The Other Side of the Sky (originally published as The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky) is the true story of a young girl's life, starting in war torn Kabul and ending up as a refugee in the United States. Farah Ahmedi loses a leg stepping on a land mine and half of her family when a bomb hits her home. Ahmedi travels to Germany for rehabilitation and returns to Afghanistan seeing her childhood home through different eyes. When the opportunity comes to relocate to the United States as a refugee, she is excited to go. With the help of a few who reached out to help her along the way, she is thriving in her new environment.
Written from a young person's point of view, American youth will learn how it feels to be a foreigner in a new land and how important it is to be welcomed and included into our everyday activities. It is a story that will weaken the barriers that prevent us from embracing, rather than avoiding, those who are different from us. I believe this is a must-read for both youth and adults.
Reviewed by Tina Gutierrez, Public Libraries of Saginaw Board Trustee
