In 2010, the al Rabeeah family left their home in Iraq in hope of a safer life. They moved to Homs, in Syria - just before the Syrian civil war broke out. Abu Bakr, one of eight children, was ten years old when the violence began on the streets around him: car bombings, attacks on his mosque and school, firebombs late at night. Homes tells of the strange juxtapositions of growing up in a war zone: horrific, unimaginable events punctuated by normalcy - soccer, cousins, video games, friends. Homes is the remarkable true story of how a young boy emerged from a war zone - and found safety in Canada - with a passion for sharing his story and telling the world what is truly happening in Syria. As told to her by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, writer Winnie Yeung has crafted a heartbreaking, hopeful, and urgently necessary book that provides a window into understanding Syria.

About the Author
Abu Bakr al Rabeeah is a high school student in Edmonton, Canada. Winnie Yeung is a teacher who lives in Edmonton with her black pug, Zoe. Homes is her first book.

Reviews
"Besides the terrific prose and its more harrowing details, what really makes the 220-page book special is its fully realized portrait of normal, everyday Syria slowly being chipped away at by numerous interests wrestling for power. One of the book's great strengths is the on-the-streets feeling in Syria - kids playing soccer one moment, avoiding unknown peril sneaking through familiar alleys to avoid dangerous checkpoints the next." - Edmonton Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9781988298283
Author Abu Bakr al Rabeeah
Format Paperback
Page Count 180
Imprint Freehand Books
Publisher Freehand Books