2021/051: The Boy at the Back of the Class -- Onjali Q Rauf

Sometimes I think everyone likes to believe a lie even when they know it’s a lie because it’s more exciting than the truth. And they especially like to believe it if it’s printed in a newspaper. I know that now. I also know why Mum says politicians are liars and always shouts at them whenever they come on the telly. [p. 18]

One day there's a new kid at school: he doesn't talk, and his rucksack is filthy and falling apart. The narrator, plus friends, decide to befriend Ahmet, who comes from Syria and has arrived in England with nothing. They give him sweets and fruit, wonder about the woman who collects him from school but who clearly isn't a relative, try to protect him from the class bully, help him work on his English, and concoct The Greatest Idea in the World to help Ahmet and his family reunite.

I read this for the 'middle-grade Muslim novel' prompt of the Reading Women Challenge 2021, though ultimately decided it didn't count as Ahmet's religion is barely mentioned. I did find it surprisingly moving, if a little sentimental in places, and also very funny. Some of the humour comes from the children's misconceptions about the world, but our narrator -- who is courageous, stubborn and creative, the child of an Austrian father and an Indonesian mother -- makes plenty of jokes of their own. [spoiler in white text] 'Their' ... We don't learn until the very end that the narrator is a girl. And I didn't learn until today that the author has expressed transphobic views -- which unfortunately has coloured my thinking about this little element of gender obfuscation.

The story is simple and firmly rooted in the real world (though there is an odd absence of computers, the web, smartphones), with various adults behaving badly or holding bigoted views, and others being unexpectedly kind. There's a happy ending, and a delightful letter from the target of the Greatest Idea in the World, and a sensible and sober exploration of the refugee crisis and its impact on children. And there's a good sub-plot about not sinking to the level of the bullies.