Internment
Internment by Samira Ahmed is a book that I've really wanted to read ever since I first heard about it. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to review this book for the Utah English Journal.
Internment tells of a horrific "possible" future in which Muslim are increasingly persecuted by the American people. The president and the government simply overlook their treatment and even begin to take the lead. Layla Amin and her family are placed on a registry that marks them with targets on their back. One day Layla and her parents are taken from their home and forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
Layla finds that while they are facing such difficult circumstances, she is surrounded by good people among whom she quickly finds friends. With their help, the help of her boyfriend David on the outside, and even a sympathetic guard on the inside, Layla finds herself caught in a wave of revolution that might just lead to their freedom.
This book battles with so many hard topics such as racism, religion, personal bias, sacrifice, the guilt that silence can bring. The setting of this "possible" future has many connections to what we have seen in the United States and some of the rhetoric we have heard since the last election. I can see that many of the Muslims in the US may have experienced many of the same things that Layla does in the book.
I think this would be a fantastic book for teachers to use in the classroom that allows them to help students access these difficult topics through literature. I'm sure it addresses many issues that are outside the current experience of many students. Layla and her story will be sure to capture the attention of anyone looking to have their eyes opened to the realities of our political climate and the persecution of religious and racial groups.
I found it to be a quick, interesting read. I was constantly having to remind myself to slow down and read rather than zoom through the pages to find all the action. Every bit of it was amazing and well written.
I recommend this book to those who love YA, dystopian, or even realistic fiction!
Layla finds that while they are facing such difficult circumstances, she is surrounded by good people among whom she quickly finds friends. With their help, the help of her boyfriend David on the outside, and even a sympathetic guard on the inside, Layla finds herself caught in a wave of revolution that might just lead to their freedom.
This book battles with so many hard topics such as racism, religion, personal bias, sacrifice, the guilt that silence can bring. The setting of this "possible" future has many connections to what we have seen in the United States and some of the rhetoric we have heard since the last election. I can see that many of the Muslims in the US may have experienced many of the same things that Layla does in the book.
I think this would be a fantastic book for teachers to use in the classroom that allows them to help students access these difficult topics through literature. I'm sure it addresses many issues that are outside the current experience of many students. Layla and her story will be sure to capture the attention of anyone looking to have their eyes opened to the realities of our political climate and the persecution of religious and racial groups.
I found it to be a quick, interesting read. I was constantly having to remind myself to slow down and read rather than zoom through the pages to find all the action. Every bit of it was amazing and well written.
I recommend this book to those who love YA, dystopian, or even realistic fiction!
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