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This one is so, so hard to review. And somehow, right now, I don't think I can. Some people said, the author doesn't know what he's writing about, but as far as I can tell, he does. The style of the book itself didn't quite work for me, but the inside is still hunting me. Still hurting about what's happening in the world right now. All I wish for is peace for everyone 🕊️🕊️ Please! 🙏

Review follows, since I'm a little behind again. But I don't worry about that anymore. The state of the world is something to worry about 😨

#botm #bookofthemonth

29 Jun-1 Jul 24 (audiobook)
An account of a bus crash involving Palestinian school children which highlights the bureaucracy, inequality and chaos of life in the West Bank for many Palestinians.
It may have been better to read a hard copy of this short book as I confused names and stories at times. It is an interesting book as it uses the bus incident as the starting point to a history of some of the Palestinian villages surrounding Jerusalem.

I didn't realize until I had finished this book that this was a nonfiction telling of a real tragic bus accident, and Abed is a Palestinian who opened himself up to Thrall, trusting him with his story. This is a great book to read for anyone who wonders about the area before October 2023. Thrall does and amazing job weaving Abed's story, the current (pre-October 2023 as this was published right before) and recent 30ish years of history.

Devastating, searing, deeply urgent reading. Written with a moral and political clarity that is utterly and absolutely necessary for this present moment. Structured in such a way as to break your heart because it brings the reader close to the texture of everyday life for Palestinians under occupation and leads up to the inevitable aftermath that, as is clear from the title, is a tragedy. I wish this wasn't our world.

This books takes the story of a horrific fatal school bus crash in the West Bank to illustrate the reality of life for Palestinians living in the area. It‘s a tragic, harrowing story that deeply respects the people it follows. Thrall is a Jewish-American living in Jerusalem, which for me lends more weight to the book. Essential reading.

Just absolutely heart wrenching 💔 I did learn a lot of detail about day to day life, I didn‘t come away with a lot of hope though.

A bus of Palestinian kindergartens flips, and what ensues is a tragedy. Thrall expertly recounts this event through the generations of families, history, locations, maps, and policies. Well written, informative and heart breaking, this was an excellent “How did we get here?” book. It doesn‘t explain everything, but it added layers to a deeply complex situation.