Wild Poppies by Haya Saleh

Abstract

Reviewed by: Wild Poppies by Haya Saleh Natalie Berglind Saleh, Haya Wild Poppies; tr. from the Arabic by Marcia Lynx Qualey. Levine Querido, 2023 [192p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781646142019 $17.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-8 Fifteen-year-old Omar is in charge of his family, including his sick mother, after his father was martyred in the Syrian civil war. At a Syrian refugee camp, Omar is the one who maintains order, while his twelve-year-old brother Sufyan is always getting into trouble and disappearing. When Sufyan becomes involved with a group called the Falcons of Truth, who pay him to complete small tasks and show up to their meetings declaiming “infidels,” finances start to look up, but the Falcons of Truth eventually kidnap Sufyan, and the brothers must find their way back to each other in life-or-death circumstances. Saleh’s prose, translated from Arabic, is elegant but direct, avoiding descriptions of violence without dulling the emotional impact of the tragedies in these brothers’ lives. Omar and Sufyan just want safety and reliable sources of food (and maybe some video games), and their alternating perspectives give readers two access points to a story that shines a light on the threats, both [End Page 335] present and in the future, that refugee children face. Media about Syrian refugees tends to focus on legislation about other countries accepting refugees rather than internally displaced refugees, and this book gives necessary context for kids who may be in the dark about the Syrian civil war. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois