My Thoughts On… Running From the Sky by Amanda Malben

My Thoughts On… Running From the Sky by Amanda Malben

Hi All!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Running From the Sky and I am here today with a review of this fantastic book!

Three years into the civil war that has turned his country upside down, Sami’s home village in Syria is hit by a deadly bomb attack and he is forced to leave behind everything he knows and loves. Eventually, Sami and his family are given refuge in Coventry, England, but city life is hard to adjust to. It’s grey and cold and there are no fields to play in or animals to tend. Worse still, Sami worries about the fate of his uncle and cousins back in Syria and struggles to make new friends. In a bid to take his mind off his homesickness, Sami is introduced to Harry Adams, one of the elderly residents at the care home where his mum works. Although wary of one another at first, the pair gradually form a bond, as Harry tells Sami the story of the unusually named Splen and his dog Bobby, who lived through the Second World War and the infamous Coventry Blitz. As Sami discovers more about Splen and his dramatic escape from the horrors of conflict, the two unlikely friends make peace with their troubled pasts and forge a new sense of hope for the future.

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My Thoughts

As soon as I heard about this book, I jumped on the chance to read it. It sounded incredible. Fortunately, I do not regret this decision at all. It was an exceptional read and one that I would highly recommend to others as well. If you’re looking for a book that has a whole lot of heart, then you should definitely make sure that you pick up this book to read. I will be keeping an eye on Amanda from now on to make sure that I pick up anything else she writes as well.

This book follows Sami as he leaves his home behind after a bombing. He travels to the UK where he becomes a refugee and has to navigate through a new way of living. Here he meets Harry, an elderly gentleman living in a care home. Together, they reflect on their past and start looking towards the future. The book is written really well and is easy to follow. While the narration seems a little simple to begin with, you quickly fall into the style and simply cannot put the book down until it’s over. I fell in love with all of the characters in this book and really wish that I could spend more time with them!

Incidentally, this is a book that I am incredibly glad I read and one that I hope you will pick up too as it includes an important topic. It allows you to empathise with refugees and incidentally, the elder generation too. It shows you compassion and how to have hope for the future despite a troubling past. It is a wonderful story that flows from the page and one that will stick with you for days to come. I am sure of it. So if you’re looking for a good YA book that will suck you away, make sure you give this book a read!

** I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. **

About the Author

Amanda Malben trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama but has dedicated herself to teaching. She taught adults with learning difficulties at Northampton College, specialising in drama, and English as a foreign language to adults. A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she co-founded a project with Northampton University to help improve the language skills of immigrant children and their parents. Now retired, she lives in the Northamptonshire countryside close to the Warwickshire border and enjoys writing and walking her dog.

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