A Little Piece of Ground

Laird and Nimr's novel follows 12 year old Karim as he deals with his life in a war torn Palestine. With frustrations with restrictive curfews that start to harm his father's business and sister's heath, Karim finds refuge in day dreaming about escaping the occupation and becoming a soccer star. With friends he defies curfew to play soccer in an abandoned lot. Despite the escape on the field Karim and friends he finds himself injured after a confrontation with Israeli forces and lands in the hospital. Through the struggles Karim's journey highlights the struggles and chaos of war and its affect on growing up and family. The authors don't avoid rough areas, and the book is a good read for those willing to listen and recognize the strength's Karim and friends develop together throughout the occupation.