Kid's Review: When Stars Are Scattered

About the Book and Author

This remarkable graphic novel depicts life in a refugee camp through the eyes of a child. Omar Mohamed’s heart-wrenching true story is brought to life with stunning illustrations from bestselling graphic novelist, Victoria Jamieson and published by Faber.

The book is about two young brothers who are living in a refugee camp having fled the war in Somalia. They have been separated from their mother and in the story, you see them grow up in the camp as they wait, with desperate hope, to be selected by the United Nations for re-settlement in North America.

When Stars Are Scattered is an intimate, important and unforgettable look at the lives of these young refugees, which will help young people to better understand the challenging way of life millions of displaced people worldwide endure for years and years.

Omar Mohamed spent his childhood at the Dadaab camp, after his father was killed and he was separated from his mother in Somalia. He now lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and works at a centre to help resettle other refugees. He is the founder of Refugee Strong, a nonprofit organisation that empowers students living in refugee camps. He still works with the Dadaab camp and travels back there once a year. Here is a link to him reading the first chapter of the book.

Victoria Jamieson is the bestselling creator of the graphic novels Roller Girl and All’s Faire in Middle School. She received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a children’s book designer before becoming a freelance illustrator.

Book Review

It explains what life is like growing up in a refugee camp, which was interesting and very different from my life.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It made me feel how lucky I am and was even more engaging because it is a true story. What set this book apart from the other books I usually read is that it is written in a comic format. This made it easier to read and understand. I thought the illustrations were really cool! I’d recommend the book for anyone around my age (I’m 11) and older, because even though it’s in a comic style, it deals with difficult topics.

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