Growth is such a huge part of our human experience. I know that as I have continued on through my 20s I learned lessons time and again that I thought I learned as a kid. Some of them I learned the hard way. Some of them through the cautions of those older than me who had chosen a wrong path. Jude‘s path has been rough and winding but it makes her who she is just like me. @NCHPedsReads #FEBPedsReads

Hope is such a wonderful agent for change. Though some people take activism to an extreme and resort to violence, that is the way they can sometimes manifest hope. Jude is full of hope for all of her loved ones and takes hope in a non-violent path. From the members of her family she leaves behind to her new acquaintances in the US, she hopes for growth and peace. @NCHPedsReads #FEBPEDSreads

Jude deals with so many people projecting their stereotypes onto her the longer she spends in America. She even has it happen within her own family. Sarah complains that she doesn‘t even know English before she asks Jude if she does. Have you dealt with projected stereotypes? How do you deal with them? @NCHPedsReads #FEBPEDSreads

Jude left her family for her own safety and the safety of her family. I can‘t imagine the type of courage it takes to be Jude‘s mom. You have to start over in a new country with brand new customs and language, all while leaving your son and father in an area you know is dangerous. These are the types of situations that galvanize or tear apart a family. I hope for Jude‘s sake, it‘s the former. @NCHPedsReads #JanPEDSReads

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga starts the story of Jude and her family‘s interaction with unrest and revolutionary ideas of the young population of Syria. Jude is just like any other growing young lady, laughing at American pop culture and dreaming of being a movie star. But she has the heartbreaking addition of watching her brother Issa and father Baba, argue about Syria‘s political direction. excited to learn more! #JanPEDSReads