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A man I helped to settle here taught me a saying from Africa.
I'll bet you would like it:
A cow is God with a wet nose.
Kek comes from Africa where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived. Now she's missing, and Kek has been sent to a new home. In America, he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter—cold and unkind. But slowly he makes friends: a girl in foster care, an old woman with a rundown farm, and a sweet, sad cow that reminds Kek of home. As he waits for word of his mother's fate, Kek weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Patricia Pestes
reviewed Home of the Brave on May 04, 2010
Home of the Brave
I have some reservations about the book. For starters, I think I should start a tag called something like, "Books about refugees and/or people of color from war torn countries written by white women" because for some reason lately I have been coming across more and more books that would fall under this genre (The Breadwinner author, I'm looking at you).
While I found the book compelling, my big complaint about it is that the reader doesn't learn Kek is from Sudan until maybe about halfway through the book. I found an interview with Applegate addressing this where she responds with, "Although I did very specific research, it seemed to me that many aspects of the refugee experience are universal. The loss and fear, the struggle to belong, the hopes for the future: that's all part of the process, no matter where you're from." ()
While it's a nice sentiment to believe feelings of loss, fear, the struggle to belong, etc. are universal, I find it somewhat offensive she refers to Kek's homeland simply as Africa for much of the book. Because, hey, it's all Africa! Who cares which country or which tribe Kek is from? It's all Africa! It's all exotic and different! And can't we all relate to feelings of loss, the struggle to belong, and hopes for the future... as a refugee brand new to America, as someone who saw his parents murdered? Can't we all relate to that? Hey, we're all in this together! Let's all hold hands now and sing kumbaya.
Admittedly, that was pretty harsh, but I wanted to get my point across. Yes, the book is incredibly moving and many, many people are going to love it, but it seems to be more about what we Americans want the refugee experience to be like, rather than what it actually is.
I would have also preferred the author to have included more contextual background as to what happened in Sudan that caused Kek to come to America
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Add Home of the Brave, A man I helped to settle here taught me a saying from Africa. I'll bet you would like it: A cow is God with a wet nose. Kek comes from Africa where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother hav, Home of the Brave to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Home of the Brave, A man I helped to settle here taught me a saying from Africa. I'll bet you would like it: A cow is God with a wet nose. Kek comes from Africa where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother hav, Home of the Brave to your collection on WonderClub |
