My Name Is Samim

Gr 7 Up–Meikle’s newest novel offers an adventurous, fast-paced story filled with love, fear, worry, anger, and intense grief while following the journeys of many intersecting refugee stories from past to present. Samim, a brave and inquisitive 13-year-old refugee, journeys to the UK after his family is killed in a bombing in Afghanistan. Samim is moved from an adult detention center into a foster home where he makes new friends and battles school bullies while telling his refugee story to caseworkers in order to be granted asylum in the United States. The plot includes flashbacks where Samim recalls every step of his journey from running with Zayn and Uncle Roshan, the drowning of his best friend, and meeting other refugees whose stories he promised to tell. The narrative is emotionally charged and full of perspective, wisdom, and heartache as Samim works through his trauma while relearning what it means to love himself in a new country amid the guilt and shame of incredible loss. The dialogue and the psychological turmoil refugee children face are realistically portrayed in the relationships cultivated and lost, and the power behind the phrase “nobody’s children.” This story invites readers to see nobody’s children as everyone’s children and consider what it would mean to live in a world that fights for the safety of all children.