8th Grade History Summer Read: Refugee, by Alan Gratz

Dear Incoming GA Eighth Graders,

For the year’s summer read, we are excited to unveil Refugee, by Alan Gratz. This book follows three young adults, each on separate harrowing journeys. As indicated by the title, the main characters are refugees who are motivated to flee their homelands in the hopes of finding safety in a new country. Within the pages you will encounter excitement and adventure, as well as trauma and tragedy.

Refugee is a work of historical fiction. That means that while characters in the book are not real, the backdrop of each of their stories is based upon actual history. The gritty realism on each page is inspired by fact.

The book tells the story of three children. Each character is separated from the other two characters not only by geography, but by era. The chapters alternate between the three characters throughout the novel. You will get used to this as you read, but to help you out at the beginning, here are the main characters and some basic information about them.

Home When Dictator Josef Germany 1938 Adolf Hitler Isabel Cuba 1994 Fidel Castro Mahmoud Syria 2015 Bashar al-Assad

Although serious, this book is meant to be read for pleasure, and we think you will find it interesting. On the next page, there are questions for you to answer. Please follow the directions carefully. Refugee will give us a lot to talk about, and we look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely, Mr. Eichsteadt, Mr. Stephens, and Mr, Templeton For the first day of classes in 8th grade, please bring in your typed or handwritten answers to class on A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER. When directed, provide the page numbers for the specific parts of the book you write about. You will write a total of SIX answers.

Answer ALL of the Following Four Questions (#1-4) 1. What are the specific fears that each character and their families are facing at the beginning of the book (thru page 55)? What reasons do Joseph/Isabel/Mahmoud (or their parents) give for fleeing their homes? What do they fear would happen if they stayed? (Write 3-4 sentences for each character.)

2. a. Why did the parents/family of Joseph/Isabel/Mahmoud seek their respective destinations? What attracted them to the countries they are traveling to? (Write 3 sentences for each character’s story.) b. Also, of the three, who do you think has the best plan? Why? (Explain in 3 sentences.)

3. How did family and friends help during the travels? How did family and friends make things more difficult? For each main character, list two positive and two negative examples (along with page numbers) associated with their family and friends. NOTE: Each character will have 4 examples about their fa: 2 positive, 2 negative. (List examples with page numbers; you don’t need to write complete sentences.)

4. How did the stories intersect at the end? Explain and summarize. (4-5 sentences)

Answer TWO of the following questions 5. Look at pages 216-222 as a writer, and consider various literary devices such as pacing, dialogue, descriptive language and the way the action is developed. What did the author do to make this scene compelling? (4-5 sentences)

6. On page 214, Mahmoud realizes, “They only see us when we do something they don’t want us to do.” What does he mean? How can you link his realization to one or both of the other stories? Provide specific examples in your answer. (5-6 sentences)

7. Why do you think the author alternated between characters for every chapter rather than telling each story uninterrupted? What do you think his intent was? Did you like this technique, or not? Explain. (4-5 sentences)

8. How did Josef/Isabel/Mahmoud (pick ONE) change over the course of the book? In your paragraph-long answer (6-9 sentences), provide and discuss THREE specific examples from one character’s story that shows how they changed. Please include page numbers for each example.