“I search every day for a clue about
     why I deserve
to be here in Aunt Michelle’s kitchen,
safe
and fed.
When so many others
just like me are not.

Lucky. I am learning how to say it
over and over again in English.
I am learning how it tastes—
sweet with promise
and bitter with responsibility.”

Other Words for Home is a fictional novel, published by Balzer+Bray in May 2019. The hardcover version of the book contains 352 pages, and the novel was written by Jasmine Warga, whose books have been translated into more than 25 languages and were even optioned for film.

The book follows the journey of a girl called Jude, who was born in Syria. There, she is just a normal girl. She watches American movies with her older brother and her best friend, imagining to be a famous actress herself one day. She goes to the mosque and lives with her parents. Even though Jude is shocked by the war happening in the surrounding cities, her only desire – besides becoming a popular actress – is to have a peaceful family dinner in the evenings. As the environment gets too dangerous, Jude and her pregnant mother leave their family and home behind in order to move to the United States.

In the United States, they stay with Jude’s uncle and his family. But Jude’s surrounding isn't the only thing changing. Her simplistic outlook gets replaced by worries and self-doubt. How is she supposed to live in that big country, where everything moves so fast, without her loved ones? How is she going to communicate with others? Will the Americans even welcome her? While Jude feels lucky to be safe, she also witnesses discrimination and faces prejudices. Still, she tries to be brave like she had promised her brother. When her school announces an upcoming play, the young girl makes up her mind to try out for it. She is determined to show the world that even a Muslim, wearing a headscarf and speaking broken English, can achieve anything.

I really enjoyed reading the book because it offers a magnificent moral to teens. The story is told from Jude’s perspective, and similar to two other novels by Jasmine Warga, it is written in verses. Even though I was slightly suspicious of this narrative style at first, I believe it suits the story very well. The author uses the verses more to describe actions than to give specific details. As a consequence, the reader is given a lot of room for imagination, which enables one to put themself into Jude’s shoes and still look at things through their own perspective. This makes the story relatable to anyone who reads it. While not giving many detailed descriptions, Warga conveys Jude’s feelings as well as the mood of the story very precisely through the style of her writing. She uses poetical metaphors, inserts pauses at just the right moment, and provides powerful quotes. Other times, these quotes are obvious. Some other times, you have to look for the intention or deep meaning in a seemingly simple sentence.

“The one potted plant of mint has grown out
     of control. It smells like strong tea
and is spilling out of its container,
taking over everything around it.

No one knows how the mint got there;
someone should do something about that.
But everyone is waiting
for someone else to do it.
We are still waiting.”

The author lets the characters act in a very realistic way without adding too much drama. Still, the plain actions of the characters say a lot about how they feel and give hints about their thoughts.

Other Words for Home provides a somewhat softer view of the refugee story. Instead of living in a war-torn city, Jude’s family lives in a town that is still spared from violence. Different from people in other cities, the people in Jude’s town typically don’t participate in protests. Instead, they obey the government; for they don’t want the war to take over their heritage as well. Also, Jude and her mother have family members that welcome them while the refugees in many other books don’t have a place to go to. Those differences let the focus of Other Words for Home be on a refugee starting her life over in a new country, instead of revolving around the journey from one country to the next. Having the focus be on starting at a new school is more relevant for most teens and also easier to relate to.

What sometimes bothered me about the writing style is that the author doesn’t always clarify who speaks, which can slightly confuse the reader. It also prevents the story from flowing. Additionally, while I liked the fact that the book does not give much detail about the war or the characters, but rather has actions speak, it would have been helpful to add a little background information at some point. For example, Jude’s religion is not explored. Even though the author writes that Jude wears a headscarf because she wants to and not because she needs to, she doesn’t give any background information about that decision. In my opinion, adding an explanation of the belief or the intention behind wearing a headscarf would have been beneficial because the reader would learn to understand the religion better. Oftentimes, understanding is the first step toward tolerating something different; it would have been lovely to learn more Syrian culture, such as Jude’s religion.

Other Words for Home is one of the most beautifully written, most meaningful and touching stories I've read. It lets you see the world from Jude’s perspective. This extraordinary book doesn’t only make us understand how a refugee, new to the country, might feel, but it also reminds us of our similarities. At the end of the day, we all have similar wishes and hopes. We long for love, respect, and a place to belong. Jude’s powerful story encourages us to be faithful and to be kind to each other.

Even if we don’t come from the same country, we still share a universe. Most importantly, the novel states that hoping is sometimes braver and tougher than anything else.