The best books and audiobooks of 2020 so far". The Guardian. 14 May 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023 . Retrieved 8 June 2023. The Crossing of the title very powerfully links Sammy and Nat – each is aiming to cross the English Channel. If they succeed, it will change their lives. Best moment The Crossing is heart-wrenching tale of friendship and strength even in the most adverse situations. The audience consisted very largely of secondary school children, probably between 12–16. Two significant moments in that performance at Derby Theatre stood out for me, largely because of the young audience’s gasps of disbelief. Amber dares to confront her father, and Amber’s first kiss. The reaction from the audience at both these moments show that the novel, and its dramatisation, are spot-on for the target audience.

Once I had worked out how the story worked I was enraptured. I adore stories told in poetic prose and I also love stories told from more than one point of view... and this is both. Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022 | Shortlisted for the 2022 CLiPPA (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award) | Winner of the UKLA Book Awards 2023: 11 - 14 Knight, Lucy (16 March 2022). "Carnegie medal shortlist spotlights real-life stories of friendship in challenging times". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023 . Retrieved 6 June 2023. I’d recommend "North Star Rising" an animated documentary short told in verse inspired by the true testimonies of four Eritrean refugees who fled their homes to make the dangerous journey across Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya to Europe.THE SHORTLIST". The DB Awards. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 . Retrieved 8 June 2023.

Sammy has fled his homeland of Eritrea with his best friend, looking for a chance of a new and better life in England. They reason that it is their only option as Eritrea becomes less and less free. The two boys travel across Africa, in appalling conditions, seeing awful things in an attempt to make their way to the promised land of England. Natalie decides to undertake the Cross Channel swim that her mum had always planned to do. Knowing she is keen to continue her mum's aim of helping refugees, she decides to raise money for a refugee charity. A chance encounter, brief and from the distance in a Calais refugee camp, sees Natalie and Sammy understanding there is a link between them.I feel the seeds of the idea were sown in 2015 when I moved to the seaside town of Folkestone. A small town with growing tensions around refugees, unemployment and DFLs (Down From London people) causing gentrification. The unease was tangible and easily taken advantage off by right-wing political parties. This reached a crisis point in 2018 when the number of refugees seeking safety coincided with a spate of far-right protests around the UK. Boats arriving on the shores of Folkestone and Dover were a daily occurrence and the protests in Dover turned violent and brought the town to a standstill. Sammy has fled his home and family in Eritrea for the chance of a new life in Europe. Every step he takes is a step into the unknown - into a strange country and a hidden future.

Enjoy is hardly the right word. The Crossing is not an entertaining read. It’s a harrowing, unforgettable story about two young people who deserve so much better, and who strive so hard to achieve their dreams. The reader engages strongly with them both. The Crossing follows two teens whose stories intertwine with one another in more ways than one. Natalie has just lost her mum and clings to swimming as an escape from reality. Sammy is fleeing his country in the hope of new beginnings, but with every milestone comes a bigger challenge to face. Described as a verse novel, The Crossing is neither prose nor poetry. It is written in very short interrupted and stark sentences. This makes it both easy and difficult to read. As a lover of the flowing sentences of English narrative prose, I found myself trying to ignore the end of line spaces and to complete each written thought in one go. After a time, though, I fell into reading the book to a different kind of rhythm, persuaded by the author’s strong narrative voice. The clipped style makes for a very fast read and is a clever structural device. Awards: MWA Edgar Winners; Branford Boase Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022 . Retrieved 8 June 2023.

Genre

Tesfay, in his entire being, represents the hope that his name translates to, which Ryan's undoing cannot ever come close to. We are reminded that Ryan is not a bigot as he got his sister a rainbow cake to celebrate her coming out, but his actions really speak louder than words. Even in his redemption, Ryan is not given a voice, rather he speaks after being prompted by his father. If there was a sequel or a companion novel, I would want it to be from the perspectives of the 2 sibling: Ryan and his descent into fascism, and Sophia and her survival as a forcefully conscripted soldier.

YA Book Prize 2022 – Shortlist Announced!". Literacy Hive. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023 . Retrieved 8 June 2023. It would be a plot spoiler to tell you which part of The Crossing I liked best. But I can tell you that there is a point in the story where, by magical thinking, Nat and Sammy come together as two desperate teenagers reaching out for help. This moment is beautifully achieved. My thoughts about ‘The Crossing’ I have also worked with refugee groups running drama projects for about five years and was running two such community groups around this time. The focus was on storytelling and I would try to purposefully steer clear of talking about upsetting things but soon found out that the group wanted to share their stories. After the protests in Dover and Birmingham the sombre atmosphere within the groups was palpable.

Praise for Run, Rebel - a Guardian best book of 2020: A tightly crafted series of punchy, often heartbreaking narrative poems . . . Mann's brilliant, coruscating verse novel lays out the anatomy of Amber's revolution, and the tentative first flowerings of hope and change. Guardian