Safiyyah’s War - A Book Review
📖 Book Details
- Title: Safiyyah’s war
- Author: Hiba Noor Khan
- Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction
- Published: 2024
🌟 Why I Picked Up This Book
My husband, Michael, has written a middle-grade historical fiction (I will have more info on this eventually!) that he would like me to design the cover art for, and so I am regularly browsing the middle-grade shelves to check out the art styles. I already love middle grade reads, and the unsung WW2 hero pitch of this book plus the gorgeous cover art pulled me in.
📚 Summary (No Spoilers!)
Safiyyah is a young woman who has grown up in the Grand Mosque of Paris. She loves her visits to the library, studying old maps, and celebrating her rich culture. The story is about her family and her Muslim community as World War II unfolds. When the Nazi troops arrive in Paris, the lives of many of her friends is completely upended. She and her family, being part of the Muslim community, are not an immediate target of the Nazi’s aggressions, but this doesn’t mean that they are unaffected. Her father, she notices, is mysteriously disappearing at night and acting strange. Her best friend flees the country. Safiyyah has to learn to forge new and deeper friendships and rely on her faith as she digs deep to be brave in dark times.
💭 My Thoughts
- I think this book is a good introduction to World War II history for this age group. Like Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, we engage with the danger and the upsetting nature of Nazi occupation but at a level that isn’t too overwhelming with violence for younger readers. Middle grade readers are getting to an age when they appreciate beginning to deal with some more difficult questions and issues and I think this book is one that helps to ease them into a very difficult part of world history.
- Characters: I loved Safiyyah’s grandma, Setti. And the little boy, Timothée she meets while wandering the streets of Paris one day, was a fun addition. I wish there had been more of him in the story. Safiyyah’s friendship of Monsieur Cassin is special and I think he has a satisfying story arc. As a parent, I also appreciated the way that Safiyyah’s relationship with her dad changes and grows throughout the story.
- Themes:
- Faith - I appreciated this account of how the practice of her faith, the prayer practices, celebrating and observing holy days, and the support of one’s faith community are so crucial to a person’s wellbeing especially in such dark and uncertain times. To have a tween talking about the importance of these things to her was touching and done in such a natural way that it doesn’t come across as performatively pious or preachy but very genuine and natural.
- Bravery - learning how to be brave when we don’t know what will happen to us or those we love as a result is a really hard thing to do. I think Safiyyah’s family strikes a good balance of understanding precautions while also being willing to take necessary risks and make great sacrifices to do what is right. You can imagine being so scared to act because what if something happens to me or my family. That fear in favor of self-preservation is often what allows evil to persist, but we also don’t want to be foolhardy.
- Friendship - early in the story, Safiyyah’s best friend must leave Paris and Safiyyah feels very alone. But throughout the book she is making new friends and finding that some of the deepest friendships are forged in hard times.
📖 Favorite Quotes
"For whoever saves a single life, it is as if they have saved all of humanity." - this is from the text, but the author points out in her notes that this is a saying in both Jewish and Muslim traditions. It’s reminiscent of the saying “Do for one what you wish you could do for all.”
👍 Who Would Enjoy This Book?
Readers of historical fiction, maybe ages 10 and up (I hate to limit in this way because you know it all depends on the reader…), readers that enjoy WW2 books and would like to read about a little known resistance to the Nazi’s, if you liked Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
⭐ Rating:
I rated this book 5 out of 5 Croissants 🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐
📍 Where to Find It
💬 Have You Read This?
If you’ve read this book, I’d love to hear about your favorite parts. If not, would you like to share some other of your favorite middle grade books dealing with World War II?