this, and the best way to create awareness is through discussion. I recommend this book for 11+. I also think this would be a valuable read-aloud book for teachers, especially considering the difficult place names within.

4 out of 5!

Ellis, Deborah. (2003). Mud City. Groundwood Books, Toronto: Ontario.

Genre: Realistic Fiction