Internment (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Hachette, 2019) by Samira Ahmed might be even more of an important read than it was when it first came out. Or perhaps I should say, this powerful book continues to be important.
Here are two of the lines on the first page that really give you a sense of what’s coming. “Most of the town is at the book burning, so I should be safe. Or, at least, safer.” Scary? Yes!
In a horrible near future story, 17-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim Americans. Her boyfriend is on the outside. She, her new friends, and boyfriend, fight for their freedom.
This novel was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards for Young Adult Fiction Best Books 2019, chosen as a Semifinalist Best Fiction for Young Adults 2019-2020, on the Georgia Peach Book Award List 2020-2021, on the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards List sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, was nominated for the Lincoln Award 2021, and the Winner of the Pennsylvania State Literacy Association’s Keystone to Reading Secondary Book Award for 2020-2021.
Read about this bestselling author here. Samira writes young adult, middle grade, comics, and is in and has edited anthologies. Read more here.
Step on board the spaceship, Godspeed, after you’ve experienced the horror of the freezing process with 17-year-old Amy in the best selling debut book Across the Universe (Penguin/Razorbill , 2011) by Beth Revis. The first in a trilogy, not only is it scifi, but there’s mystery and romance.