The Boy at the Back of the Classroom by Onjali Q. Raúf

WINNER OF THE BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD (UK) 2019
WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE (UK) 2019 WINNER
Winner of the Sakura Medal (Japan) 2020
CHILDREN'S COWBELL AWARD (SWITZERLAND) 2021 WINNER
WINNER OF PRIX JANUSZ KORCZAK PRIZE (FRANCE) 2022

There was an empty chair at the back of my classroom, but now a boy named Ahmet is sitting in it.

He's nine years old (just like me), but he's very strange. He never talks, never smiles, and doesn't like sweets—not even lemon candy, which is my favorite!

But then I discovered the truth: Ahmet isn't so strange. He's a refugee who escaped war. A real war. With bombs, fire, and bad people who hurt others. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to help.