Thirteen-year-old Hadi Saleh and his family are displaced. At least that’s what the Lebanese government calls them
and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his
family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city every day don’t think he
and his family are displaced—they think they’re in the wrong place, that they don’t belong in this country either. Each
day he hears insults, but each day he convinces himself they don’t matter, as he approaches the cars again and again
to earn enough money to keep them in their one room home a little longer. He hardly dares to dream anymore that
this might change.
But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to
school, becoming an engineer, and building a whole life beyond their tiny corner. A life Hadi starts to believe might
not be as out of reach as he thought. But Malek is new to the streets, and just when Hadi starts to hope, Kamal, the
man who oversees many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner . . . alone. And people who
don’t follow Kamal’s orders don’t last long.
Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys
find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh present remain
stubbornly out of reach?
Acclaimed author Dean Hughes delivers a gripping look at the realities faced by those who are forced to flee their
homes with no place to go.
