Boy, Everywhere is about a boy called Sami and his family from Syria. They had to leave their homes in Damascus, which is the capital of Syria, to Manchester. The reason was because Damascus was being bombed more and more and it was getting more dangerous for people to live in. Sami and his family had to leave everything for one chance of safety which also included Sami’s best friend, Joseph. This book was an insight into what people have had to go through and what people are going through right now, especially the younger generations that have maybe not gone to school, or have gone to school and are now having to go to a school in a different country with a different language.
– K.D., Manor CE Academy

Boy, Everywhere is about a 13 year-old boy called Sami who lives a normal life in Damascus, Syria, until all is ruined by a bomb that goes off at the nearby mall. One day he is rushed home from school to discover his mama and younger sister Sara were in the mall bombing at the time. However, Sara is unwell, and the family must make a perilous journey across to England to find Sara treatment. The family must leave as fast as they can and Sami could not be more devastated. All Sami wants to feel is like he belongs. He wishes he could stay in Damascus with his best friend Joseph.
Overall I would give this book a 4.5 star review because it was really good and inspiring and told a great story about the lives of refugees. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes moving but happy and adventurous stories.
– O.W., Manor CE Academy

This book nearly made me cry. The emotions the author managed to very successfully give the main character, Sami, were very realistic.
The book’s storyline itself was very convincing. The author has obviously put a lot of hard work and research into Boy, Everywhere. Sami blames himself for making his family leave twice! (Once in Syria and once in England).
This book really helped me understand what refugees like Sami have gone through and how people can react to refugees. I also like the fact the ending is not a happily ever after. It is more like all of the big problems are resolved but there are still a few smaller problems not solved, making the end result extremely satisfactory.
– Toby, Year 7, All Saints RC School

I think this book deserves 5 stars as even though Sami’s choices aren’t the best, the way he comes back from them is amazing.
– Franny, Year 7, Bootham School

I really enjoyed this book because it showed the journey from Syria to England from a refugee perspective. I was really touched by this story because it didn’t just show his journey but also his life in Syria. This is where you see he was quite wealthy, had great friends and a lovely family then suddenly it was all gone. The main character had to flee his home to Turkey, sail to Greece and arrive in England illegally. You begin to think they will be OK and then he is separated from his family into a detention centre. I thought this was quite a stomach churning turn of events it really gripped me. This is where I really started feeling the story. I could feel the characters emotions and I was really hoping for them.
– Evie, Year 8, Fulford School

This is an interesting book. It tells the story of a boy and his family who have to flee Syria after a bomb in a mall affects his sister. Sami (the boy) faces hardships along the way – even attempting to run away – and doesn’t do the best things, but it ends happily. I gave this book four stars because I didn’t much like some of the choices Sami made.
– Emily, Year 7, Bootham School

This is a book filled with heart and a clear understanding of a tricky subject. Every word has its purpose, put together to deliver a tale of tragedy and hope. 
To begin with I love the main character of Sami and how he blames himself for everything. It is really hard to make the future seem so real, but here it is accomplished very well: the author has a clear understanding of how children’s minds work. 
Furthermore, I also really liked how not everything is resolved by the end. Usually, stories have forced happy endings, resulting in a mediocre finish in an otherwise perfect book. But here, everything is concluded surprisingly realistically, meaning echoes of the message linger in your brain long after the final page is turned. 
Also, I enjoyed the trauma that is portrayed mostly by Sara, Sami’s younger sister. Her reaction to things she cannot understand is heart-breaking and makes me want to research more about the war in Syria. 
This was a really powerful read. I stuck with Sami right to the end and will definitely be recommending this magical book to others. 
– Szymon, Year 8, All Saints RC School 

Sami is just a boy, living in Damascus until his whole life is changed by one bombing. His sister Sara (age 5) is traumatised by the bombing and won’t speak. Sami and his family are left with one option… fleeing the country. They need to go to England, the only place with living relatives but it’s a long, perilous journey across the world, through many countries and they must leave behind everything they love; including their family and friends. 
I love this book. It was powerful and made me think even more about refugees who had to flee everything they loved just to feel safe. It made me think about how bad some people treat them when all they were doing was trying to be safe and come to our country because they thought it was a good country. My favourite 2 characters were probably Ali because he was a very kind and supportive friend even if everyone else hated Sami. I also love Sami for his courage and bravery, through the whole book he kept up his bravery even when it felt like everyone was against him. 
– Manor CE Academy 

Boy, Everywhere is an amazing book! I loved it from start to finish. On the very first page I was hooked. The book tells an incredible story that feels so true to many people’s experiences. Reading this book gives you a new perspective of life for others. Sami goes through an incredible journey and because of this book more people will hear and learn about the situations in the world we live in! A M Dassu has a wonderful talent and gift for writing beautiful books! I would highly recommend Boy, Everywhere. It was a great experience to get to read this book!
– M.R., Manor CE Academy

A M Dassu’s brilliance shines in this masterpiece. Once I picked the book up, I could not put it down.
Boy, Everywhere is about an ordinary 13 year old boy called Sami who lives with his mum, dad and 5 year old sister Sara in Damascus, Syria. I really enjoyed that at the start of the story, Sami was just a normal boy at school however, during that school day, there is an unexpected twist. This leaves Sami from fussing over his football shoes, to worrying whether he and his family will make it to England in one piece.
This novel is full of compassion, friendship and in some parts anguish. What I loved about the book was how well written and moving it was. It also highlights how many people suffered during the civil war in Syria, just because of a few school kids.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, it is filled with hope, empathy and last but not least, friendship. I think that this novel is written in a way to make you feel you are there with Sami, his family and other characters in the book, witnessing everything through the happy times and the sad times.
Overall, the book was very heart wrenching and also embedded in hope.
– Suhani, Year 7, All Saints RC School

Boy, Everywhere is an emotional – gripping story about a normal boy living in Syria – Damascus, when a bomb hits the shopping centre where his mother and younger sister were. Due to the accident, Sara, Sami’s younger sister, is traumatised by what she’s seen. Sami guiltily blames himself because now the family have to sell some things and move to England leaving ‘Tete’, Sami’s grandmother, behind. Sami dreads the journey but meets Adam who becomes a genuine friend to him – unfortunately they reunite all the way in England when Sami is with a friend – who we are later introduced to. The journey is exhausting – Sami faces his fears (or rather deals with it), winds up in a ‘detention centre’, witnesses but helps his father when he is attacked, and lives with a family where the wife and son are hateful and cruel.
Life isn’t easier for Sami’s parents and neither is Sami’s, with him dealing with bullies and humiliation. When Sami and Adam reunite, Sami’s family have to move once again with despair and guilt hanging on to Sami to the point that he makes a journey to the airport, only to have his plans fail when Ali and Adam arrive and succeed in convincing Sami that it’s not his fault and that with some hope -filled news a new chapter to life awaits him and the book ends.
This book is truly emotional with not just ‘boring’ history and ‘How life was for some’ details being thrown at you – but instead both factors mixed with fear and sadness some suffered, the misery in their life to survive. It almost pains me when Sami has to deal with being in fear when he is young, which I can’t comprehend but also being in a hateful and cruel environment. I love how the author uses the emotions of sadness and anger which is what I really like about the book. The author uses phobias, trauma and nightmares in a way to make you feel like they had happier alternatives so they wouldn’t suffer all that misery. The tiredness, the feeling of standing out in a crowd, the guilt, it’s almost overwhelming – so overwhelming that I started crying at the end because of how much Sami blamed himself and how much he wanted to undo his mistakes.
This book was written with true sympathy for what these families went through and what it’s like being the ‘new kid’ in school and trust me it’s not a nice feeling – it’s more of an awkward lonely feeling. When Sami and his father have their arguments, I felt like a bullet to my heart because I can’t stand such things – it’s imprinted into my brain but in a good, grateful way to always be empathetic and understanding to what someone is going through.
– Milie, Year 8, All Saints RC School

Boy, Everywhere is a heart-breaking book about real life issues and how they are affecting lots of people and the world. It is a book about Syrian refugees and the war and the horrors they face. 
The characters in the book are very interesting and realistic and they are very believable. I really like the characters because they’re so innocent but are bearing the weight of the war and their problems on their shoulders. It makes us feel a lot of sympathy for them and what they have to live with, especially the little girl and the scenes she’s had to see 
The way the book was written was very clear and created imagery.  
The characters’ emotions really stood out and made us feel lots of emotions too with them, and the plot was really impressive and it just led on to the other events and flowed really nicely. 
Reading the book, I felt lots of emotions changing and the book made us very eager to find out what would happen next. 
Overall, the book was very interesting and heart-breaking and was very well written. 
– Hala, Dixons Cottingley